Balius

Flip

Since opening their doors in July last year, Balius has revolutionized the neighbourhood. The people of Poblenou finally have a place where they feel at home, can eat like never before and sip on cocktails while sitting on a couch straight from the 70s. The word is spreading – Balius rocks.

Rosa and Mike are behind Balius and tell us that it came about as a happy accident. They’re also behind some of those places that stay in your memory, like Pesca Salada. It was love at first sight when Rosa saw the old drugstore that had been closed for years. Balius was the name of this old business, and they decided to keep it.

Entering Balius is a different experience depending on the day and time you go. At noon, it’s full of neighbourhood residents looking to eat something healthy and different in a relaxed ambiance with jazz or classical music in the background. At night it’s full of young people and parents who have left their kids with the babysitter, all going wild to the rhythm of boogaloo or funk. Weekends at happy hour the place is bustling with families and friends drinking artisan vermouth.

Behind the stove is Yoyo, cooking “simple things made with care. It is a clean cuisine with traditional methods and high quality products.” Rosa was the president of Slowfood in Barcelona and this food philosophy, with its defense of local and organic ingredients, can be seen in the gastronomy of Balius.

The menu includes a lot of dried fish, like the capellán and excellent sardines they marinate and smoke themselves. Their cheeses are carefully selected and accompanied by chutney and artisan bread from the neighbouring bakery Cruixent. One of the star dishes is definitely the atascaburras, a type of codfish – it’s equally authentic and exhilarating. The mojama cartagenera (salted tuna) won a national award in 2013 and we can assure it’s well deserved. It’s truly delicious and competes with their bellota ham from Castro y González.

The cocktails and vermouth deserve their own mention, and there’s an extensive and carefully chosen selection. Allow yourself to be seduced by one of their classic cocktails or one with vermouth, made with care by the bartender. Without a doubt the wallpaper, velvet and imitation leather sofas invite you to enjoy a good drink.