Chefs Ferran and Albert Adrià opened Tickets in 2011 after closing their famed El Bulli restaurant, and this high-end tapas restaurant was instantly one of the hardest reservations to get in Barcelona. Tickets, which is located in the fashionable Poble Sec neighborhood, still books up two months in advance but you can book reservations online.

Once there, you'll find none of the pretension you might expect from a Michelin-starred restaurant with such a pedigree, and there is no strict dress code. Maybe that's because the restaurant has a whimsical theme that is part circus, part cinema, with the staff dressed in usher-inspired uniforms. The à la carte menu of oysters, tapas, and shareable plates is also illustrated with cartoons, and the prices are much lower than you would expect at a place that routinely makes the list of the top 50 in the world. Tapas start around $6 each while large plates start at around $20.

Order: The most striking flavors come in just one bite — the restaurant is famous for spherical "olives" that explode in your mouth (these were staples at El Bulli as well) and puff pastry filled with manchego foam known as "airbags." End the meal with ice cream made tableside — a cart is wheeled out where the chef mixes chocolate, cream, and olive oil together with nitrogen, which surrounds the cart in white smoke.

Address: 164 Avinguda del Parallel, ticketsbar.es