Ramblero in La Boqueria Market, Barcelona

La Boqueria or Mercat Boqueria Barcelona is one of the busiest markets #thewinemaestro been to at lunch time, regardless of the country or city. The only market it compares to in terms of busyness that I've been to is Djema el-Fna in Morocco at dinner back in 2006.

When researching the Boqueria Market and where to eat, based upon every TV show, online mag, Google search, etc. they all say to go to Quim and Pinotxo. Why? Who knows. If you’ve ever looked up ‘Lobster Rolls in Maine’, Red’s Eats ALWAYS comes up and is ranked #1. Why? Don’t know. I’ve been to Red’s, it’s good but there are plenty of other choices in the ENTIRE state of Maine that I’ve been to that are equally as good and waaaaay less busy…but I digress.

Pinotxo is at the entrance to Bocqueria, so it's the first thing every tourist sees plus the queue to get a seat; so good luck with Pinotxo. Quim was about as un-organized as it gets. People are waiting behind other people getting up to leave, only the staff really know who is in line next, but refuse to say who is next when asked, it’s all sort of laissez faire; EXCEPT when two seats open up and you sit down. Then suddenly, by some miracle, the staff finds their voice to say the seats were reserved. This happened twice at Quim. At that point, I’m done, which is why we bailed. Based upon that, we tried Ramblero..

Why Ramblero? One huge shellfish plate after the other and controlled turnover of the seating. It's a tourist location, like everything else in El Boqueria, it's on the map, there's probably better, but you're here, so sharpen your elbows and grab the credit card, you might as well eat and you’re gonna pay for it.

Ramblero will tell you to get a platter of fish. They told each guest the same thing, “We suggest the fish platter.” They push shellfish, but since my gout knows about shellfish and baitfish and the trouble it can cause, it was firmly suggested by me that no shellfish be brought, only seafood with scales and suckers. Well, they brought out salmon, tuna, sea bream, sea bass, calamari, octopus all stacked on top of potatoes and garnished with cabbage, olive oil, lemon, and some greens. Basically, a mound of fresh seafood served on a plate in a total time of 8 minutes from order to plate.

Mound O’Fish at Ramblero made quite an impact in terms of quality, simplicity, speed to table and sheer size. I have zero complains about the food. None of the fish was off, all of it was cooked properly, and seasoning profile was good.

The downside to the whole place is, it's cramped. You've been served a beautiful mound of fish and it's not meant to be savored and enjoyed, it’s meant to be efficiently eaten as it was prepared quickly to make room for the next customer who also read online that no trip to Barcelona could be complete without a trip to the Boqueria Market! Blah Blah.

A memorable meal for sure, although not our favorite of the trip, (it was crowded, loud, not relaxed, touristy, and we felt hustled the entire time), but it was an experience. Table turning is an art and science here. Chalk it up to the "10 Places You HAVE to Eat in Barcelona" if you believe in that sort of thing.