food & drink

Few restaurants get a second act. Malpaso opened on Carrer de Girona as a literary restaurant with a steak-and-ceviche menu, and reopened a few years back as a taquería – new name, new kitchen, same address, still under the publishing house it shares a name with.

The kitchen calls what replaced it a tribute to Mexican street food, and the research shows. Tacos are built from recipes gathered around Mexico, made by hand here, with Catalan produce doing the work the markets back home would do. Order them by the plate of six: al pastor, tinga de pollo, cordero a la barbacoa, chicken in mole, octopus or prawns in chipotle. Vegetarians get a section of the menu to themselves rather than a token afterthought, and there are gorditas, quesadillas, burritos and cazuelas for anyone who wants more than a tortilla.

Start with the antojitos. Guacamole with totopos, refried black beans, a caldo de camarón built on chipotle, garlic and onion or the Nachos Malpaso, which arrive under cheddar, pico de gallo, black beans, guacamole and your choice of filling, carnitas included. The doors open at 8:30am six days a week, which makes this a rare thing in Barcelona: a Mexican breakfast that isn’t a weekend brunch. Chilaquiles and huevos rancheros both hold up at that hour.

There’s mezcal and tequila behind the bar, a proper cocktail list, a terrace on Girona and an upstairs room for when the street gets loud. Save room for El Pastel Imposible, flan and chocolate baked into a single cake, or a slice of tres leches. Second acts should always taste this good.