No Sweat

C/Vic 19 : Fontana : Gracia FGC
www.barnosweat.com : Tel. (+34) 93 415 2956
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If your night out begins in Gracia and you fancy stepping the pace up a gear and heading in the direction of the trendier, clubbier and pricier area of Maria Cubi and Aribau, you would do well to stop off at No Sweat along the way. Sandwiched inbetween Gran de Gracia and Via Augusta, this bar may not be the biggest or most famous in town, but it is deceptively charming. From the outside it seems small and unremarkable, but like Dr Who's Tardis, once you step inside it's a whole lot bigger. The walls are covered in stylized pictures of iconic movie images, from Marlon Brando to Darth Vader to Audrey Hepburn and far too many from Tarantino films. The bar wraps all the way around from the entrance into the pool section and this place is a particularly good place to prop up the bar. It's also big enough for groups and there's a dartboard, a pool table and a foosball table for when too much booze has rendered meaningful conversation impossible.
Paul

Miss You

C/Bonavista, 6 : Fontana : Diagonal
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This tasteful and excellently named pre-club bar is the kind of place you don't come across very often in Gracia. Whereas most bars in the area are bohemian, cosy and eclectic, Miss You is a much more mainstream affair with snazzy décor and funky tunes. Consisting of one big (by Gracia's standards, in the UK it would be rather small) room with no little nooks or enclaves to explore, there's no where to run and no where to hide. It somehow pulls off the nifty trick of being both brightly (but not starkly) lit and yet still maintaining the feel of a dark late-night bar. Being situated at the bottom of Gran de Gracia and the top of Passeig de Gracia, it's very easy to find and would make a good final bar stop before heading to nearby "club" Alfa. The only problem with Miss You is that for a self-styled pre-club bar it just doesn't seem to be getting the punters in and as a result it's not quite as happening as it would clearly like to be. Nevertheless, it certainly fills a gap in the Gracia bar scene and is well worth a look.
Paul

El Teatre / George Payne

Plaza Urquinaona, 5 : Urquinaona : Plaza Catalunya : Passeig de Gracia
www.thegeorgepayneirishbar.com : Tel. (+34) 93 481 5294
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This enormous pub in Plaza Urquinaona has something for everyone. El Teatre is divided into four rooms: a stylish cocktail lounge, a spacious main bar with DJ, an upstairs restaurant with gentlemen's club style leather chairs overlooking the main bar and the George Payne Irish pub section. The atmosphere is remarkably friendly and relaxed for a commercial bar of its size and the general vibe is definitely classier than the average downtown Irish pub. The copious drinks selection encompasses the usual favourites like Estrella, Guinness and cider, as well alcopops and an impressively long cocktail list. The restaurant is rather posh and the prices reflect this (set menus start at 28 euros, although you can also do your wallet a favour and just nibble on some tapas). This boozer is not so classy that it neglects to cater for sports fans, however, and all Spanish league and Champions league matches are shown as well as the best of other major sports. El Teatre is also slightly unusual in that it hosts private functions such as weddings, private parties, and stag and hen nights. You can hire out one of the four rooms or, if you've got the dosh, the entire place. The bar has only recently opened and consequently the atmosphere and clientele is a bit variable, although no doubt in time the pub will find its own vibe. At the moment, it's a fine place to start your weekend.
Paul

Schilling

C/Ferran, 23 : Liceu : Jaume
www.cafeschilling.com : Tel. +34 93 317 6787
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What is there left to say about this Barcelona institution? Residents will no doubt already be well aware of this famous café's charms and those that are not should really pay a visit, if only to be able to say that they've been. While I can't help but find Schilling a teensy bit overrated, it's definitely a good place for tourists to head to as it boasts a pretty much unbeatable location (if central equals good, that is) and it's one of the premier people-watching spots in town, due mainly to the diverse crowds that spill back and forth between the Ramblas and Plaza San Jaume. Next door to Starbucks and a short stagger from Plaza Reial, Schilling is a classy and thoroughly continental antidote to the more mainstream pleasures of its neighbours. Refreshingly spacious (for a Catalan bar), the ceilings are high, the seats are comfy and the lighting is elegant. During the day, Schilling is a bustling café serving breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, then, as the sun goes down, it morphs into a lively cocktail bar welcoming a mixed crowd of young and old, straight and gay, tourists and locals. It's not my favourite downtown hangout, but it's certainly a very convenient place to meet people and a classic bar that every self-respecting drinker should tick off their list.
Paul

The Rock

Plaça del Fossar de les Moreres, 5 : Jaume I or Barceloneta
Tel. +34 61 943 2737
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Surprisingly large chilled out bar, with a cool downstairs lower level space with seating. Upstairs is mostly for standing or propping up the bar. This place seems to attract the ex-pat and local crowd in equal amounts, with the odd smattering of tourists who are prepared to cross the plaça to enter into it's relaxed atmosphere. The decor is sort of rustic with wood - a bit difficult to describe really, because to be honest it's rather bland, if not offensive. Some would call the sound system subtle, others underpowered. Given the bar's Ibiza roots the tunes were surprisingly from the more muzak end of the dance house scene. On the other hand this makes The Rock one of those bars where you can actually hear what your friends are saying - you need to decide if that's a good thing or not. If not, you can always hit the good caipirinhas to take away the pain. The bar definitely has a "younger, hip crowd" feel to it, but that didn't make this 30 something geezer feel uncomfortable ;-) That said, the Rock only manages to make you want to stay for one cocktail before heading back out into the night in search of somewhere with a touch more character. Still, this place is an excellent pitstop for a drink, as part of a El Born based bar hopping crawl.
Karma