Bodega J. Cala

Wooden doors painted red. Rows of casks and barrels darkened by the passage of years. Stacks of colourful boxes of beer bottles. Bullfighting posters and a Football Club Espanyol T-shirt. Wood flooring and a plenty of tradition. The 'J' is for Joaquina, the owner's mother. Johnny and his wife, Rosa, are a delightful couple who open their bodega in the morning and close around 4pm. They serve up the classic combination of anchovies with stuffed olives and vermouth, and every night they spend two or three hours cleaning and preparing anchovies so that the next day you can gobble them down: now that's dedication.