Where to Find Paella for One Person in Barcelona

Paella is a traditional Spanish dish, and one of my favourite things to eat in Barcelona.  While paella originated in Valencia, there are lots of incredible paella restaurants in Barcelona where you can enjoy this delicious rice dish.  However, finding paella for one in Barcelona is not easy, as it is usually served for a minimum of two people.  So, as a solo traveller myself, I have scoured the city to show you where to find paella for one person in Barcelona!

What is Paella?

I assume you already know what paella is if you’re looking for where to try it, but just in case: Paella is a traditional Spanish dish that originally came from the Valencia region of Spain.

It is a delicious and colourful rice dish, typically cooked in a wide, shallow pan called a “paellera,” which is where the dish gets its name. Paella is made from a rich combination of ingredients, including rice, saffron, vegetables, meat, and/or seafood.

These are some examples of the most common types of paella, but there is no limit to what restaurants create.  One of the most delicious paellas I’ve eaten was with duck and black pudding, so have an open mind and choose whichever sounds most tasty on the menu!

Valencian Paella

Considered the original, Valencian paella is traditionally made with chicken, rabbit, and sometimes snails, plus green beans, butter beans, tomatoes, saffron, and rosemary.  There is no seafood in this version of paella, despite what many tourists expect!

Seafood Paella

Common on the coast, including Barcelona, seafood paella is made with prawns, mussels, clams, squid, and sometimes langoustines. The stock is seafood-based, and there are no beans or meat, and no peas! It often has a cleaner, more golden colour from saffron.

The seafood usually comes shell-on – look for paella del senyoret (little master’s paella) if you prefer to have your seafood served without shells.

Mixed Paella

A modern crowd-pleaser combining meat (usually chicken) and seafood (prawns, mussels, squid) as well as some vegetables. Purists frown upon it as it’s not particularly traditional, but it’s very popular, especially in restaurants serving tourists.

Black Rice

Not strictly a “paella” but cooked in the same pan and style. Coloured with squid ink, which gives the rice its black colour and name, it is typically made with squid or cuttlefish, and often includes some shellfish such as clams or prawns. The flavour is rich and savoury, and a dollop of garlic sauce (alioli) adds an incredible extra flavour.

Vegetable Paella

If you’re vegetarian, don’t worry, you can find fully vegetarian and vegan paellas which use seasonal vegetables such as peppers, artichokes, beans, cauliflower, and asparagus. The saffron stock and socarrat (crispy bottom) are still key to the flavours.

Fideua & Other Rice Dishes

Alongside paella on the menu, you will often see fideua, which is a Catalan speciality.  It is very similar to paella and cooked in the same pan, but made with pieces of thin noodles instead of rice.  You may also come across arros caldos, which is more like a soupy rice dish, prepared in a deeper pan without the crispy bottom.

Can You Have Paella for One Person?

Paella is usually for a minimum of two people.  This isn’t a way to discriminate against solo travellers, but it is a practical issue.  Paella pans are usually quite big, and large enough to feed at least two people, often more.

Finding the right-sized paella pan for one person is more difficult, and then getting the right ratio of stock to the rice and other ingredients is even harder, so most restaurants don’t bother – especially if it is busy and they have limited space on the stove top for all the different paella pans.

How to Find Paella for One in Barcelona?

Luckily, there are some restaurants that serve individual paellas in Barcelona, so I’ve found and tested as many as I can for you below!

However, as well as individual paellas served in restaurants, there are a couple of other ways solo diners can try paella in Barcelona that can be more fun!

Try it as Part of a Menú del Día

Some restaurants that don’t serve individual paellas might have an option to include paella as part of a daily menu, in which case they will usually be making a large paella and serving up individual portions as they are ordered.

Thursday is a traditional day to eat paella in Barcelona, so you are likely to find more options on a Thursday, although you can also find it on other days of the week.

Order Paella as a Tapas Dish

Some tapas restaurants in Barcelona have the option to order a small portion of paellas in a tapas size.  This might be in an individual paella dish or served on a plate from a large paella they’re making for everyone.  I’ve suggested some tapas bars below that usually offer a tapa of paella for one or two people to try as part of a larger meal.

Order for Two People

Even if you’re only one person, if you have a fridge back at your accommodation, you could consider ordering paella for two people, and getting the leftovers to take away.  In some cases, the staff may agree to make you an individual paella, but usually you will have to pay for 2 portions, so it’s not ideal – but sometimes it’s worth it!

