La Paradeta, Carrer Comercia 7, Barcelona

So my parents arrive after a short journey across the pond and France via the elastic band sprung company Easyjet. They arrive only 30 mins later than scheduled, which to be fair is acceptable considering the price of a ticket from London to Barcelona nowadays. I let them relax, potter around and generally soak up the ambience of Barcelona streetlife. So on to dinner, a very important topic in the Newman household. I decide as its Thursday nothing fancy, good old fashioned tucker, with a stereotypical Spanish feel. Now honestly I'd never been to La Paradeta but from what I'd heard (from reliable sources, in this case Spanish and Italian colleagues) the food was great, simple and relatively inexpensive. La Paradeta - fish on ice that you see in Spanish supermarkets as explained by la camerera - is a restuarant where you can hand pick various types of fish. Although intially daunting, as you feel rushed to select due to the huge crowd gathering behind you, once selected the process is quite easy. They weigh the fish you have chosen, ask you if you would like it cooked al vapor or a la plancha, give you a number, then pass you onto the bar area, where you select your drinks, then you simply pay. After a couple of minutes the kitchen, by way of microphone shout your number out - in our case numero 36 - and before you know it you collect, at different intervals, several plates of fantastic looking fresh fish, un proceso muy facil ! So the atmosphere, very Spanish, loud, a real mix of ages and nationalities, decor is not amazing but to be honest no one is looking at the interior design just the great food they have in front of them. For three people including wine it worked out to be 66 Euros. In my opinion great value for money, and trust me, between three you could'nt eat anymore. Check out the webiste http://laparadeta.com/ as there are a few in Barcelona. If you want less busy try Sagrada Familia but we liked the one in Born. Top night out, nuff said...