El Laurel

The best empanadas and steak I had in Barcelona! The dessert was great too. I went back the next day to try more empanadas.

First time trying a Milanese, different but tasted good. Chips could've been better and wished I went for a chicken base instead of steak as I feel that would've been better. Also the place is cosy with friendly staff

We ordered steak and had a take out of empanada. Good food and reasonable price.

If you love Argentinian empanadas, then this is the place to go! The Monk empenada is to die for. It has rich osobucco flavors and a light, flaky crust. The Dino and Carne were also really delicious. I was not nuts about the Cebolla (a little too much mushy cheese and onion for my taste). My travel partner really enjoyed the Elba - but you have to like sausage, which I don't. We had a couple of veggie ones too (the Verde and the Cebolla). They were tasty but the meat ones were the best. We also enjoyed their goat cheese salad which includes fresh apple slices, a tangy complement to the salad and rich goat cheese. This salad is presented beautifully (see the picture). We rounded out our meal with a cold glass of white wine. Juan gives a great pour! It's a small place, but the service is terrific. Long-time employee, Juan, is charming and chatty, and provides great service. We thoroughly enjoyed our al fresco empenada luncheon, and will be sure to return again.

Very tasty Argentinian food. Delicious empanadas with many options to choose (when you are hungry take at least 3 or 4). Overall very good price/quality and the service was pleasant (no table = no problem we will bring another)

We ate two types of Empanada and a Milanese. They were all delicious, the place was very clean, and the waiters were very kind.

This cosy restaurant offers delicious empanadas. We tried four different kinds and all of them were great in their own way. Portion is generous and the price is fair. I recommend!

It’s a small place. We wanted to eat empanadas real authentic Argentinian ones. We got a steak with salad and empanadas. Everything delish. Skirt steak is good but lean so need to chew a bit harder Btw they have Tuesday and Thursday steak salad and 2 empanadas which may include drink for 12 euros!

Excellent small local authentic. The pizza was amazing. Great tapas. Don't miss it. Friendly service.

My husband and I dined here at 6pm, the streets were quiet (siesta hours) but we were happy el Laurel was open for us! The owner was sweet and spoke some English! The jamon pizza was very good and I was very happy with it. The olives have seeds in them so be careful. My husband ordered the 3 empanada combo and enjoyed them all. I didn't try any so I can't speak to these but the combo is a good deal. It comes with a drink but alcohol isn't an option for that price! Love this local spot, they do get busy at night and they don't use AC, in case you were wondering.

First time traveling to Europe and I would not change my first dining experience here in Barca. The onion sear really complimented the beef. Pizza is good as well. All the things we ordered were excellent.

We were looking for a light dinner close to where were staying. Found this place right across the street. It had a four and a half star rating on Yelp, so we thought we'd try it. It was perfect. They have a special - three empanadas a salad and a drink for 11 Euros. The empanadas were really tasty. And the young lady who served us was very helpful. We have one more day in Barcelona and are thinking that we might go back for lunch. This was a great find.

Had the empanada menu with tuna, beef and a "yellow". I liked the more traditional empanadas more. The price is really good for the value. Cons: not wheelchair accessible.

Best empanada you'll have in Spain. And even better service. This is a tiny restaurant. Great prices. But once you've had the spicy beef you'll wish you lived here. I did.

Very easily the best food AND atmosphere I've had on my European expedition so far. I'm Mexican, and these empanadas are AMAZING. they have good vegetarian options that can still hold their own. The 3 empanadas + salad and drink for €9,50 is a no brainer. If you are in Barcelona or even plan to visit in the future, this place is a must.

Perfect spot for a casual dinner before or after a movie. It's an Argentinian restaurant, where the menu consists of empanadas (all around 2,50 euros), pizzas, salads, and other stuff that i didn't really look at. we ordered a bunch of empanadas to sample and split, and a goat cheese salad. My favorite of the empanadas was the "Brown" one... it was a duck empanada - with other flavors mixed in... it was so good that when it came time for the desserts, Marc ordered his regular cocoanut dessert, but Peter & I each ordered the duck empanada as our dessert. so between the 3 of us, it came to 53 euros, including the bottle of wine (plus another glass) a salad and 8 empanadas. Fair enough. I've given up on giving ratings based on service. It sucks. I'm getting used to it. If I was to factor it in, I'd deduct a star... But the food was really good, the setting was cute/bright and charming - and i think they have a tuesday dinner and a movie pricing special. I wasn't quite paying attention. No matter... I'll be back.

