Restaurante Hitsumabushi — Restaurant in Barcelona

I had heard from a friend that this restaurant’s unagi was excellent, so we came especially for it. Reservations are made either by phone or by dropping in directly to confirm a time. Since English can be a bit difficult, I asked a local friend to help with the booking. The owner speaks Japanese and Spanish. We booked for lunch and arrived at 1 p.m. There were already people waiting. It seems the restaurant is run by a couple—the husband prepares the food while the wife takes orders and serves dishes. When it’s busy, service can be a little slow, but it’s understandable. The menu has photos, which makes it clear, and also includes English notes.

We ordered a sashimi platter—my father said it was very fresh, though he wished the wasabi had been spicier. The California roll with crab meat was nice as well. The potato salad was a real surprise—warm potatoes mixed with boiled egg and sauce, mashed together. My child loved it. The unagi truly lived up to its reputation. It was unique compared to many other places. I usually don’t enjoy very fatty eel covered in heavy red sauce. Even in Japan, that’s often what we get. But here the eel wasn’t overly fatty or drenched in sauce. My daughter usually refuses to try much fish because of the bones. This time I gave her a small bite—her eyes went wide and she said it was amazing. She ended up eating the whole bowl, and later at home she kept saying she wanted to go back.

For dessert, we had matcha cake. The sweetness of the cake combined with the slight bitterness of the green tea created a nice balance of flavors.

I only wish they offered online reservations—it would make things...

While I’ve yet to go to Japan, I live in Vancouver and we have some of the best sushi there. I had very high expectations from Hitsumabushi. Coined as the best Japanese restaurant in Spain I had to try it despite my reluctance to eat something I know quite well instead of favoring more local cuisine. It’s definitely good food but nothing I wasn’t already familiar with and at much higher price than I’m used to. There was no lunch menu so it turned out into an appetizer stop for us spending more than 80 euros for 4 tiny dishes that left us hungry. If you aren’t familiar with Japanese food and money is no object go for it, if not you’ll be better off with the myriads of great eateries...

I ordered the eel box after reading the reviews that the eel was not to be missed. It was indeed buttery and just the right amount of salty, but upon hindsight, I think I would have ordered the sushi instead of the box, which was a lot of eel for one meal…And a bit pricey as compared to the sushi. The green tea tiramisu sounded so interesting I was enticed to get it. The matcha taste was not overpowering. The cake was light but dry - not brushed with liqueur or another liquid like a true tiramisu - luckily the cream was lovely and made up for it. Very kind staff, pretty wall...