My sister had met up with her coworker and wife, and they had asked me where to eat… We were near Barcelonetta, and I was not very familiar with the restaurants in that area. A quick search on Tripadvisor suggested us to go to to El Vaso de Oro. It’s extremely close to the Barcelonetta metro station, but when we got there, we questioned if we were at the right place. From the outside, the wooden signage makes it look like an old pub. Peeking in, you’ll see a line of chairs against the bar. Locals all having some beer and tapas. Along the wall, you’ll see a few tables with no chairs. But don’t make that be the reason you leave, because it offers some of the best food! You’re going to have to squeeze yourself here to even find a spot to stand… Yup, we ended up standing by one of the bar stools, because there was no room at the long bar table. Worth it though!

We had no idea what to order and with the menu being all in Catalan, it was quite difficult for me to understand anything. Service isn’t amazing or anything because it’s extremely busy in here, but this old Spanish man who worked behind the bar was really nice and would pop by to help us out. We asked what he would recommend, and with his limited English abilities and some finger pointing, he ordered several dishes for us to share. We got some complementary free baguettes, which were typical. Then, we got some Iberian Ham Croquettes. We also got some Iberian Ham Montaditos. Very typical Spanish tapas. I really enjoyed the croquettes since they are a little cheesy with the hint of ham. The Iberian Ham Montaditos were just alright. I’ve learned that I’m not a huge fan of Iberian Ham. I find it very strong in the pig flavour, and it’s not something I’m entirely into. It can also be quite tough sometimes and if there’s fat, then it’s very hard to chew. I’m more into the prosciutto type of ham, where it’s sliced very thing and easy to chew.

Next up, we got the Russian Salad. This is also a typical Spanish tapa. It’s basically like a tuna salad. It came with these little baked pieces of bread, so they were super crunchy. The only thing was there was more salad than the bread, so you would get so much leftover salad to eat on its own. Putting the salad on the bread was so much better because you get a crunch as well. I would recommend getting this salad!

Lastly, we got the Steak, which is what this cerverceria is famous for! Honestly, I didn’t get how good steak could be when I was reading the reviews. In fact, the steak isn’t that cheap either, and you only get around 8 pieces. But holy….these were heavenly. It’s cooked to perfection at medium rare and were the most tender pieces of steak I’ve ever had. They come already cut into cubes so it’s easy to eat, and there isn’t too much seasoning or what, but the flavour of meet just bursts in your mouth. Super juicy and is a must order! They also have steak with foie, but our friends were not big fans of foie. I could only imagine how great that would taste. We ended up ordering another plate of this steak because it was so good. I could seriously just come here to have a plate of this to myself and being fully satisfied.

Overall, extremely satisfied with El Vaso de Oro. We almost came back here another time because we were craving the steak so much. Even my Spanish professor recommended this spot for good steak. Super local place where you’ll here Spanish or Catalan only. I don’t think I saw any tourists when I went! It’s not the cheapest place to get tapas, but I think the quality of food makes it worthy. Good place to just grab a snack, but maybe not get full.