Hotpot de Sichuan — Restaurant in Barcelona

We had an honestly wonderful time at this restaurant during our visit to Barcelona. After a fairly impersonal visit to the city in which we were not having an especially good time, we instantly felt for the first time welcome in the city after walking into this restaurant and, for me, felt finally a connection with the city of Barcelona (admittedly, as a person of Sichuan provenance).

The staff were excellent with us, especially with our infant daughter – with multiple members of the staff checking in nearly constantly to make sure we were doing well. One member of the staff even nicely carried our daughter around the restaurant, as if she were his own daughter. The hot-pot food is good, well priced – which felt so nice at the tail end of an expensive holidays in France and Spain, and portion sizes of the platters are well sized. Very good value for money.

One member of the staff did something I never remembered ever being done at any restaurant before to me – she gave advice that we had over-ordered and recommended we remove several items from our order. I have literally never seen this happen before, and she was exactly right. This saved us money and was good for reducing food waste, even if it cost the restaurant money. In addition, the restaurant accepted back a further platter even after it had arrived when we realised we still could not finish what we had ordered. Hot-pot restaurants rarely accept back their raw platters after arrival on the table as this cuts profitability. Excellent and humane service, a good vibe, and good value.

This is the only review I have ever opted to write for a restaurant except for my mother’s family restaurant in the United States, so I think that is saying something about this visit to this specific restaurant as the highlight of our week...

If food were love! … Having already experienced - rejoiced, 2 days in a row - the Madrid sister restaurant, on arriving in Barcelona, our very first stop, even before the hotel, was lunch here.

There is a multi-dish “Menu del Dia”(menu of the day) available for around 25e per person, which we always default to, and add on a bottle of House Wine (red) which is actually well chosen for the menu.

I have to say I don’t know 1/2 of what it is that we’re eating, except it’s lovely! We invariably order a little more of our favourite dishes, and roll out hours later, thinking this is the best life!

Service is swift and efficient, although very few of the staff speak any English, but if you’re language challenged, a quick point at a dish and a shyly muttered “Mas, por favor!”, or a finger point to a dish on the menu will have them speedily looking to please.

If you’ve never tried HotPot, with patient gesturing, the team will also show you how to enjoy your meal - it’s worth the (simple, if at first somewhat daunting) learning curve. There’s something to be said for the combined richness of cooking your own meal and relaxing with good company to make the day feel well-lived.

Top Tip: Do take your time - the broth becomes ever richer and the very best of flavors are achieved at the end of the meal.

Do I recommend? Absolutely - as long as there’s always a table free for me...

The food was absolutely delicious, but unfortunately, the service really dampened the experience. When we arrived, the waiter asked if it was our first time there, and we said yes. He started explaining the menu but immediately began pressuring us to choose a broth. My boyfriend loves spicy food, so it was an easy choice for him. However, I prefer non-spicy options, and there were three choices: meat, mushroom, and tomato broth.

I told the waiter I needed more time to decide because I wanted to check the ingredients first. He completely ignored my request and kept pushing me to decide on the spot. Ultimately, he chose the mushroom broth for me (unsurprisingly, the most expensive option) without my consent. He handed us the paper to select other ingredients. I thought I could change the broth before the order was finalized, but less than a minute later, the broths he selected arrived at the table.

To make things even more uncomfortable, another staff member tried to help us, but the waiter was incredibly rude to her. He dismissed her, saying she was new and didn’t know what she was doing (clearly, she saw that I was uncomfortable and tried helping). It was such an awkward and unpleasant interaction.

Overall, while the food was fantastic, the poor service left a bad impression and took away from what could have been a...