Trifter

He got into the car and told the chauffer to go up O’Reilly to the Floridita…

Floridita, Hemingway’s favourite bar in Havana, immortalised in the above line from his novel Islands in the Stream, became the inspiration for another bar nearly a world away – Boadas in Barcelona.

A 1930’s atmosphere greets you as you walk in the door of this tiny bar tucked away in La Rambla in Barcelona. It’s smoky, it’s noisy. And it’s entirely authentic. You would only be mildly surprised to bump into Hemingway at the bar. Surprise, surprise – he drank here.

Opened in 1933 by Miguel Boadas, this cocktail bar (cited by many specialised guide books as one of the finest cocktail bars anywhere in the world) remains exactly as it was in the year it was opened. Fitted out in brass and wood, with a curved bar counter and photographs and drawings covering the walls, you can immediately feel that this is the real thing.

Miguel Boadas was born in Havana in 1895 and by 1910 was head barman at the Floridita. He left Cuba to marry in the land of his ancestors, Spain, and after working in different bars, opened his own one at no. 1 Carrer de Tallers, on the corner of La Rambla.

73 years later Boadas is an “institution with cocktail drinkers the world over and the City of Barcelona alike. However, when it was opened , critics (and there were many) gave it a definite thumbs down. “People complained that it was too small, you couldn’t sit down, and it was too modern,’, says Dolores Boadas (current owner and Miguel’s daughter). What’s more, only three years after the original opening, the Spanish Civil War broke out! But even these turbulent times couldn’t stop Boadas from opening its doors and serving cocktails and today, 73 years later, the bar has been awarded the Traditional City Establishment Award, granted by the Barcelona City Council to only 12 businesses with a long pedigree.

My discovery of Boadas was accidental. Having just celebrated a birthday in Barcelona, and in that birthday-high mood, the kind where you want to squeeze every last drop out of the day – and night – we stumbled upon this gem. Boadas is a bar for the locals and in spite of being just off of La Rambla, doesn’t go out of its way to attract tourists.

The cocktail Gods must have known that our little party of two had a celebration going on as miraculously two seats became vacant right at the bar (and in a bar not more than a few square metres big, with standing room mainly, this truly was nothing short of a miracle). Seated in front of three barmen in full tuxedo and one sporting very snappy glasses, we had front row seats to some of the best entertainment in the city.

Ingredients mixed in cocktail pitchers shiny enough to reflect back at you, quick stirs where you are left in no doubt that it is all in the wrist, a julep strainer on top and with long arching motions the contents are poured into a pint glass held a metre or so below. This is done four times, then the drink is strained into your glass. Snazzy…

Not one menu makes itself known in Boadas. The barmen are passionate about cocktails, and Maruendo, Dolores’ husband, admits to owning over 600 cocktail books from around the world. It’s all in the head (although on a tiny board a cocktail of the day is written in block letters). The birthday boy has an idea in his head. He wants a cocktail that is creamy “with a different taste”. I wonder secretly to myself what exactly that is and settle back to enjoy my Margarita. Some concessions should be allowed on birthdays. Within minutes the barman is serving the creamy birthday cocktail with a different taste. It’s a frothy mixture with crushed ice and a hint of cinnamon and after one sip, I’m a convert. The barmen invent cocktails along with making the traditional well-known ones, and I’m sure the birthday cocktail has just been born. Another six follow between the two of us after the first one. I’m sure I feel Hemingway nod his approval.

Extremely well-priced at approximately 6 euros a drink, Boadas really is a must-do anytime you find yourself in Barcelona. You’ll find yourself in the company of famous 20th century artists; Dali, Picasso, Garcia Márquez – who all had a seat on one of the six chairs at the bar (and stood far more than they sat) and who often left a momento on the walls of one of their favourite watering holes.

Ending the birthday close to 2 in the morning the following day, the birthday boy looks at me and says, “That was grand. We”ll be back’. I’m now certain Hemingway’s nodding…