Try it at a Street Market or Festival

Sometimes you’ll come across street markets and street food markets which have a paella or fideua stall.  The same goes for local festivals where they often make huge paellas to feed dozens of people.  If you’re lucky enough to find something like this, they are a great way to try fideua or paella for one, but it’s hard to plan when and where they will be.

Here’s where to find the restaurants with the best paella for one in Barcelona!

The Best Barcelona Paella for One

I have personally tried these paellas, and have listed some other options below that I have been recommended, or I have found on Tripadvisor, Reddit or Google Maps through researching the best paella restaurants in Barcelona.  I am aiming to try them all, but haven’t got there yet!

I’ll update this article as and when I try a new place, and if you have any recommendations, please do let me know in the comments below!

Xiringuito Escribà, On the Beach

Av. del Litoral, 62.  Open daily 12pm to 12am.  My Paella rating: 10/10

I love this beachfront paella restaurant in Barcelona!  They specialise in seafood and rice dishes, and have a fabulous selection of paellas to choose from, including huge individual paellas.

There is a note on the menu to say they only offer paella for one person when it isn’t too busy, so try to plan your visit on a weekday, as weekends are always jam-packed with locals and tourists who come here for lunch or dinner after a visit to the beach.

I visited with a friend of mine during the week, and we each ordered a different paella dish to try – she got the creamy rice with octopus, and I ordered the Escribà special fish paella.  Both dishes were delicious, and I think it was the best paella I’ve ever eaten!

There are eight different kinds of paella to choose from, and most can also be chosen as fideuà or paella.  Options include a Valencian-style paella with chicken, a black rice, and a lobster paella.  Portions are generous, I think they use the same paella pan as they would for two people, just with a bit less rice, so we were both stuffed.

If you have special dietary requirements, almost all of the paellas are suitable for coeliacs.  The menu also has two vegetarian paellas, which are gluten-free as well – a mushroom and asparagus paella, and a green vegetable paella.

It takes at least 45 minutes for the paella to cook, so you’ll probably want to order a starter to nibble in the meantime.  The service was ok, but not amazing, and if you have a view of the sea as you eat, it definitely makes up for it!

Prices are on the high side, but for the location and the taste, it is worth it.  We paid €45 each for a shared starter, an individual paella each and a bottle of wine to share.

I highly recommend booking a table, otherwise expect to wait.  There’s no air-con as it is open-sided, so in the summer hope for a breeze and bring a fan! They also offer takeaway service and delivery via Glovo from 1pm to 10pm.  See the menu here.

7 Portes, Barceloneta / El Born

Pg. d’Isabel II, 14.  Open daily from 1pm to 12am.  My Paella rating 9/10

7 Portes is a Barcelona institution and has been serving up delicious paella, seafood and other Catalan dishes since 1836.  It’s a beautiful restaurant, where you can sit outside on the terrace under archways decorated with fairy lights, or inside with exposed wood beams and black and white tiled floor.

My friend and I sat inside, where the tables have bronze plaques to mark where famous people have sat to eat at 7 Portes.  We had Charlton Heston’s table, and our waiter Alberto said other names around the dining room included Picasso, Miró, Pelé, John Wayne and many more.

Service is excellent, with waiters smartly dressed in white overcoats.  We ordered starters of cod croquettes (as recommended by Alberto) and one portion of monkfish soup, which turned out to be large enough for us both to have a full bowl.

The rice dishes can all be served individually, so we chose a classic seafood paella and a black rice.

The paella took long enough for us to know it was properly cooked, around 40 minutes or maybe more – I didn’t keep track as I was chatting and enjoying the starters.  The paellas were brought to our table and served up for us, in generous portions too.  Both dishes were stuffed with seafood, and aside from a garnish, no shells or peeling of prawns were necessary.

The paella was very good, but the star of the show was the black rice, which came with a serving of alioli which Alberto recommended we mix in with the rice.  The extra garlic always elevates black rice to be even more delicious, and we were very happy with our meals!

Prices are a little higher than average, but it is worth it for the service and experience.  We paid just under €50 each for a starter, rice dish, glass of wine and shared a bottle of water.

We were trying to decide which was our favourite place to eat paella for one, as my friend also came with me to Escriba.  They are both excellent, and completely different styles, with 7 Portes more formal and with better service, but I think the paella at Escriba just beat 7 Portes as it really was the best paella I’ve ever had!

Reservations recommended, essential at weekends.  Smart casual dress code.  Book a table online or browse the menu here.

