Asian cuisine in Barcelona: beyond sushi

Barcelona's relationship with Asian cuisine runs deeper than it looks. What began with the first Chinese restaurants in El Raval back in the 1970s has grown into a formidable food scene, with everything from chef-driven Chinese cooking to nikkei fusion, by way of izakayas, street-style Thai and serious dim sum. And the best part: many of these places serve menú del día, so you don't need to order à la carte to eat proper Asian food.

If you already know the classics from our menú del día in Barcelona guide, this is going to open up a whole new world.

Chef-driven Chinese cooking: the Kao saga

When someone says "Chinese" in Barcelona, most people picture spring rolls and egg fried rice. But one restaurant has spent more than 50 years proving that Chinese cooking can be haute cuisine. It's called Shanghai, and it's in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi.

The story starts in 1945, when Kao Tze Chien left China. He arrived in Barcelona in the 1950s and opened a restaurant that cooked the way people really cook in Shanghai. No adapting for the European palate. First-rate produce, refined technique and absolute respect for tradition.

But the real leap came from his son, Josep Maria Kao. He grew up between two worlds — his father's kitchen and the Mediterranean ingredients of Barcelona — and fused the two in a way nobody had tried before. Palamós prawns cooked with Cantonese technique. Lacquered duck with nuances only someone who grew up shopping at the Mercat de Sarrià could pull off.

The result is a restaurant many consider the best Chinese restaurant outside China. That's not an exaggeration: it holds more than 800 wines on its list (yes, at a Chinese restaurant) and a client roster that includes Messi and Lamine Yamal. When the best footballer in the world picks where to have dinner in Barcelona, that has to mean something.

The menú at Shanghai runs around €46. That's not cheap, but it's not what you'd expect for a place of this caliber either. To put it in perspective: it's what you'd pay for any gourmet menú in Barcelona, except here half a century of family history sits behind every dish. If you like restaurants with history, this is one that leaves a mark.

Nikkei: the fusion conquering Barcelona

If you're not familiar with nikkei cuisine, brace yourself. It's what happens when you cross Japanese precision with the fire and flavors of Peru. It emerged from Japanese immigration to Lima in the late 19th century, and today it's one of the most powerful food trends in the world. Barcelona has become one of its European epicenters.

UCHU is one name you need to write down. It's in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, and its name already tells you where this is going: "uchu" means spicy in Quechua. Here you'll find nikkei ceviches with leche de tigre that carries just the right kick, chef-driven nigiri where the rice has proper Japanese technique but the topping brings ají amarillo, and vibrant dishes that snap you out of any food routine.

But UCHU isn't alone. Barcelona has a nikkei scene that keeps growing:

Nikkei 103 has earned a 9 out of 10 on TheFork. Its duck dishes are legendary, the lomo saltado is among the best in the city, and its tres leches is the dessert you order even when you're full. A must.
Ají occupies a prime spot inside the Casino de Barcelona. Chef Luis Miguel García Vílchez has been a benchmark for nikkei cooking in the city for years. If you want nikkei in a spectacular setting, this is your place.
Terrat is Gastón Acurio's bet — arguably the most famous Peruvian chef in the world — on Barcelona. It sits on the rooftop of the Mandarin Oriental, with 360-degree views over the city. Acurio needs no introduction: if he puts his name on a restaurant in Barcelona, it's because the city deserves it.

Why eat Asian food as a menú del día

Something happens when you eat Asian cuisine as a menú del día that doesn't happen à la carte: you discover dishes you'd never have ordered. The menú forces you to try. They put a starter you'd never heard of in front of you, a main you wouldn't have picked — and it turns out to be the best thing you've eaten in weeks.

On top of that, the menú del día turns experiences that would cost €50 or €60 à la carte into something you can justify on a random Tuesday. You don't need to wait for a special occasion to eat proper dim sum or a nikkei ceviche made with the day's fresh produce.

And there's a factor nobody talks about enough: breaking the routine. If you've spent months rotating between the pasta menú at the Italian place next door and the same old salad at your usual bar, an Asian menú del día resets your palate. It's like traveling without leaving the neighborhood.

Barcelona is lucky that its Asian scene isn't just window dressing. There are cooks with decades of craft, families who've spent generations perfecting recipes, and chefs who've brought traditions from thousands of kilometers away. All of it, at menú prices.

Find your Asian restaurant

Asian cuisine in Barcelona goes far beyond conveyor-belt sushi and shopping-mall wok joints. There are places with history, with soul, and with a value for money that genuinely surprises. And more and more of them serve menú del día.

At Appetece we update Barcelona's menús del día every day. You can filter by area, by price and by type of cuisine to find exactly what you're in the mood for. Because sometimes what you're craving is a good plate of noodles at lunchtime, and that's a menú del día too.