Barcelona's Top 11 Hangover Cures

If the sound of gooey melted cheese and warm, toasted bread is music to your ears, then head to La Esquina and order the Bikini sandwich. Named after the city’s Bikini concert hall, home to the dining hall that first served up Catalan‘s answer to a ham and cheese toastie, the Bikini comes in varying shapes and sizes, although the standard café version usually involves soft white bread and cooked ham. Renowned as the best Bikini in Barcelona, La Esquina’s version is made using jamón ibérico, full-flavoured Gruyère cheese and slices of sourdough bread.

The sandwiches at Bo de B are so popular they even have their own hashtag: #famousbocadillo. However, far from being anything fancy, they’re simple grab-and-go sandwiches which cost as little as €3.50 and attract large queues of hungry locals and travellers every day. Served in a simple baguette, the chicken sandwich contains juicy chunks of grilled chicken piled high with a mix of different salads to make you feel that little bit healthier.

If you’re going to do just one thing, you better do it well – and Maoz does. Specialising in falafel – deep-fried balls of ground chickpeas originating from the Middle Eastern as a street snack – Maoz is a takeaway shop located just a minute from la Rambla. Grab your bun from the guys behind the counter and then proceed to fill your sandwich to your heart’s content from the salad bar. The tahini sauce is definitely worth a try, and if you’re feeling brave the fiery green chilli might just give you the kick you need for the rest of the day.

Located in one of El Raval‘s liveliest squares, La Monroe is a colourful bar and restaurant which has a large outdoor terrace in the sun. The nachos here come piled high with fresh tomato, guacamole, refried beans and sour cream but, best of all, they are layered with cheese. This means you avoid the sad pile of cheese-less tortilla crisps lying at the bottom of the dish and the associated stress of having to beat your friends to the best morsels. No one wants that kind of pressure when they’re hungover.

Located in the hip part of Sant Antoni, on Carrer Parlament, the Juice House are known for their vitamin-packed juices. They’re made using a cold-press technique which preserve all the nutritional value of the fruit or vegetable for maximum health benefits. The Veggie All Stars is a smoothie made with carrot, cucumber, avocado, celery, ginger and a little apple juice for good measure – in other words, rich in vitamins C, E, dietary fibre and other all-important nutrients to give your body a much needed boost.

One of Barcelona’s hippest low-key eateries, Caravelle serves an eclectic menu of wholesome brunch dishes drawing inspiration from around the world. If muesli can sometimes be a sad affair, with bland cereal and sour yogurt, it’s no such thing at Caravelle. Here the muesli is homemade – always crunchy and full of flavour – and comes topped with fresh seasonal berries, passionfruit yogurt and toasted almonds. Not only is it delicious, but the fruit, nuts and cereals are a great source of vitamins, fibre and protein.

If you’re the kind of person who needs sugar to survive the morning after the night before, then try a doughnut from La Donuteríain Sant Antoni. Baked fresh every day, the doughnuts are always fluffy and light, never stodgy or dry. They come in a variety of gourmet flavours which change from one day to the next – except the classic vanilla glaze. Toppings to look out for include white chocolate and matcha tea, or blackberry, yogurt and muesli.

The kind of place where you can have breakfast for dinner, Brunch & Cake is serious about all things cake, pastry and brunch. The French toast is made using thick slices of brioche dipped in batter and then fried, before being topped with a rich chocolate sauce and slices of caramelised banana. The warm brioche is the ultimate comfort food, while the chocolate is sure to give you a much needed endorphin release and leave you with a satisfied grin on your face.

They say the best remedy is made with a little hair from the dog that bit you, in other words you might just have to drink your hangover away. In which case a chilled Michelada from El Pachuco is sure to do the trick. A Mexican classic, the drink is a mixture of lager with tomato juice, lemon juice and a spicy salt rim to get your taste buds going. You’ll hardly notice the alcohol – which is relatively low in content anyway – but it’s a fiery drink which is likely to bring you back to your senses in no time.

The ultimate breakfast cocktail, the Bloody Mary’s very existence is a testimony to the fact that sometimes the only remedy to a hangover is to keep drinking. The growing popularity of brunch in Barcelona over the past few years has introduced the drink into the mainstream, but it’s still all too often offered as nothing more than vodka and tomato juice. There’s none of that at Picnic though, where the Bloody Mary is made as it should be: with Worcestershire sauce and a few drops of Tabasco for heat. Plus, the celery stick offered as garnish most certainly counts as one of your five a day.