Vioko and Cremeria Toscana

you can't go to Barcelona and not eat ice cream. I favour Cremeria Toscana de to the fact that it has a more creamy consistency. My favourite flavour combo is a scoop of coconut and of plum. The little one inhaled the dark chocolate ice cream and woudl up-end the container to get every last drop.The two locations, one diagonally across from Paco Meralgo and the other in Born are also quite handy. Vioko is on the other end, v modern with some unusual flavours like lavender and black pepper. The portions are huge so get one between two! Its great for the beach.

Cuines Santa Caterina 2012

Probably the most disappointing of our meals. Again chosen because it was child friendly and had a varied menu. Some of the food was tasty but the portions were on the small side and it was one of our more expensive meals. The service was brisk and efficient which is fine as it was a busy lunchtime. The fact that I can't actually remember what we had speaks volumes to the fact that it was not a memorable meal, whereas others are burned into my mind. If in the area I would probably head to Barcoa the sister burger restaurant to Kiosko.

Can Ravell 2012

This was one of our most favourite and tasty meals, although one of the most expensive. It is majorly old school and exceedingly charming. We had the menu de tapes, which had 5 dishes and was shared between us all. I had the arros del dia, which was rich and umami filled. The ous ferrats chistorra again, very tasty with a generous amount of chorizo. The tomata escabet was fresh and light, and we had a mini portion of 3 puddings. We will definitely return here. A feast for 4 came to 131.73 Euro with a lot of food, some soft drinks and a couple of glasses of wine.

Bubo

Another old favourite. Still providing exquisite creations at prices that would be unheard of in this country. I don't know how they do it. The little one was like a child in a sweet shop (which he was). Tucked in a little corner by the Santa Maria Square in Born it's definitely worth a stop.

Kiosko burger

This places serves really tasty burgers, and its child friendly. Its the perfect place to pick up lunch or an eraly dinner if you have had a day at the Parc Cituadella. you have to join a queue and then give your order at the desk much like the original maccie d's but what you get is vastly superior. They were so tasty that I forgot to take photos. We tried the Catalana and the Asturiana with their french fries and a drink each for 24 euros. I would go back.

Cacao Sampaka

Travelling with a child gives the experience of eating all things chocolate another dimension. The brownie was a bit dry but the hot chocolate and in particular my cold chocolate with passionfruit was immensely pleasurable. It had my tastebuds singing, so much so I tried to go back the next day for another but it was shut :(

Hawksmoor Spitalfields Bar

The Spitalfields venue is the only Hawksmoor branch we have been to and it's one that we have made a point of going every trip we have made to London over the last 8 years. The reason for this is not only the excellent steak that they serve but also because the bar upstairs served what we considered the best cocktails in London. Of course now there is more competition with the likes of Nightjar, wsws and Purl but when I heard that they had developed a bar downstairs with its own 'snack' menu I thought that it sounded like heaven. I wasn't far wrong. I loved it. Having used reclaimed materials the 1920's shabby chic look was the perfect setting for prohibition era cocktails. We had a comfy table in the corner which was great for people watching and the staff from bar to wait we're very accommodatin The food was very very tasty. The menu had the perfect combinations of rich and meaty with spicy and light. I really had a very happy tummy. We had the burger which was its usual perfect self, but the revelation with the short rib French dip. I do believe that HI almost did a happy dance with his feet when he realised that the sauce boat of gravy was all his. Very rich and very savoury. The larb (which is sadly no longer on the menu) and the smacked cucumbers were hot,hot,hot and refreshing which was perfect to allow us to keep eating more of the very rich meat.