Polaroid Bar
Polaroid Bar is a retro-themed bar on Carrer dels Còdols, a quiet street just off Plaça Reial in the Gothic Quarter. The concept is thorough: the walls are covered in vintage toys, 1980s and 1990s movie posters, action figures still in packaging, retro arcade machines, classic video game consoles, and shelves of VHS tapes. The bar serves inexpensive beer, wine, and basic cocktails, with the drinks menu staying deliberately simple. A small kitchen runs nachos, burgers, and pizza. The appeal is the atmosphere and the prices: beer runs 3 EUR, cocktails 6-7, which sits well below the Plaça Reial average. The crowd is young, international, and laid-back, with most visitors stopping in for a few drinks before heading out to Plaça Reial or La Rambla. The room can get cramped on weekend nights, but the energy stays friendly rather than rowdy. Music leans heavily into 1980s and 1990s pop, alternative, and rock, matching the decor. This is not a destination for serious drinks or serious conversation; it's a pre-game bar with a memorable interior, priced well for central Barcelona.
What to Expect
A room packed with 1980s and 1990s pop culture memorabilia, low-budget drinks served quickly, a young crowd laughing over cocktails, and a soundtrack of Madonna, A-ha, and early Nirvana.
Playful, nostalgic, a little chaotic. A pre-game rather than a destination.
1980s and 1990s pop, rock, alternative, occasional electro
Very casual. Jeans, sneakers, no one cares.
Budget-conscious travelers, pre-clubbing groups, nostalgia tourists.
Cash and cards both accepted
Price Range
Beer 3 EUR, wine 3 EUR, basic cocktails 6-7 EUR, food 6-10 EUR
Beer ~$3.20, wine ~$3.20, cocktails ~$6.50-$7.55, food ~$6.50-$10.80
Hours
19:00-02:30 Sun-Thu, 19:00-03:00 Fri-Sat
Insider Tip
Come before 22:00 for a seat; after that it's standing room only. The photo ops with the vintage decor are better with the back room lighting. Menu is cash-friendly, cards work for larger tabs.
Full Review
Polaroid Bar is on Carrer dels Còdols, a short, narrow street running south from Plaça Reial. The entrance is marked by a hand-painted sign and a window full of old action figures. Inside, the first room opens into a bar that spans one wall, with shelves rising above and behind stacked with toys, models, and vintage memorabilia: a Star Wars AT-AT, a Back to the Future DeLorean, rows of cassette tapes, a Walkman or two. The back room holds more seating and a few arcade cabinets that actually work on inserted coins.
I ordered a beer for 3 EUR and a mojito for 6.50 EUR. The beer was a standard Estrella draft, the mojito was functional if not finely crafted: a decent mint-to-lime balance, generous rum pour, crushed ice. Neither drink was a surprise, and neither was meant to be. The food menu follows the same logic: a burger for 8 EUR, nachos for 7, standard pre-drinking fuel.
The crowd on the Thursday I visited was mostly 20-something international travelers and a few local students. Conversations were loud, tables kept shifting as people moved between rooms, and the soundtrack swung from Michael Jackson to Oasis to a-ha's Take On Me in the space of 15 minutes. The decor became the conversation topic for most groups, with phones out taking photos of the walls.
Compared to other budget-friendly bars in central Barcelona, Polaroid wins on atmosphere and loses on drink quality, which is exactly the trade-off it's going for. Use it as a start-of-the-night spot before heading to Plaça Reial or Carrer dels Escudellers for something louder.
The Neighborhood
Carrer dels Còdols runs through a quiet pocket of the Gothic Quarter south of Plaça Reial, with a handful of bars, small restaurants, and residential blocks. The area sees less tourist foot traffic than the Rambla but is two minutes from Plaça Reial.
Getting There
Metro Liceu L3 (green) is a four-minute walk. Metro Drassanes L3 is five minutes south. From Plaça Reial, walk south through the narrow archways about two minutes.
Address
Carrer dels Còdols 29, 08002 Barcelona
Where to stay in Barcelona
Compare hotels near the nightlife districts. Free cancellation on most properties.
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