La Paella de Su, Diagonal

Av. Diagonal, 436.  Open daily from 1pm to 5pm and again from 7pm to 11pm.  My Paella rating: 9/10

This lovely traditional paella restaurant in Barcelona is a great place to get paella for one if you are travelling alone.  If you are dining with a friend, then you will have to order for a minimum of two people, as they only serve individual paellas for solo diners.

There are a whopping sixteen different types of paella to choose from, plus fideua options and some other main courses if you decide you don’t want paella after all!

The staff were really friendly and welcoming, and were happy to give recommendations if you can’t decide from the extensive paella options.  The menu also includes a nice section on the origin of paella, and how to eat a paella in the traditional way – with a wooden spoon!

At the suggestion of the waiter, I ordered the Red Paella, and it was excellent.  I would have liked a little more socorrat burned flavour on the bottom, and it was a little oily but I still really enjoyed it.

Preparation time is around 40 to 50 minutes, so I also ordered a starter of battered cod balls coated in a pistachio crust.  Yum!

Booking is recommended, but I managed to get a seat at the bar without a reservation.  See the menu here.

L’Arrosseria Xàtiva, Gracia

Carrer del Torrent d’En Vidalet, 26.  Open daily from 12.30pm – 11/11.30pm.  My Paella rating: 7/10

This rice and paella restaurant in Gracia offers a wide range of individual paellas, but according to the menu, if it’s too busy they may only offer it for a minimum of two people, so try to visit at a quiet time or during the week. I had no issues getting a table or ordering my solo paella, but it was just before the peak dinner rush and it had got much busier by the time I left.

I ordered the seafood paella, and it was nicely cooked and stuffed full of seafood.  It was also served with a wooden spoon as is the tradition for paella, and that was a nice touch.

The paella was tasty (but it didn’t blow me away), the service was good, and the staff were friendly.  It’s a casual restaurant and a solid choice for where to eat paella for one in the Gracia neighbourhood but it wasn’t as good as Escriba or 7 Portes.  They also have restaurants in Les Corts and Sant Antoni.

Reservations recommended, you can do that online and check the menu here.

Mesón Jesus, Gothic Quarter

C/ dels Cecs de la Boqueria, 4.  Open daily 12pm to 12am. My Paella rating: 6.5/10

This is definitely a tourist place, with the hallmarks of everything I usually avoid – someone outside trying to get you to go in and photos of the menu on display.  However, it gets great reviews on Google maps, so I wanted to check it out.  The staff were friendly, and service was quick, but too quick, so I knew that the paella was not cooked from scratch as it only took 15 minutes to arrive.

I don’t know how they prepare it in advance as it was served in an individual paella dish; perhaps the rice is part cooked first and then added to the pan with the seafood to finish off?  Or microwaved?  The portion size was decent, though, and there was a lovely lot of seafood in the paella de mariscos, including 3 large prawns and a scallop on top.

It was salty for my taste, and it wasn’t anywhere near as good as Escriba, but certainly better than the frozen paellas that other tourist traps offer.  If you’re in the Gothic Quarter and want a decent place to try paella for one you could do a lot worse.

Paella Bar Boqueria, Las Ramblas

Mercat de la Boqueria Pòrtics de la Boqueria, Locals 6-7. Open daily, 12pm to 10pm.  My Paella rating: 5/10

This paella restaurant in Barcelona is located on the edge of the Boqueria Market, under the porticoes alongside the market.  It is open every day, even when the market is closed, and it is in a great location for visitors who come to the market; however, it is definitely aimed at tourists.

It gets great ratings on Google maps, but I have to say I was disappointed. Service was slow, I sat inside and the waitress spent more time outside with the tables there – I’m not sure if they were under-staffed or if it is always like that but once I’d finished, I waited a while for either of the servers to even glance in my direction, and the table next to me was the same.

The menu has a variety of rice dishes and paellas for one person, which are all individually priced so there is no minimum serving.  Choices include a vegetarian paella for one, and several seafood and meat/seafood mixed rice dishes and a couple of fideua options too.  There is also tapas and a few seafood main courses on offer if you don’t want paella.

I ordered spinach croquettes to start with, but they were too dense and not hot enough, it was like they had been part cooked but not finished off – croquettes are supposed to be creamy inside but these were stodgy and unpleasant.

There was a 20-minute wait for the paella, which isn’t long enough for it to be traditionally cooked and there wasn’t any of the delicious crunchy socorrat which is the slightly burned bit that should be on the bottom of the paella.  When it came, it wasn’t bad, not salty for a nice change but it didn’t have a very rich seafood taste, and I thought it was a little bland.

