• 5
• The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had

There is nothing to fear at El Maderal other than when it's time to leave. I had the pleasure of meeting Harp the Barcelona Happy Cow Ambassador in April 2016 and we discussed this new place on the Barca vegan scene. It's only a short walk from Arc de Triomf and adjacent to the former bullfighting arena chamber of horrors, The Monumental. We were expecting a typical beer / trash food pub experience but how wrong we were. This is a modern, smart and elegant place decked in clean efficient wood panelling. Very neat & tidy. It's set up for high class high tabled vegan tapas dining but it also has a traditional seated bar area for drinks and chit chat. We had a couple of Catalonian craft beers to wash down a succulent seitan skewer and an aubergine, garlic and tahini dip with bread. As expected with tapas, portion sizes are quite small and at around €5 to €10 each, not cheap. The quality however was astonishing. After a second visit in November 2016 and a sumptuous two and three quarter hour dining experience full of intense flavour, friendly conversation and vegan fulfilment I have had to upgrade my original review from April 2016 from 4 to 5 Happy Cows. When I realised there are 120 gins available here I took the opportunity of ending the night with a gin and tonic. The gin was a Macaronesian from The Canary Islands, made to perfection and made with love and attention. This is a place we will always make room to return to in Barcelona. Updated from previous review on 2016-11-19