From having sevillanas on the walls to an 'In Catalan, please': twenty years of Tapas24

BarcelonaThe restaurant Tapas 24 (c. Diputació) has been open for twenty years, and in all this time it has experienced all sorts of things. It was opened by chef Carles Abellan, with a career that has included the restaurant El Bulli and has been awarded Michelin stars in different restaurants, and is currently run by its employees. Since its beginnings, Tapas 24 has been a successful formula. Because of its location, its dishes, its product, and because it attracted tourists who were looking precisely for dishes to share, which they were told was common in Barcelona.

The initial aesthetic could be described as very gypsy-like, with sevillanas and bulls drawn from the entrance door to many of the walls, but today it is no longer so. Sevillanas are still maintained, but now on the plates and also on the napkins there is another premise: In Catalan, please. It is even written on the coasters, and it aligns with the feeling that the chef Carles Abellan confesses to always have for our language. The menu and the blackboards are also written in Catalan. And inside the dishes, the usual recipes, of great quality, especially the salads, the fish and the seafood. Order the fried anchovies, the prawns and the mullets, which are three dishes of seasonal fish.

The classics are not missing. The "bikinis" are maintained, and they probably won't ever be able to remove them from the menu. The same goes for the desserts, with the three scoops of chocolate with bread and extra virgin olive oil. It is true that these desserts are everywhere, that many examples of places where they make them come to mind, but Tapas 24 has maintained them for twenty years. So, for many more years, Tapas 24, and in Catalan, please, always!