Schilling Bar / Café

Barri Gòtic, Barcelona –

A corner location on Carrer de Ferran, which connects Las Ramblas with the bustling Plaça Sant Jaume, certainly benefits gay-friendly Schilling, making it a great place to people-watch with a coffee during the day and to chill with something a little harder at night.

The name’s a holdover from the Austrian who opened the joint in 1900, but anyone on the hunt for bratwurst and Kölsch will be sorely disappointed – the food is definitely Spanish and the regular clientele is mostly trendy but unpretentious Barcelonians, cool young business men, and a good number of tourists.

Funky tables and high ceilings dotted with soft bulbous chandeliers adorn most of the space, while one wall is entirely covered in shelves of old wine bottles.

Retro lamps peek down on several tables, where book nerds can tuck in with a paper and a panino – that’s the singular for panini, kids – as out-of-towners tear into some tapas and check out the always-frenetic Ferran scene.

In back just past the small square bar, patrons will find more intimate seating for those looking to escape the day with café con leche.

The mellow vibe gives way a bit in the evening, when the dance music gets turned up, gay men gather over bottles of wine, and groups of artsy friends meet for grub and cocktails before hitting a nearby club.

But whether patrons want a milky coffee in the afternoon or a casually elegant evening of cocktails, Schilling doesn’t discriminate.