A Poble-sec corner bar near Carrer Blai, vermut, cañas, a few plats, neighbourhood pace.
Bar Olimpia is one of the small corner bars in the streets immediately south of Carrer Blai, the Poble-sec pintxos street that fills every weekend with visitors counting toothpicks. Olimpia is what Blai used to be: a single small room with a tiled bar, a vermut barrel, a chalkboard of three or four plats, cañas poured for the neighbourhood. Eater's Barcelona neighbourhood guide groups Olimpia with the "Carrer Blai survivors", the bars that have not pivoted to the toothpick economy. Time Out Barcelona's Poble-sec coverage flags it as "the alternative if Blai feels too much".
The right visitor wants a vermut and a short plate of patatas bravas before the Mercado de la Boqueria walk, or a 22:00 wind-down caña after a Carrer Blai pintxos crawl that has already gone on too long. The wrong visitor wants tourist-friendly service, a long cocktail list, or a kitchen open past 23:30. Olimpia stays in its neighbourhood-bar lane.
The room is small and uncomplicated: a marble-topped bar along one wall, a few high tables, a small back room with maybe four tables, and a chalkboard of three or four plats that rotates with what the kitchen has. The decor leans functional, tiled walls, a hanging cured ham, family photos behind the till. The Infatuation Barcelona's Poble-sec coverage describes the layout as "the Carrer Blai bar before Carrer Blai became Carrer Blai".
Order the house vermut (around €2.50–3) or a caña; the wine list is short and Catalan, by the glass for €3.50–4.50. There is no cocktail menu, and the bar staff will tell you to walk to Bobby Gin or Two Schmucks if you want one, honest advice the bar runs on.
Food is the chalkboard: patatas bravas, a daily plat (often a slow-cooked meat with chickpeas), a tortilla, a few cured-meat plates. Regulars on r/Barcelona consistently steer toward whatever the daily plat is; the static tapas list is fine but not the reason to come. The kitchen winds down at 22:30, later eaters get sent to the Carrer Blai pintxos line.
Most of the room is Poble-sec resident, older couples at lunch, neighbourhood after-work groups, a Catalan-Spanish bilingual feel at the bar. From around 21:00 the crowd skews younger as Carrer Blai overflows; the bar will sometimes be the alternative for a group who has given up on the toothpick queue. Time Out Barcelona's neighbourhood writer calls the room "the Poble-sec corner bar template".