Betty Ford's
Betty Ford's is one of the last honest dive bars on Carrer de Joaquin Costa, a street that's been steadily polishing up for years. The floors are sticky, the lighting is harsh, the bathrooms are an adventure, and the drinks are cheap. Beer runs EUR 3-4 and basic mixed drinks are EUR 5-6. That's the deal, and the crowd loves it for exactly those reasons. The place fills with a mix of Raval regulars, Erasmus students, and travelers who wandered in looking for something real. Music blasts from speakers without much curation: rock, punk, pop, whatever the bartender feels like. Weekend nights get genuinely packed, with people spilling onto the street and the energy climbing as the night goes on. There's no table service, no cocktail menu, no reservations. You push to the bar, order, and find a spot. The bar stays open late and serves as a launchpad for the rest of the night in Raval.
What to Expect
A loud, crowded dive bar with cheap drinks and zero pretension. You'll squeeze through bodies to reach the bar, shout your order, and find a wall to lean against. The energy is high, the crowd is friendly, and nobody is checking what you're wearing.
Loud, sticky, and perfectly imperfect. A real dive bar.
Loud rock, punk, pop, and whatever the bartender chooses. No live music or DJs.
None. The divvier you look, the more you'll fit in.
Budget drinkers, dive bar enthusiasts, anyone who wants cheap drinks before heading to a club.
Cash preferred, cards sometimes accepted
Price Range
Beer EUR 3-4, mixed drinks EUR 5-6, shots EUR 3-4
≈ $3-4 beer, $5-7 mixed drinks
Hours
Daily 8 PM to 2:30 AM (3 AM on weekends)
Insider Tip
Go before 11 PM on weekends if you want any chance of a seat. Cash speeds things up at the bar. Don't wear anything you'd be upset about getting beer spilled on.
Full Review
Betty Ford's doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't. The room is small, the bar takes up most of one wall, and the rest is standing room with a few stools that are always taken. The decor is whatever has accumulated over the years: stickers, posters, graffiti. The floor crunches underfoot.
Drinks are straightforward and cheap by Barcelona standards. A beer and a shot will cost you less than a single cocktail at the places down the street. The bartenders pour quickly and don't bother with garnishes. Service is fast when it isn't overwhelmed, which happens most weekend nights around midnight.
I stopped in on a Thursday and had the place almost to myself until about 10:30 PM. By 11:30 it was full, and by midnight you couldn't move without bumping someone. The crowd was young, international, and loud. People were singing along to whatever came through the speakers. Two guys next to me were debating Catalan independence in broken Spanish. That's the kind of place this is.
Betty Ford's works best as a starting point. Have a few cheap rounds, meet some people, then move on to Moog or 33|45 or wherever the night takes you. It's not a destination in itself unless you're committed to the dive bar lifestyle.
The Neighborhood
Betty Ford's is part of the Joaquin Costa bar strip in upper Raval. The street has gentrified around it, with cocktail bars and wine spots opening on either side, but Betty Ford's holds its ground as the scrappy one. The MACBA square is a two-minute walk north.
Getting There
Metro L1/L2 to Universitat, then walk south for 3 minutes. It's on Joaquin Costa near the Ronda de Sant Antoni end of the street. You'll hear it before you see it on busy nights.
Address
Carrer de Joaquín Costa 56, 08001 Barcelona
Other Venues in El Raval
Bar Marsella
Operating since 1820, this is Barcelona's oldest bar and the city's most famous absinthe joint. Hemingway and Picasso drank here. The crumbling interiors haven't been updated in decades, and that's the point. Absinthe served the traditional way, with sugar and water.
33|45
Vinyl bar and cocktail spot decorated with vinyl records and vintage audio equipment. Good cocktails at reasonable prices, a local crowd, and DJs spinning funk, soul, and disco on weekends. One of upper Raval's most reliably good bars.
Moog
Small but legendary electronic music club near the bottom of La Rambla. Two floors: techno downstairs, indie and pop upstairs. Operating since 1996, Moog has hosted some of electronic music's biggest names in an intimate setting. Entry EUR 10-15.
Bar Pastís
Tiny French-themed bar on Carrer de Santa Monica decorated with Edith Piaf memorabilia. Live music on some nights: chanson, flamenco, or jazz. The space holds maybe 40 people, creating an intimate atmosphere that larger venues can't replicate.