I discovered Bar Pastis, in The Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, this past summer while dating a half French half Catalan television producer.

This is one of those tiny, hole in the wall, bars that was absolutely perfect to wander into with that special someone, maybe on the second or third date, once you know them well enough that you’ll be able to tolerate nearly sitting on top of them / cozying up on one of the mini benches or stools that fill “walk in closet like” room.

Bar Pastis is always dark, but does have enough lighting provided by the eclectic light fixtures to provide that ideal setting for enjoying some amazing live jazz music by local talents, then lingering on afterwards, drinking more wine and sharing conversation with your company.

It’s a neighborhood gem in The Raval, the one neighborhood that honestly I used to hate entering years ago for fear of being robbed, but is going through a slight hipster “gentrification”, due to many tiny watering holes and eateries popping up amongst the riff raf.  Needless to say, this gem is well worth checking out in spite of some of the neighbors.  Just be sure to dress down for the evening.

Although my relationship fizzled out months ago, I can say that being introduced to this spot by my friend is one of the reasons that made it all worth while.