We ate there last night and was suitably impressed. The staff provided an english menu and was quite attentive. The one complaint I had was the portions were too large. We each had the veil steak, and could have shared one portion. Typical for an argentine restaurant. Same way in BA. Empanadas for a starter were great. Plan on returning.

This place is fantastic. We tried it based on Yelp reviews since we were staying in an apartment around the corner, and we were not disappointed. It's a cozy, fun place to hang out. The pizza is excellent, but the empanadas are amazing (Dino was my favorite). It's open a little earlier for dinner which was nice for our family. Absolutely loved it and would totally go back if we have the chance.

El Laurel was my favorite meal in Barcelona. It was frequented mostly by locals, felt relaxing and homey, and the service was charming. The place was also very unique with art for sale on its walls. Most of all, the food was excellent. Order 3-6 expanadas between two people and eat a main dish. Excellent place! Glad I found this place on my last night in the area.

dare i say, four point five?! I still dream about El Laurel... those empanadas are makin' me drool as we speak. I have eaten almost all of them, the red, the green, the everything.... (well, actually I have yet to eat the sweet one, i've only eaten the savory ones, as i do not have a sweet tooth) GO. trust me. GO. they have a menu in english and catalonian. Thank GOD for the english one. get a beer from the tap (they have jar sized (big cup) or stein sized (BIG ass cup)) good service, good food, clean bathrooms. GO GO GO. the ONLY negative thing i can possibly think of, is that it gets a tad loud in there at times. you sincerely won't be sorry for going

My friend and I came here because we had empanada cravings. It was delicious! I had the "Dino" (veal) and the "La Dulce" (apples, cinnamon, raisins, etc.). I wish we found it earlier... I would have eaten it everyday that I was in Barcelona.

We stumbled upon this hole in the wall a few years ago while on vacation in Barcelona only to discover a menu with an amazing assortment of empanadas with a creative combinations of flavors and ingredients. We ended up trying almost every one on the menu and they were all amazing. Every time I've been back I've visited El Laurel and the food and service is always spot on. With so many hole in the wall spots it can be hard to find a diamond in the rough but this is truly one of them. Great place for lunch, a late night snack or a low key dinner.

Friendly place with quick service and delicious food, especially the empanadas! Suitable for vegetarians.

Nice place, friendly waiter. We came in around 7:45pm on a Monday evening, and because the Spaniards dine late, there was plenty of seating available. The place filled up after that, but not full. We both had salads, a couple of empenadas and dessert and a glass of wine and water. Came to about €55. The food was ok and plentiful, but not blown away. I would comfortably recommend it to friends, but probably not return a second time.

fantastic atmosphere and great food makes this place a perfect pizza place to hang and have a good time. thank you guys

Yay yelp! We found El Laurel because of you and loved it! I don't think you can go wrong with any of empanadas or salads. As a family of four we ordered whole bunch of things and shared them. All were delicious. The patrons and staff are mostly local and seem to hang out regularly. Not a lot of english but there is an english menu and they met us half way. Wish I could go there now!

This place was our favorite. Very small but had no problem getting seating. The servers we had both times we came were very friendly. They have decently priced wine here and a great selection of empanadas. If you want something that isn't premade, do their entrees. They are amazing. My wife and I tried the chicken in a leek sauce and the salmon ravioli in a walnut sauce. Both blew us away, we had no idea it would be this tasty! Highly recommend, will definitely be back if we come to Barcelona again.

Okay, I should probably have ordered something Argeninian, but being vegetarian and just wanting to eat something before going to the movies over the street, a glass of wine and a pizza seemed the right thing. I ordered a Pizza Four Cheeses at around 11€ which was absolutely the worst pizza I ever had, and that includes frozen pizzas. Weak dough, over-salted (added to the natural saltiness of the cheeses), too much of those four cheeses. I tried to just eat the crust (which was not really a crust, had more the consistency of heavy, but tasteless bread), I tried the middle, I tried close to the "crust". A small slice would have been enough, I managed to eat probably 1/3 of the whole pizza, and that was too much already. I did need a lot of water afterwords to get the taste out of my mouth, and the dough kept being heavy in my stomach throughout the movie. NOT recommended, at least for the choice I made... PS: The guys behind the bar were nice, and the atmosphere good, too, wish I could have said same for the food...

I will give it 5 stars because of charm. The food is great in terms of value but they were some of the nicest people ever. The restaurant has a certain charm to it and it's pretty close to everything. The sweets and the empanadas are wonderful. The steak is pretty ok/good too.