Diània — Restaurant in Barcelona

We went to Diània after reading several “best paella” lists (including Condé Nast). Perhaps expectations were high after these glowing reviews, but we were thoroughly underwhelmed. The paella was undercooked and greasy, and the portion was undersized for 2. The “seasonal salad” was just a few cut tomatoes with some sliced onion on top, with absolutely no olive oil or salt. The wine (a crianza), however, was decent and reasonably priced.

Service was definitely lacking. Our waiter looked put-out the few times we asked him for something, like olive oil or the desert menu. He promptly informed us that they ran out of oil - what a coincidence! (What Spanish restaurant runs out of olive oil?!?!) It was service with a snarl after we explained that we wanted a bottle of wine, not just the single glass he mistakenly gave us. It seemed like he was more interested in talking with the woman behind the bar than actually serving customers.

Diània’s space is small, and can be charming with its rustic undertones. The tables are a bit cramped and can’t accommodate any party over 6. And when the front paneling is open, the smoke from the smokers right outside is unavoidable inside. I’ve been to Barcelona many times and have had better paella and experiences elsewhere, and I would suggest you do the same. Try the Barcelonetta neighborhood - many far better...

Food was excellent but the server was unnecessarily and inexplicably rude. I don't usually comment on service as I work in restaurant and event management/ operations, and have waited on tables myself before, so I understand the stress of the kitchen. But he was being so rude and curt to our group of 5. We came here upon the recommendation of a local, and we were the ONLY table on the first lunch shift on a weekday, so i don't understand why he was so "stressed". My friend's teenage son has a seafood allergy so he was carefully picking his order, then the server told us to hurry up (!?). He could have just given us some time and come back. After, we ordered a lot of dishes, then he barked at me to slow down as I was telling him the order. We asked if there was something simple he could recommend for my friend's 4 year old daughter, and he was actually annoyed and said "this is a rice restaurant". At some point he even told us he gave us the cheaper fideuà because the one they usually serve came in the pan and was 80eu and "expensive". Lol. Did we catch him on a bad day? I'm glad the food was very good, thankfully, but his attitude left...

Wow, I couldn't be more disappointed from a restaurant. The potatoes had some sort of cottage cheese/ketchup looking topping. The presentation looked awful and the potatoes were stale. The sauce was a spicy aioli which really doesn't belong on a fried potato. These are not potatoes that should be served in any restaurant. When fried food is bad, that really says it all. We ordered a salad and it was just a regular boring tuna salad. Even the olives on top of this concoction were low quality. Salad was neither healthy nor delicious. This restaurant seems to be trying some new kind of food, but it's neither new and exciting nor is it a new twist of a classic. Just confusing. We also had the paella. It was rice with 6 pieces of shrimp on top. The shrimp was tender. None of us were impressed with our first paella in Spain. We will try again somewhere else. We...