La Dama

Gaudí-influenced Casa Sayrach is possibly Barcelona’s most over-the-top work of modernist architecture that hasn’t been turned into a museum. It’s home to mezzanine-floor La Dama, a Mediterranean-French restaurant that looks like the elegant apartment of a nimble-footed socialite heiress of the same era, with its mirrored doorways, crimson velvet banquettes, and vintage floral wallpaper. Great design doesn’t always equate to great food, but La Dama is the exception. There are dishes like mushroom risotto, juicy whole-cooked roasted coquelet, and squid in the calamari carbonara that’s sliced like tagliatelle to give the classic pasta dish a beautifully textured twist. La Dama offers a reasonably priced two- or three-course lunch (€21 or €26, respectively), but the evening, when the candles are lit, is when this place really impresses.

photo credit: La Dama