Restaurant in Barcelona, Spain
Serious wine, seasonal food, no fuss.
Glug is Barcelona's most credible wine-bar bistro for a relaxed special evening. Ranked #1 and #2 on Star Wine List in 2025 and recognised by Opinionated About Dining, it pairs serious wine depth with informal Catalan-Italian cooking from chefs Iván Garcia and Beatrice Casella. Book it when the bottle matters as much as the plate.
If you want a restaurant in Barcelona's Eixample that takes wine as seriously as the food, book Glug. Headed by chefs Iván Garcia and Beatrice Casella, this wine bar and bistro at Carrer de Viladomat, 289 has earned a 4.8 on Google across 649 reviews, ranked #1 and #2 on Star Wine List in 2025, and received recognition from Opinionated About Dining in its Casual Europe category for the same year. Those credentials place it among the most credible wine-forward dining rooms in the city.
The format here is a bistro with a serious wine program, not the other way around. The menu draws on seasonal Catalan and Italian influences, reflecting Casella's Turin background, and dishes like onion soup and Comté cheese buttons signal a kitchen that works in a register closer to considered comfort than architectural tasting menus. If you are weighing a celebratory dinner, that relaxed register is an advantage: the tone is convivial rather than ceremonial, which makes it work for dates, close-group celebrations, and occasions where you want good conversation as much as good food.
The wine focus is the genuine draw. The name itself is a signal, and back-to-back Star Wine List rankings confirm it. For Barcelona diners who know Can Cisa - Bar Brutal or Vila Vinoteca, Glug sits in the same tier of wine-serious rooms, with the added pull of a kitchen that earns its own recognition. If you have eaten at Monocrom bistró & vins or Els Tres Porquets, the sensory register at Glug will feel familiar but the wine list depth goes further. For a European reference point, think somewhere between 40 Maltby Street in London and 4850 in Amsterdam in terms of wine-forward casual dining with genuine kitchen ambition.
As a late-evening option, Glug rewards arriving without a strict timeline. The kitchen's informal, rules-free approach and wine-led menu make it the kind of room where an extended evening of small plates and bottles works better than a timed dinner. If your special occasion involves lingering over wine rather than concluding after a set dessert course, the format fits. Hours are not confirmed in our data, so check directly before planning a late arrival.
Glug operates in a different register to Barcelona's flagship creative restaurants. Disfrutar, Cocina Hermanos Torres, and Lasarte are all €€€€ tasting-menu commitments that require booking weeks or months in advance and deliver a very different kind of occasion: choreographed, formal, and built around spectacle as much as flavour. Glug is the right choice when you want the evening to feel like yours rather than scripted around a kitchen's sequence.
Cinc Sentits and Enoteca Paco Pérez sit closer to Glug in terms of creative ambition but still operate as full tasting-menu restaurants at the €€€€ tier. If price is a consideration, or if a structured multi-course format does not suit your occasion, Glug is the better call. The bistro format gives you more control over pacing and spend.
On wine depth alone, very few rooms in Barcelona outperform Glug at this price positioning. If wine selection is central to your decision, Glug delivers credentials that the €€€€ restaurants listed above are not primarily competing on. For a date or small celebration where the bottle matters as much as the plate, it offers a clearer value proposition than any of its formal-dining peers in the Eixample.
If Glug is your dinner anchor, pair it with visits to our recommended Barcelona bars and Barcelona wineries for a wine-focused itinerary. Elsewhere in Spain, the restaurants that represent the country's highest creative register include El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Arzak in San Sebastián, Azurmendi in Larrabetzu, Martin Berasategui in Lasarte-Oria, Aponiente in El Puerto de Santa María, and DiverXO in Madrid. For accommodation, see our Barcelona hotels guide, and for a broader overview of what to do in the city, start with our Barcelona experiences guide.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glug | Glug represents a genuine gastronomic revolution in Barcelona, blending the charm of a bistro with top-tier cuisine. It’s a destination for those who seek to indulge in signature dishes – creations cr...; If you’re on the lookout for a restaurant in the Eixample district of the city, this is a name you’ll definitely want to jot down. Located opposite the Sant Jordi swimming pool, Glug is much more than a hangout for foodies as wine also plays a prominent role here (hence its name). The couple in charge, chefs Iván Garcia and Beatrice Casella (the latter, a native of Turin, is responsible for the wonderful desserts), offer cuisine that is informal, does not follow any set rules, and is designed exclusively for enjoyment. The menu, featuring delicious dishes such as onion soup and “buttons” of Comté cheese, works with seasonal ingredients, combining aspects of Catalan and Italian cuisine in a highly interesting and creative way.; Star Wine List #2 (2025); Star Wine List #1 (2025); Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe (2025) | — | |
| Cocina Hermanos Torres | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Disfrutar | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Lasarte | Michelin 3 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Cinc Sentits | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Enoteca Paco Pérez | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Glug and alternatives.
Book at least two to three weeks ahead for evenings, especially Thursday through Saturday. Glug earned Star Wine List #1 and #2 in 2025 alongside an Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe listing, which means word has spread well beyond the neighbourhood. Earlier if you're planning around a fixed travel date.
The onion soup and Comté cheese 'buttons' are specifically named in the venue's editorial coverage as signature dishes, so start there. The menu works with seasonal ingredients and combines Catalan and Italian influences, with Beatrice Casella (originally from Turin) handling desserts — so don't skip them. Let the wine list guide the rest: this place is named Glug for a reason.
Glug operates as an informal bistro-format wine bar in Eixample, which generally suits small groups of two to four better than large parties. Specific private dining or large-group policies aren't documented, so check the venue's official channels before booking for six or more.
Yes, particularly if the occasion calls for something personal rather than performative. The format is informal and chef-driven, which suits anniversaries or birthday dinners where the food and wine should do the talking. For a full tasting-menu experience with more ceremony, Cinc Sentits is the closer comparison.
The menu uses seasonal ingredients across Catalan and Italian frameworks, which typically allows for some flexibility, but no specific dietary accommodation policies are documented for Glug. Flag requirements clearly when booking — the informal, chef-led format means communication in advance is more reliable than assumptions.
Glug sits opposite the Sant Jordi swimming pool on Carrer de Viladomat, 289 in Eixample — easy to find once you have the address. The concept is deliberately rule-free: informal cooking built for enjoyment, with a wine list serious enough to earn two Star Wine List top rankings in 2025. Come expecting a bistro with genuine depth, not a conventional restaurant format.
The bistro-wine-bar format typically works well for solo diners, and the informal, no-set-rules ethos at Glug supports that. A seat at the bar or a small table lets you focus on working through the wine list, which is the main reason to come alone. No counter or solo-specific seating details are confirmed, so it's worth mentioning solo dining when you reserve.
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