Can Majó
By Michael Mueller
In 1968, Barceloneta fisherman Enrique Majó and his wife Maria opened a small seafood restaurant on what was then still a working village’s waterfront. Their children Rosa and Enrique run it still. Can Majó sits on Carrer d’Emília Llorca Martín, on the beach-facing side of Barceloneta, with a terrace open to the Mediterranean – one of the few restaurants in the neighborhood with the water directly in front of it and nothing blocking the view. The village around it has changed beyond recognition; the restaurant mostly hasn’t.
The kitchen does Catalan seafood straight and the rice is the point. The paella marinera – prawns, mussels, clams, squid, a langostino – draws the most consistent praise. The arròs negre, squid-ink black rice served with allioli on the side, has its own following: “the best paella I’ve ever tasted,” one diner wrote. Order either for the socarrat – the crisp layer at the bottom of the pan the house gets right. The octopus, grilled and simple, is worth adding to the table.
The room itself is linen tablecloths, wooden beams and seafaring paintings. The terrace is the real draw – close enough to the water to hear the waves, busy by day, sweeping at night. Mains run from €20, a paella meal from €40 – worth it for a seat by the water. Tables fill quickly; lunch-only service on Sundays and Tuesdays narrows the dinner window to Wednesday through Saturday, and the restaurant is closed Mondays.
Go at sunset if you can. Toes in the sand, a cold bottle of white and a pan of rice from a family that used to fish these waters.