DAKANA | Restaurante, Coctelería, Bar,Vermutería

Sants is a neighborhood that doesn’t owe you anything. It’s not the Gothic Quarter with its curated shadows, and it’s certainly not the Eixample with its wide, polite boulevards. Sants is real. It’s where people live, work, and—most importantly—where they go to escape the soul-crushing weight of the tourist trail. On the Rambla del Brasil, a wide pedestrian stretch where the sound of rolling suitcases is replaced by the clatter of locals living their lives, you’ll find Dakana. It’s a hybrid beast: part restaurant, part cocktail bar, part tiki lounge, and entirely unpretentious.

Walking into Dakana feels like stepping into a fever dream of a tropical getaway that somehow landed in the middle of a working-class Barcelona barrio. There are neon signs casting a pinkish-purple hue over wooden textures and lush greenery. It shouldn’t work, but it does. It’s the kind of place that understands that sometimes you want a sophisticated drink, but you also want to eat something with your hands that involves a lot of melted cheese.

Let’s talk about the nachos, because if you read the reviews, people talk about them like they’re a religious experience. In a city where 'nachos' often means a sad pile of bagged chips with a dollop of cold salsa, Dakana is doing the Lord’s work. They are loaded, messy, and structurally sound—a rare feat of snack engineering. Then there are the tequeños, those golden, fried spears of cheese-filled joy that hint at the Venezuelan influence behind the bar. It’s fusion food, but not the kind that’s trying to win an award; it’s the kind that’s trying to make you happy while you’re three drinks deep into a Tuesday night.

The cocktail program is where the 'Coctelería' in the name earns its keep. This isn't just a place that pours gin and tonics (though they’ll do that too). They lean into the tiki aesthetic with drinks served in ceramic mugs that look like Polynesian gods, but the flavors are balanced. The mojitos are a staple, fresh and sharp, but the Pornstar Martini and the various house creations show a level of craft you don’t always expect from a neighborhood haunt. It’s one of the best cocktail bars in Sants-Montjuïc because it lacks the gatekeeping snobbery of the downtown speakeasies. The bartenders here are fast, efficient, and they know exactly what they’re doing.

The terrace is the heart of the operation. Sitting out on the Rambla del Brasil as the sun goes down, watching the neighborhood drift by, is one of those simple Barcelona pleasures that hasn’t been ruined yet. It’s a mix of young locals, groups of friends arguing over football, and the occasional traveler who wandered away from the crowds and realized they’ve found something better. The service is what I’d call 'Sants-standard'—it’s honest. They aren't going to fawn over you, but they’ll get you your drink and your bravas with a level of efficiency that commands respect.

Is it perfect? No. It can get loud, the music can be aggressive, and on a Friday night, you might have to fight for a table on that coveted terrace. But that’s the point. Dakana is alive. It’s a testament to the fact that you don’t need a view of the Sagrada Família to have a hell of a night. You just need good ice, a heavy pour, and a plate of something fried. If you’re looking for a sterile, 'authentic' experience designed by a marketing firm, go somewhere else. If you want to see how Sants actually drinks, pull up a chair.