Number One c. Blai, One Year Old, & One of The Best

La Tieta - Number 1 c. Blai. One year old. And number one in the area?
La Tieta - primer sitio en c. Blai - ¿y el primer bar en la localidad? 

A sure sign that I have fallen well behind in my postings is that La Tieta, a bar I visit on at least a weekly basis recently celebrated its first birthday - and I still hadn't got around to reviewing it. In fact I still don't have the usual photos of the dishes produced by this fine addition to the burgeoning c. Blai scene, so you'll have to take my word for it - or go to c. Blai 1, and try them yourself.

El primer cumpleaños de La Tieta fue un señal muy claro he ido atrasado con mis postings, porque todavía no había escrito algo sobre este bar, que visito al menos una vez por semana. De echo, ni yo tengo tampoco las fotos usuales de los platos, y por lo tanto tendrás probarles por tu mismo. 

Click to enlarge the wine list.
Haz click por ampliar la carta.

La Tieta is modelled on an old-style local, with a chill cabinet atop a modest bar, a few stalls and a price list written on a mirror. It also has a number of dishes you'd expect from a traditional bar, such as tortilla española (although this is rarely on the menu these days, unfortunately) plus cheeses,  complementary olives, and pan con tomate. 


La Tieta esta basado en el local de toda la vida, con un vitrino de enfriar encima de una barra modesta, unos taburetes y los precios escritos en un espejo. También, tiene unos platos tradicionales como tortilla española - aunque solamente esta disponsible raras veces, por desgracia - y quesos, aceitunas gratis, y pan con tomate.


What's new is a great selection of wines at reasonable prices, more innovative, nouvelle dishes such as artichoke hearts with romesco sauce drizzled with olive oil and scattered with sesame seeds, and mushrooms stuffed with black pudding.

Tiny bar, big recommendation.
Barra chica, muy recomendable.

Lo nuevo es una gama amplia de vinos de precios asequibles, platos más innovadores, como corazones de alcachofas con sala romesco, aceite y semillas de sésamo; y champiñones rellenos con morcilla.

Fusing traditional style with newer offerings and friendly service is what La Tieta does so well - both in the no-smoking interior and its terrace. It is also one of the very few good bars in the area with hours to fill the post-lunch-pre-evening dead zone.

La combinación de cosas nuevas y antiguas, y servicio amable es lo que La Tieta hace tan bien. Además es abierto despues de la hora de la comida, cuando la grande mayoría de bares por allí estan cerrados. 

One word of cation - although prices continue to be very good value, portions may be getting a little smaller as the  recession continues to bite. That said, I throughly recommend La Tieta as an enjoyable, inexpensive tapas and wine bar in the heart of Poble-sec.

Una nota de prudencia - aunque los precios se quedan razonables, es possible que el tamaño de raciones se hace más pequeño como una resulta de la crisis. Sin embargo, La Tieta es muy recomendable como un bar de tapas y vinos asequibles en la corazón de Pueblo Seco.  

"36"- The Bar Formerly Known As "Bukowski"

Friendly service plus great wine, not over-priced. Servicio amable, y buen vino.

UNFORTUNATELY 36 HAS NOW CLOSED.

If you ever need to get hold of me and the mobile network is down, and I'm not at home or drinking in La Fontaine, your next best bet it to make tracks for 36, a bar/restaurant that until its first birthday a few weeks before Christmas was known as Bukowski.

Over the last thirteen months the chief attraction has been its peerless white house wine and wonderful cold tapas of sun-dried tomatoes, aubergines and cheese, all seeped in olive oil, all consumed at a cosy table with a great view of the street life at the corner of c. Magarit and c. Elkano.

Last night we thought is was high time we were a little more adventurous with the menu and ordered something different from the menu. So we chose empanadas (€5 for two),  a quesadilla with guacamole (€6) pork and mango with lime and chili dressing (€8.50).

The cook freely admitted buying pre-cooked pastry for the empanadas. In any case, it didn't matter to us, as, thanks to a fantastic filling. The quesadilla was a good size, and had an even better flavour.

But it was the pork that gained top marks. Because of that alone, we will be returning try such other dishes as Thai-style chicken curry (€8.50) and chorizo with chimichurri (€7).

"36" - El Bar Antiguamente Conocido Por El Nombre "Bukowski"

POR DESGRACIA, 36 HA CERRADO.

