Hello Jason,
These are some brief impressions. We went to places which run the gamut from local hole in the wall to higher end. My wife and I agreed that there was quality to be found at all tiers, just depends on personal preference for what one likes in food.
Curiously, our overall favorite meal was at an Italian restaurant called Bacaro, which is on a side street not far from the Mercat de La Boqueria. Casual, well run and it seemed to be habituated by locals, likely rare for the physical location. The pasta dishes were super fresh as was the fish of the day and calamari, prices fair, just a satisfying meal all around. Had we had time we would have returned.
We went to Monvinic on Wednesday night and the place was dead. Got there at 8:30 PM and pretty much closed the joint. It is a pretty space and the food is good plus, however, the one gripe I would have is that multiple side dishes were served cold and it seemed that the kitchen was not on top of their game in organizing that stuff. That said, had a very tasty stuffed duck and warmed chocolate dessert. The sommelier Bernat was very nice and helpful. We scored their final bottle of 1998 Wendouree Shiraz-Malbec at a fair price given the wine's rarity. Followed up with a 2006 Valentini Montepulciano which needed a lot of air to get going. I would recommend Monvinic but don't expect something like a "Danny Meyer" type place experience.
I really liked the gritty vibe of La Cova Fumada in La Barceloneta waterfront, they did not even have a sign out front. Very authentic and fresh food. If in this area worth a visit.
El Xampanyet was okay, nothing special and really was borderline too touristy for us and we were fully enjoying being "touristic" as they say there. Food was good, that's about it.
We only had drinks at Bar Brutal so cannot comment on the food. Their wine list is superb and worth a visit for that. We had a 1998 Jamet Cote-Rotie for not too much $$$ simply based on its rarity but there were pages of current release wines which all would have been great choices.
El Mercader de l'Eixample was slightly disappointing, was expecting something more inventive and it was kind of pricey for what you got plus the service was nothing to write home about.
If you go to La Boqueria we really did enjoy Bar Pinoxto and the food was fresh and delicious and worth the wait to get served. We agreed this was one of our favorite places. We did not get to visit El Quim, another similar place recommended to us in La Boqueria.
Tapas 24 was actually better than expected, long wait to get in though and the crowd was mostly tourists. But the food was good and just off center enough to differentiate it from more standard tapas places. The steak tartar served in a warmed avocado was outstanding.
Bar Cañete was good plus, was fancier than expected, very crowded. Good for people watching and if you like a higher energy vibe.
Carmelitas was another place that was good but nothing remarkable. When I say this, it is not a slam. We really did not have a bad meal the whole time in Barcelona and ate out every meal. Maybe it was a sameness of the menus we experienced over time. Only so much squid or octopus you can eat in a week.
We had a very good cannelloni at Fermi Puig made out of thinly sliced avocado and stuffed with crab meat. Quite good. This place too (very chi-chi) was dead and empty all night. Service here *was* good. Although it amused most of the dining room guests that we would hear periodic thunderous cheers from the kitchen due to the Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid match going on as we dined. Again, we did not mind but Meyer probably would have canned the whole kitchen staff for that, hah. It was really that loud.
If you like beer, I was on a mission to track down as much Cantillon as possible and scored some at two beer shops, Bier Cab and La Bona Pinta. The craft beer thing is growing there pretty well. Ale & Hop was another place we visited but it was ehh.
We did not make it to Quimet y Quimet but a couple we met said very nice things about it, they did note it was super crowded. We planned this trip for late May to try and avoid crowds and summer heat.
I can recommend Spanish Trails for wine tours. We had a fun day excursion to Priorat and visited three wineries. Priorat is very beautiful in a rugged way and the tour was informative and unrushed (thirteen hours). Thumbs up. We visited Pasanau, Clos Figueras (mostly for lunch as they have a nice on premise restaurant) and Clos Dominic.
We stayed in the Gracia area which was awesome. Walking distance to most any place and quieter than the old town. Air BnB apartment, affordable and added to the feel of being in Barcelona as a regular person. l'Eixample is full of high end boutique stores and high end hotels it seems.
For Gaudi, we agree that Casa Batlló was the most "complete" experience, wonderful place. Blocks from La Pedrera so both are doable in a single visit. Get tickets in advance and go as early in the morning as you can, beat the rush. Leave two hours for each visit.
If you have the time and inclination, the Botanical Garden on Montjuic is stunning and it seems to be severely overlooked. Glad we skipped touring the castle and went here instead. Walking down Montjuic with the views of the city was very nice. And we got to hear Coldplay warm up for that night's show at the Olympic Stadium (not a fan but still neat).
I am happy to answer any additional questions as I can, hope the above is of some help.