The serving was generous and there was a reasonable amount of seafood, I just didn’t love it.  The sangria was good but overall the combination of average food and poor service meant I didn’t enjoy the meal very much.  If you want to try paella in a central location and don’t have time for anywhere better, then it’s ok but if you can choose one of the other recommendations, I would do that!

Prices start from around €20 per person for the vegetarian paella, up to €26 for the lobster and chorizo paella. There is a €2 supplement per person for tables on the terrace.  Check the menu here.

More Options in Barcelona for Paella for One:

I haven’t tried these restaurants which have individual paellas for one person in Barcelona yet, but they are on my list to try.  If you’ve been, let me know what you thought!  I am slowly working my way around as many paella restaurants in Barcelona as I can – it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!

Bar Joan, El Born

Inside Santa Catarina Market, Av. de Francesc Cambó, 16.  Closed on Sundays.

This tapas bar inside the market apparently serves paella or fideua on Thursdays as part of the daily menu, including for one person only.  There’s no website, but there is an extensive tapas menu if you miss the paella.  I’ve eaten there on a different day and really enjoyed the menu del dia but I haven’t made it on a Thursday yet.

Arume Restaurant, El Raval

Carrer d’En Botella, 11.   Open Friday/Saturday/Sunday for lunch from 1-3pm, and every evening except Tuesday from 7pm to 12.30am.  Closed on Tuesdays.

I’ve been recommended this as a great Galician restaurant to try paella for one.  The menu is quite small and focuses on specialities from the Galicia region of Spain.  Choose from seafood paella or duck paella with padron peppers.  Check the menu here.

Louro, Las Ramblas

Rambla de los Capuchinos, 37.   Open for lunch 1pm – 3.30pm on weekends, and for dinner from 7pm to 10.3pm/11pm on Thursday to Sunday.  Closed Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday.

Another Galician restaurant which serves paella for one in Barcelona.  Similar to Arume there is a small menu, with three or four rice options to choose from, including seafood paella and a smoked aubergine rice dish.  Check the menu here.

Paella as a Tapas Dish

Another way to enjoy paella for one in Barcelona is to order it as a tapa.  The portions are smaller than you would get in a full-size paella, but it is a great way to get your paella fix as a solo traveller, especially if you’re not sure if you’re going to like it.

As an added bonus, if you’re looking for cheap paella, getting a tapa of paella means you can try it without splashing out on a full meal.

Not all Barcelona tapas restaurants serve paella, so check the menu before you go inside.  These are a couple of places I know of that serve paella or other rice dishes as a tapas option every day.

Thursday is a traditional day to eat paella in Barcelona, so you will find more options for paella on Thursday lunchtimes.

Sagradas Tapas

Av. de Gaudí, 48.  Open daily 11am to 12am during the week, and until 1am on weekends.  My Paella rating: 10/10

Sagradas Tapas is an excellent tapas bar that serves a variety of small plates at decent prices, located on the tree-lined Avenida de Gaudí, between La Sagrada Familia and the Hospital Sant Pau.

Their tapas-sized paella for one is cooked and served in a mini paella dish, so it is as close as you can get to a traditional paella on a small scale!  You can choose between seafood paella, black rice (with squid) and seafood fideua.

It’s one of my favourite restaurants near La Sagrada Familia, and I love going there for the varied tapas menu, which includes seafood, meat, and vegetarian options, which are all done very well.  As your individual paella is fairly small, you’ve got the chance to try some other tasty tapas dishes too.

Booking recommended.  See the menu here.

Ciudad Condal / Ciutat Comtal

Rambla de Catalunya, 18.   Open daily from 8.30/9am to 1am/1.30am.

This is one of the most popular tapas restaurants in Barcelona, and it gets very busy so you’ll need to book or show up at 12pm to have a chance of getting a table without a long wait.

They don’t always have paella on the menu but usually have some sort of rice dish as an option on their daily specials board.  The last time I went it was black rice, which was quite a generous portion, served on a plate so they were cooking a larger paella in the kitchen and served up individual portions as required.

Cerveceria Catalana

C/ de Mallorca, 236.  Open daily from 8.30/9am to 1am/1.30am.

This tapas restaurant is owned by the same company as Cuidad Condal, and has basically the same menu.  Similarly, they usually have one rice dish on the daily tapas menu, but there’s no way to check this in advance.

Do you have any more recommendations for Barcelona restaurants to eat paella for one?  I’d love to hear them so I can try them out and share them here.