Iaia Cristina

So to clarify, Iaia means grandma in Catalan, the Catalonian official Language. And it makes sense that this restaurant would be named that!

Iaia Cristina is located in the fast-growing neighborhood of Poble Nou, in the North East part of the city.  It is at the intersection of Llacuna St and Ramón Turró St.

It is a traditional Italian restaurant (trust me, I used to live in Italy) that serves homemade food and pizzas made in a wood-fired oven.

Pasta Carbonara

The restaurant is huge and has excellent lighting. The star of this restaurant is in the center: a wood fire pizza oven. This not only gives the food that smokey taste but also coats the place with a beautiful scent.

The menu is pure Neapolitan. Serving pizzas, risottos, calzoni, pasta and traditional desserts such as cannoli and tiramisú.

I tried three of their dishes. A typical Pasta Carbonara made to perfection. Anyone who knows carbonara knows that the smallest factor can make or break this classic five-ingredient pasta (bacon, raw egg, black pepper, Parmigiano cheese, and spaghetti. ). The one I had here was amazing. Then we moved on to a pizza with Bufala Mozzarella, nothing can ever go wrong there. And to finish a cup of strawberries tops with mascarpone.

Cup of Strawberries

If you are ever in or around Poble Nou in Barcelona, go eat some Italian grandma’s food and feel transported to Italy.