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Tast a la Rambla turns Plaça de Catalunya into a large gastronomic bar
Barcelona is eating in the street again with one of its most recognisable gastronomic events. Tast a la Rambla celebrates its 12th edition from 28 to 31 May in Plaça de Catalunya, transformed for four days into a large open bar where visitors can try sweet and savoury tapas from some of the city’s most outstanding restaurants and pastry shops.
Entry will be free and each tasting will cost 6 euros, a formula that makes it possible to get close to haute cuisine without a reservation, without a formal tablecloth and without paying a restaurant bill. This year, 30 restaurants and six patisseries are taking part, with names such as Enoteca, Cinc Sentits, Atempo, Compartir Barcelona, Dos Pebrots, Nectari, Gaig, Tapas 24, Casa Amàlia, Familia Nuri, Leña and Virens.
The sweet section is also arriving in force, with patisseries such as Escribà, L’Atelier Barcelona, Takashi Ochiai, Sauleda and Mervier Canal. For many visitors, that is one of the charms of Tast: being able to move from a savoury tapa to a signature dessert without leaving the square and without having to choose a single restaurant.
The programme will go beyond eating. There will be showcookings, tastings, live music and gastronomic activities designed to see chefs and producers at work up close. Highlights include demonstrations by cooks linked to Disfrutar, MontBar, Cinc Sentits, Dos Palillos and Estimar, as well as experiences such as Balfegó's virtual reality around bluefin tuna.
This year's edition also looks beyond Barcelona. Saborea Lanzarote will bring volcanic cuisine and island wines; Raíz Culinaria-Castilla-La Mancha will bring dishes and products from its five provinces; and Andorra, Gastronomia d’Alta Muntanya will showcase mountain cooking linked to the territory and local produce. That crossing of accents broadens the fair without making it lose its centre: Barcelona as a gastronomic meeting point.
The timetable will make it possible to enjoy both lunch and the afternoon. According to the published programme, the festival will open from 12:00 to 22:00 on Thursday and Sunday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. The location in plaza de Catalunya is being kept provisionally because of the Rambla transformation works, but it also works in its favour: it is central, visible and easy to reach by public transport.
This edition's Premio Tast a la Rambla will go to Ramon Agenjo, an Estrella Damm executive and great-grandson of the company's founder, for his role in promoting Barcelona's gastronomic culture. The recognition coincides with the brand's 150th anniversary and reinforces the historic link between hospitality, beer and social life in the city.
Tast a la Rambla works because it turns gastronomy into something shared, quick and urban. It does not replace restaurants, but it does allow people to try them in another way: standing up, in a full square, comparing dishes and discovering places they may perhaps return to later with more time. In a city where eating is also a way of moving through neighbourhoods, cultures and seasons, this fair reminds us that good cooking does not always need a closed door: sometimes a tapa, a short queue and the desire to try something new are enough.