La Fonda is one of my favourite place to dine. Their food never disappoints. I have been there twice for lunch, and it was really amazing experience.

Menu of the day is EUR 10,30 which includes bread, a drink and 3 courses. For the drink, you can choose between mineral water (still or frizzy - Agua sin/con gas), Soft drinks (refrescos), 250ml of red or white wine (vino tinto/blanco). Supposing 3 courses should mean a starter, a main and a dessert to wrap up. However my recommandation is not to touch the bread roll, as you will really be feeling regret and sinful!

One thing to note is that normally in Barcelona, you are normally charged for bread, unless otherwise stated like in the menu del dia here. However If you go to the seafood bar in Mercat de La Boqueria, bread usually comes free but you will need to ask for it. Also, don't get disappointed if the bread served are not warmed because this is normal in Barcelona. The bread restaurants served are usually quite fresh.


The dishes I tried for the first course includes Salmorejo con Sal de Jamon (which was the lightest I tried so far lol),  Croquetas de Espinacas con Ensalada and MIXED PAELLA(!!!)  can you believe it? That plate of paella you see is just the "starter". So now you understand why you shouldn't touch the bread even though it's tempting (I understand).


Salmorejo is a well known cold soup in Spain that is served in daily Spanish meal. Unlike Gazpacho with its wide variety of veggie ingredients, Salmorejo is made of only 4 key ingredients: Bread, Tomato, Cucumber and Garlic. The cold soup is quite thick but extremely refreshing. The cucumber flavour really cools you down. The best part of the soup is the crisp bites of Jamon sprinkled on top. The jamon has gaven the cold soup a slight kick that trully lifted the freshness of the vegetable. Highly recommanded!

Croquetas de Espinacas (Spinach Croquettes) are lightly breaded, crunchy but mushy in the interior. They were not greasy but quite filling as it is made of potato and Spinach. The croquettes were so far so good but I prefer the ones with cheese or jamon.

Mixed Paella is just so huge! In fact before I visited the restaurant, I knew that La Fonda is famous for its Paella and Arroz Negro (rice with sqid ink and calamari hoops, more like a squid risotto). I was really struggling to choose between Menu del Dia or Paella. In La Fonda, for all rice dishes, it is on a per person basis but the minimum amount you order must be at least a portion for two people. Though I quickly realised that they are serving Mixed Paella as "starter". Paella costs around 9 euros per person, depending you are ordering fish paella, mixed paella (fish and meat) or vegetarian paella. Yet with Menu del Dia I managed to try the mixed paella PLUS 2 other dishes, bread and wine for 10,30 euros. Madre Mia! Anyone I was expecting a tiny portion... you know, like one of those served in tasting menu, but here it comes. I mean, this can be served easily as a portion for 2 for girls like me. I get hungry easily, but I get full super fast too so I need frequent meals lol.

In this Mixed Paella, there is a lot of seafood like mussels, prawns, squid. There was no sign of chorizos, but fried pork was not bad at all. The pork pieces are like fritters which are crispy but very lucious and flavoursome inside. The seafood were not over cooked. The prawns (shrimps rather) were of all most disappointing though. They were sweet, but too twiggy that the texture is over tender. The rice was well cooked, chewy but far from raw, and it fully absorbed the delectable flavour of the sauce.

The main, well - "main", I tried 4 dishes. The braised veal I first tasted was absolutely gorgeous. The meat is so tender and flavourful and the sauce went well with it. It was like a country braised veal without wine or any other complicated ingredients. Simply chunk of veggie and veal meat. It was so so yum.

The Grilled Squid was also very tender and fresh. However after trying the ones from Universal and the baby squid served in Tapas 24, this one is slightly lacking the surprise.

The Porklet was also nicely seared with a texture similar to grilled pork meat around the neck. It is meaty and very tasty. Another highlight of the dish is the sliced pan fried potato on the side of the dish. The slices of were lightly spiced and cooked just right. I finished the entire dish even after having the plate of Paella... (Gosh what a piggy I am...)

For Dessert, they usually offer 3 choice. One of which would be cakes/floury pudding, another one would be something like pear stewed in red wine, and finally they will have an icecream (sundae, gelato, etc.) to choose from.

However so far I have never tried anything other than gelato because I was always far too full for anything solid lol But the gelato here is not bad at all! Especially the chocolate and the coconut flavour. The chocolate one is very rich, while the coconut was nice with the bits of coconut sheds inside.

In short, LA FONDA IS A MUST VISIT!!!!!!!

But one thing to note is that normally there is a queue outside and it  takes around 20 mins to get in. If you wish to avoid it, I would suggest you to go between 15:15 to 16:30.