Mexican food in Barcelona? Pues, claro ¡a Casa Mexicana!

As I've written before, Barcelona's cosmopolitan nature is reflected in the menus on offer in the city's many and diverse restaurants. In addition to dining establishments serving the richly varied cuisine of Spain (Andalusian, Basque, Catalan, Galician, Valencian, etc.), there are many places offering food from other parts of the world; this includes more than a few Mexican restaurants. My favorite of these by far is Casa Mexicana.

Located in the Porto Olimpico, Casa Mexicana is right next door to the Chinese restaurant I wrote about in July 2007. Like that place, there is a comfortable interior dining room filled with lots of natural light, as well as open air terrace where diners can enjoy a harbor view while eating.

The reasonably priced menu includes a wide range of items such as nachos, tacos, quesadillas, flautas, tamales, chilaquiles, burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, chimichangas, chicken mole, BBQ chicken, grilled steak and even Tex-Mex lasagna. Vegetarian varieties of many dishes are also available. For dessert choose from buñelos with whipped-cream and/or chocolate sauce, a slice of the cake of the day, or fresh fruit.

Interestingly, Casa Mexicana is the only Mexican restaurant in Barcelona that serves breakfast. Every weekday morning diners can enjoy either huevos rancheros with bacon, huevos a la Mexicana, huevos con papas, huevos con chorizo or a Mexican omelet. And serving sizes are very generous, whether its a breakfast, lunch or dinner dish.

From Monday through Friday Casa Mexicana offers excellent lunch specials for only 8.95 euros, plus tax. As an example of these mid-day specials, let me tell you about what I frequently order -- creature of habit that I am. Usually I begin with a tasty starter of nachos with cheese and guacamole. For the main plate I typically choose one of their huge beef burritos, which bulge with meat, veggies, cheese and sour cream. This comes with a fresh green salad, half of a baked potato and pico de gallo. For a follow up to this hearty and scrumptious meal I almost always go with a helping of their delicious buñelos, which I prefer with whipped-cream, but sans chocolate sauce. Of course, like most "menus del día" in Spain, the price of the lunch includes a choice of wine, beer, water or soft drink. It all amounts to a delectable deal, indeed.

The owners of Casa Mexicana are a friendly couple named Michael and Carina. If you ever visit the restaurant, ask for one of them and mention to him or her that you learned about their restaurant from Carloz's blog and you may just get a free tequila!

Buen provecho amig@s,

Carloz

Casa Mexicana

C/ Marina 16-18

08005 Barcelona

Hours:

Breakfast Weekday Mornings 8h - 12h

Lunch Weekdays and Weekends 12h - 17h

Dinner Weekdays and Weekends 19h - 24h

Reservations accepted:
Email: casa.mexicana.bcn@gmail.com
Phone (+34) 932 215 645
Web: http://www.casa-mexicana-bcn.eu/
Menu in English and Spanish.

WOKImarket - another economical eatery in Barceloneta - and vegetarians will like this one!

WOKImarket hasn't even been open a year yet, but has become one of my favorite places to get a delicious, low cost meal on the go. This Argentine-owned establishment specializes in wok-prepared food. Located just across from Barceloneta beach, the space is nice, modern and Ikea-like with Asian cooks busily stir-frying meals right in the middle of the place, for all to see.
.
"Menus" in English, Spanish, Catalan and French are printed on brown slips of paper. Patrons grab one, write a name at the top, check boxes to choose the make-up of their dish (a base for 4.50, additional ingredients for either 1 euro or 1.50 and a sauce for free) and then hand the completed slip over the counter to one of the cooks.
.
The 4.50 euro base is made up of vegetables stir-fried with an egg plus one of the following choices: rice noodles, egg noodles, white rice or mixed vegetables. (Vegans note: the egg can be withheld.)
.
Additional ingredients to choose from for 1 euro each are: chicken, tofu, spinach, broccoli, green beans, peanuts, sesame, banana, mushrooms and eggplant. For 1.50 each one can choose from beef, shrimp and codfish.
.
As I mentioned, sauces are free. The choices as they appear on English version of the menu are:

Thai (coconut milk with herbs), China (sweet and sour sauce), Casa ("house secret" reads the description), Japo (teriyaki sauce -- by the way, that's not a typo of mine on "Japo" -- that's how it spelled on the menu), Spacy (hot sauce -- hmm, could they have meant "Spicy"?) Ho Sin (black sweet "beens" sauce) and Malaya (coconut milk and palm oil).
.
During the meal's preparation, customers can either watch the cooks while they "wok" or browse the market part of the establishment. The market contains imported items from Asian, Latin American and European countries, including a variety of drinks, sauces, noodles, seaweed, seasoning, rice, cookies, candies, jams, jellies, etc. Note: unlike the meals, market items are expensive.
.
Dishes are served in stereotypical Chinese take-out containers, which are convenient for carrying to the beach to enjoy a meal in the sand or on a bench.
.
Oh, and it's all very tasty!
.
Enjoy your meal amig@s,
.
Carloz
.
WOKImarket
Paeso Maritimo 1 / Passeig Maritim 1
Playa Barceloneta / Platja Barceloneta
08003 Barcelona
Tel: 93 224 12 51
Email: Wokimarket@yahoo.com