Top Barcelona Hotel Restaurants for Luxury Dining

Photo courtesy ABAC Restaurant & Hotel

Looking for an unforgettable (and mouth-watering!) foodie experience in Spain? Contributor Gina Baksa visits the best luxury Barcelona hotel restaurants

Barcelona is not just a pretty face, with its historic buildings, world-renown galleries, and top luxury hotels. With a sub-tropical Mediterranean climate, some of Europe’s best beaches, exquisite sunsets, and a world-class football team, this vibrant Spanish beachside metropolis is also home to the very best Catalan cuisine.

Across all the neighbourhoods, there are hundreds of restaurants, cafés, tapas bars, and Barcelona hotel restaurants where visitors can savour tapas, delicious jamon, and even molecular gastronomy. During your Catalan holiday, you don’t have to step outside of your luxury Barcelona hotel to savour Michelin-starred restaurants.

With convivial settings and outstanding local and regional cuisine, here are 10 of the best luxury Barcelona hotel restaurants.

Top Luxury Barcelona Hotel Restaurants

ABAC Restaurant & Hotel

The best Barcelona city break for foodies begins at the ABaC Restaurant & Hotel. This chic property is located in the hilly north of Barcelona on the mansion-lined Avenida del Tibidabo.

The property boasts its own 3 Michelin star restaurant, and guests enjoy award-winning cuisine while seated in an indoor pavilion overlooking beautiful gardens. Head Chef Jordi Cruz whips up a storm at ABaC Restaurant with his Catalan specials and inventive cuisine.

Fresh local provenance is used where possible, and the oak parquet flooring and sophisticated lighting lends a luxurious warm ambiance as a backdrop to the superb food. This is one of the best restaurants in Barcelona, and we recommend the tasting menu that includes grilled squid, grouse, and onion soup.

Upstairs in the hotel, elegant guest rooms are bathed in light, with a neutral calming colour scheme. Top choice is the Penthouse suite – a spacious homage to relaxation with its own Jacuzzi, Hermes toiletries, and separate living and dining areas overlooking the city and the gardens.

Reviews, Rates, & reservations: For further details, visit ABAC Restaurant & Hotel.

Hotel Duquesa de Cardona Barcelona

Highly recommended among Gothic Quarter Barcelona hotels, the historic Hotel Duquesa de Cardona enjoys a central location with views over Port Vell. The property is ideally located within walking distance of the city’s main attractions, beaches, and fun things to do.

Alongside its superior accommodation – we love the junior suite – the Hotel Duquesa’s star attraction is the in-house Restaurante Olentia and cocktail bar. One of the best Barcelona hotel restaurants, the Olentia (Latin for scent) has a superb tasting menu and a wine list offering many Catalan varieties.

Choose from hand-sliced Iberian ham and cod fritters, as well as mouth-watering surf and turf options, including squid and cuttlefish rice. Set near the famous Las Ramblas pedestrian avenue, guests can take an after-dinner stroll and enjoy a nightcap in one of the many bars in the area.

Reviews, Rates, & reservations: For further details, visit Hotel Duquesa de Cardona Barcelona.

 Ohla Eixample

One of the main attractions at this luxury Barcelona hotel is an invigorating rooftop lap pool, but Ohla Eixample’srenowned Xerta restaurant is another reason for its popularity. Helmed by Michelin-starred Chef Fran López, Xerta is a showcase for the cuisine from his Terres de l’Ebre homeland, located in the north of Spain and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Shellfish, game, and meat are menu highlights, skilfully merged with Asian and French nouvelle cuisine influences. The exquisite tasting menu is a bucket-list dining experience with carefully curated wine pairings from the resident sommelier. If lighter tapas are your preference, then head to the adjacent Xerta Tapas Bar where breakfast is also served each morning.

The luxurious Barcelona accommodations in this former office building mixes wood, glass, and steel to stylish effect. Junior suites and penthouses on the upper floors showcase panoramic views of the Barcelona skyline.

Reviews, Rates, & reservations: For further details, visit Ohla Eixample.

Olivia Plaza Hotel

This delightful 4-star Barcelona boutique hotel enjoys an unbeatable location directly on the Plaça de Catalunya and is one of the most popular hotels in Barcelona city centre. Its snazzy design aesthetics are reflected in its standard and superior guest rooms and penthouse.

We love the superior rooms with private terrace on the 9th floor. These special accommodations overlook the square and boast total soundproofing – essential in an often-noisy Barcelona.

Multilingual staff at the Olivia Plaza’s Nineteen Restaurant will ensure you are served the very best Catalan and Mediterranean cuisine. With a romantic setting adjacent to the Church of Santa Anna, the first floor comprises the Nineteen terrace enclosed in glass. The upper level is the beautiful garden dining area with its ivy-clad backdrop.

If day spent sightseeing isn’t enough exercise, guests have access to Holmes Place Urquinaona Fitness Club and Spa. The Olivia Plaza Hotel has meeting space available and has been designed with comfort and convenience in mind.

Reviews, Rates, & reservations: Visit Olivia Plaza Hotel for more details.

Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos I

The luxurious Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos I is a premier Barcelona resort hotel offering an exclusive urban retreat in the heart of this historic city. Located on the upscale Avenida Diagonal near Camp Nou football stadium and Cervantes Park, the Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos I is an ideal location for those visiting Barcelona for business or pleasure.