Si quieraís contactarme alguna vez y no funciona el red de movíles, y no esté en casa o tomando unas copas en La Fontaine, lo mejor  sería iros marchando a 36. Es un bar-restuarant que, hasta su primer cumpleaños, unas semanas antes de Navidad,  fue conocido por el nombre Bukowski.  

Durante los trece meses pasados, el principal encanto por nosotros ha sido su vino blanco de la casa sin par (€2 por copa), y las tapas maravillosas de tomates secas, queso y berenjenas fritas (€3.50 por platillo), todas ahogado en aciete de oliva.  Además , puedeís tomarles a una mesa muy acogedora, con unas vistas de la vida callejera a la esquina de c. Magarit con c. Elkano.

Pues, anoche tuvimos la idea que ya deberíamos ser un poquito más aventurero y pedir algo diferente de la carta. Y por eso, elegimos empanadas (€5 por dos), quesadilla con guacmole (€6) salteado de cerdo y mango con aliño de lima y guindilla (€8.50).

El cocinero reconocío libramente que compra  la masa pre-preparada para hacer las empanadas. Pues, en caulquier caso no nos importo gracias a un relleno riquisimo. La quesadilla fue un buen tamaño, y un sabor aún mejor.

Pero fue el plato de cerdo que sacó lo mejor nota - melloso, picante y muy saboroso. Por eso, volveremos a probar otro platos disponsible como el curry de pollo estilo tailandés (€8.50)  y chorizo criollo con chimichurri (€7).

¡Que Rico!

Hungry yet? I took this at "La Bella Napoli", a great trattoria here in Poble Sec. On the one hand, my visit was simply a pleasant lunch with Mrs HD and a friend of ours. On the other it was an ideal opportunity to finally start reviewing the eateries and watering holes of this fine barri, and actually start publishing some useful information. 

La Bella Napoli

c. de Magarit, 14

Tel 93 442 50 56

13.30 - 16.00, 20.30 - 24.00

Closed Mondays

Takeaway but no delivery

More info on website

Around €25 per head

Beer €3.50 per glass

Wine c. € 12 - 16 per bottle

This place was already more than half full when we arrived at 2pm. On a Wednesday. During the worst recession in years.  So it must be special - the locals certainly seem to think so - it's also packed by 9.30 most evenings, so I advise booking, unless like most Brits, you prefer to eat early. 

The decor is nothing outstanding, but they do have a genuine wood-burning oven, which the chef made the most of when it came to the pizzas. But let's start with the booze. We got through two bottles of a hitherto unknown blush rosé at €14.50 each, which was suprisingly drinkable, despite our initial misgivings. Next we ordered a plate of Carciofi friti, battered, deep-fried artichokes, which were first-rate and fresh, not at all oily, but not as crisp as tempura. And there were plenty of them - good value at €9. 

For the next course, Mrs HD plumped for pasta - rigalatoni serentina, which consisted of a ragu with smoke provolone and basil. Verdict - excellent. Our friend and I opted for pizza. Some people say that pizza is a bit like consensual sex - it can never really be that bad, and I agree up to a point. And whilst there's not a whole Karma Sutra to choose from

at La Bella Napoli, there's a good range, including Pizza calzone con ciccioli, a folded pizza stuffed with Nutella. We gave that one a miss for fear of early-onset diabetes, however, with me ordering the bufalina - buffalo mozzarella, fresh tomato slices and a scattering of basil leaves - as shown in the photo at the top of the page. The dough had exactly the right balance between crunch and chew, the minimal use of good tomatoes proved that less is indeed more, and the added depth of the classier type of mozzarella all added up to a great eating experience. Our friend went for the less earthy Sofia Loren, pictured here, featuring fresh cherry tomatoes, rucola, bresola and shards of parmesan. No complaints there either. We finished the meal of with carajillos de ron, or in my case a lemonchello. We didn't try the home-made tiramisu, which is reported to be good.

All in all, sixty-odd euros well spent. My only criticism would be that the wine selection was limited - and limited to some rather off-puttingly unknown vintages, but the food itself could hardly be bettered, particularly at the price.

Over the next few months I'll be attempting to review other restaurants and bars in the area, so watch this space. If you've eaten  at La Bella Napoli, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of it. Bon profit!