Barcelona’s Chiringuitos
We order a jug of sangria at the city’s beloved beach bars & clubs
By Duncan Rhodes 
The much-loved chiringuito is every bit a part of Spanish culture as flamenco, Cervantes and staying up all night partying. Essentially little more than a shack in the sand that sells food and cold beverages, the best way to translate them into English would simply be ‘beach bars’. Let’s take a look at the scene…
Chiringuitos: Humble Beach Shacks
Despite their garden shed appearance, and overall lack of bells and whistles, Barcelona’s homely chiringuitos are fiercely popular with locals and tourists throughout summer. After all what could be better than sitting on a lovely wooden terrace by the sea with a bit of shade over your head and a sexy senor/ita serving you up ice-cold mojitos and cerveza?
You can find chiringuitos up and down Spain’s scorching coastlines, and fortunately Barcelona has its fair share of beach bars too, starting on Barceloneta Beach itself, and running all the way north via Platja de Bogatell and Platja de Marbella (the home of two gay chiringuitos) to Platja Llevant. When the sun goes down these tropical-style havens don’t pack up their bags, but DJs often turn up and spin some relaxing tunes for that Ibiza-style sun-down experience.
Chilling out at Vai Moana, a classic chiringuito…
Unfortunately, due to some such nonsense as noise regulations or planning permission, or some other tedious administrative issue that only an exceptionally boring person in a suit could possibly care about, the chiringuito is under threat of closure. Which as far as Barcelona Life is concerned would be a disaster far worse than a piffling economic crisis… We’ll keep you updated with any news, not to mention spearhead any ‘Save Our Chiringuitos’ campaign if necessary. In the meantime order yourself another jug of sangria and an ice cream and enjoy the views! (Update: they still seem to be going strong! Although wild parties on the sands may be a thing of the past).
Whilst the classic chiringuito was always a basic, ill-stocked shack of low key magnificence, the last few years have seen a more modern incarnation invade the city’s sands, often run by top chefs or hospitality groups. Whilst the prices may have gone up, we won’t grumble too much as the increase in quality, selection and decor of some of these “chi-chi-ringuitos” is usually worth the extra couple of yoyos (that’s coolspeak for euros btw).
And in addition to the sheds literally on the sand, Barcelona also has plenty of more upmarket, lounge-style beach bars and clubs along its maritime boulevards, in which you can sip a pina colada and flash your designer labels with an ocean view. Most are positioned in a singular strip of decadent terraces on the end of Barceloneta beach, just under the two towers in the Port Olimpic area, and form an integral part of the city’s nocturnal scene. See below for more…
Barcelona’s Chiringuitos
A small selection of our favourite beach shacks…
1. Vai Moana
Generally speaking you have to go a bit further than Barceloneta beach to find a truly great chiringuito. Vai Moana is found on the sands of Bogatell and boasts free WiFi, sun loungers, a menu featuring plenty of healthy options (alongside sangria and cocktails), and decor inspired by Polynesia’s Easter Island.
www.panteabeach.com/vai-moana
2. Xiringuito Escribà
More of a beach restaurant than a bona fide chiringuito, Escriba is famous amongst locals as serving up some of the best paella dishes in Barcelona. If you fancy some seafood-infused rice with Mediterranean vistas look no further…
restaurantsescriba.com/xiringuitoescriba
3. Beach Garden
Set just a little back from the sands, this charismatic watering hole is less crowded and touristic than most of its neighbours, with reasonable prices and occasional live music to boot. The potted plants and bamboo canes help create a calm oasis away from the Barceloneta madness. Find it on the Plaça del Mar, on the right as you look up towards the W-Hotel. Find a few details on their website, clearly created by a deluded SEO ‘expert’.
4. Chiringuito BeGay
Barcelona is one of the world’s most liberal cities, certainly when it comes to attitudes towards sexuality, but just to be sure you end up mixing with your crowd this beach shack is taking no chances… find it on Marbella beach, the most popular sands within the gay community in BCN.
www.chiringuitobegay.com
Other Beach Bars
On top of the homely charms of the chiringuito, the Catalan capital also boasts some more glamorous and upmarket choices for those who fancy the appeal of a beach bar or club but don’t want to get sand in their stilettos. Most are centred around the nightlife strip on the Olympic Port.
5. Ice Barcelona
The world’s only ice bar on the beach, Ice Barcelona is the number one place to cool off in the city… so if you feel the Spanish sunshine going to your head climb inside for a glacial night out. You’ll be given a sleek winter coat and a pair of mittens, then it’s time to plunge into the ice chamber and drink a couple of vodkas from a frozen glass. Afterwards step back onto their beautiful, breezy beach terrace and enjoy a cocktail. Definitely one of the more unique things to do in Barcelona.
www.icebarcelona.com
6. Furia Cocktail Bar
Just a step back from the beach, in Port Olimpic’s Marina Village complex, is this stunning art deco cocktail bar. The menu of tropical cocktails is perfect and the shady interior might be just what you need if you’ve been enjoying a bit too much sun on Barceloneta, while pizzas replenish the calories. With DJs spinning at weekends Furia is also a great pre-party venue for anyone intending on heading to the likes of Pacha or Opium later at night.
furiabeachbcn.com
Beach Clubs
Due to noise restrictions there’s a limited amount of de facto nightclubs on the beachfront, but one has certainly become a nightlife reference over the years…
7. Opium Beach Club
If clubbing on the coast is what you’re all about don’t miss this place, widely regarded as the number one nightlife spot in the city. Dressed up dolls and divas brave the queues at night, whilst by day the lounge overlooking Barceloneta beach (Port Olimpic side) is a great place to kick back with a cocktail. Their restaurant is also one of the best in the area, and has a very reasonably priced lunch menu, whilst by night you can dine on Mediterranean cuisine al fresco on their terrace. One of the best ways to experience Opium is on this VIP Nightlife Tour.
www.opiumbarcelona.com
For an in-depth guide to other great bars throughout the city head to our Drink section.
Gemma
Hello,
We are looking for something lively for a 40th birthday. Maybe day bars that have live music on on or just music. Something with a good atmosphere.
Please could you recommend.
It’s for Saturday 2nd May 2020
Duncan
Hi Gemma, if you go down to the Port Olimpic a host of nightclubs have lounge-style terraces on the beach… such as Opium, but also Shoko, CDLC etc.
There’s also a fun place called Beach Garden where I happened across some live music once, but I think it would be hard to plan to see any live music at a beach bar. They are either posh (like Opium etc), maybe with a daytime DJ if you’re lucky, or very casual Caribbean style beach huts… and any events are poorly advertised.
If you leave yourself enough time for a walk down the beach (start at Opium… then cross Port Olimpic and go to Icaria and Bogatell beaches and maybe all the way to Marbella beach and you’ll pass a lot of beach bars.