Lucky guests have expansive, stunning gardens to escape to after a hectic day of sightseeing. Choose from 37 suites here, which afford panoramic views over Barcelona, all with Nespresso machines and a separate lounge area.

Foodies will love the Fairmont’s B24 Restaurant with its fine offering of Spanish and Catalan cuisine, alongside smooth cocktails and an excellent wine list that reflects the best vintages of the region. Relax with coffee and live piano music in the afternoons, while the pace livens up later with regular evening DJ sets.

Reviews, Rates, & reservations: For more information, please visit Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos I.

Cram Hotel

Luxury Barcelona hotels with restaurants don’t come much better than the award-winning 4-star Cram Hotel. A worthy recipient of 2 Michelin stars for its Angle Restaurant, guests can expect unparalleled service alongside authentic Catalan and Mediterranean cuisine in a minimalist yet cosy setting.

Helmed by celebrity chef Jordi Cruz, the food here showcases the freshest seasonal ingredients, providing diners with accessible haute cuisine. Specials include Carabinero bouillabaisse with aniseed and saffron, and roasted turbot with barnacles, aubergines, and pickled chives.

Retire to your elegant suite for coffee and relax on the private terrace before a Jacuzzi – Bulgari amenities, of course – and a nightcap. Sleep will be deep on the luxurious Treca de Pari beds.

Sound-proofing is de rigueur between rooms as well on the exterior of the hotel. Ask reception for details of their special vacation packages and treat your beloved to a romantic Barcelona city break.

Reviews, Rates, & reservations: For more details, visit Cram Hotel.

Hotel Catalonia Ramblas

Barcelona hotel restaurants don’t come much better than the Hotel Catalonia Ramblas, located in the historical centre near the famous Las Ramblas and a hop, skip and a jump to the Plaza Cataluña. This Modernist building – the only one on the street – has been artfully refurbished out of the offices of the former La Vanguardia newspaper space.

Special features include an indoor garden and terrace alongside a spa and swimming pool. Choose the tastefully furnished superior terrace room with private pool and panoramic views across Barcelona and the hotel gardens.

Enjoy cocktails on the rooftop Vanguard deck and watch the sunset before supper at the hotel’s favoured Restaurant Pelai. Catalan and Med cuisine is the focus here and authentic coal-fired grill preparation is featured.

Reviews, Rates, & reservations: For more details, visit Hotel Catalonia Ramblas.

Hotel Neri

We love this 5-star Gothic Quarter hotel and restaurant – part of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux collection – and an ideal Barcelona city break hotel. Partly housed in a restored 12th century medieval palace replete with courtyard, the Hotel Neri is a unique boutique hotel in Barcelona just a short walk from Barcelona Cathedral and other major tourist sites.

Relax over an aperitif on the rooftop terrace before supper at the delightful A Restaurant – the only restaurant on Sant Felip Neri Square. Bold cuisine from Chef Alain Guiard makes the most of local freshness and provenance resulting in high-end dishes to suit every palate.

Accommodations at the Neri includes 22 rooms and suites. Six unique apartments with access to all the hotel amenities and services are also available.

Reviews, Rates, & reservations: Visit Hotel Neri for more details.

The Serras Hotel Barcelona

The Serras Hotel Barcelona is a 5-star Barcelona hotel that enjoys a superb location just a 15-minute taxi from the city’s best beaches and major sightseeing. Las Ramblas, with its popular shops, bars, and restaurants is just a 7-minute walk and the Picasso Museum, El Born Quarter, and the Barcelona Cathedral are all close by.

A Barcelona luxury boutique hotel with classy rooms to match, we recommend a stay in the two-bedroom Grand Suite Mediterranean. The master bedroom boasts a private balcony overlooking the Med, and there are three bathrooms.

The Serras is one of our favorite luxury Barcelona hotels with restaurants. Hunker down with room service or reserve a table at the Restaurante Informal and enjoy fresh, innovative Catalan cuisine from Chef Marc Gascons. Imagine a thoroughly seasonal menu with meat and fish options: the winter truffles and grilled turbot are delicious, while the wine list gives a nod to local home-grown vintages as well as classic European favourites.

The Rooftop bar and terrace offers stunning views of the city and the sea, and Le Nine is the popular and sleek lounge bar. Breakfast is available and included with special rates.

Reviews, Rates, & reservations: For more details, visit The Serras Hotel Barcelona.

Renaissance Barcelona Hotel

Just 8 miles from Barcelona Airport, the Renaissance Barcelona Hotel in the Eixample district has a design that reflects its buzzy downtown neighbourhood. Set in the heart of the action near Paseo de Gracia, the hotel’s Goja Rooftop Experience is the ideal pitstop for relaxing over cocktails and light bites with panoramic views over Barcelona.

Visit the Mayan Luxury Spa or work out at the gym before dinner at Rumbo Bar & Eatery. Private dining for 10 or more can be arranged at CRU, where breakfast is served each morning.

Our favourite accommodation here is the spacious 1-bedroom R-load apartment, with sofa and dedicated workspace. For longer stays, the microwave and minifridge are especially welcome.

Reviews, Rates, & reservations: For more details, visit the Renaissance Barcelona Hotel.

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Contributor Gina Baksa writes about luxury travel at: https://ginabaksa.journoportfolio.com.