Shoronpo GRACIA 小籠包 — Restaurant in Barcelona

Yesterday I visit the restaurant with a friend. It was my first visit and well quite sad, but I most likely will not go to the restaurant again. The food was good and I would have loved to try the place more often to discover more dishes, but the service and the manner was quite lacking sensitivity. Everyone was quite friendly, but the issue for me was that as soon as our food was finished…our glasses still had drinks…a waiter came wordless and abrupt and placed the bill on the table!!!! We had a reservation and we were not even sitting 50 min including order time and eating time! So we just had swallowed our desert and were about to drink our drinks! It was super strange, since the place is a restaurant and not a fast food place. I can absolutely understand that the space is limited and it’s surely clear that it’s not a place to have a 3 hour long dining experience, but come on…people should be able to drink of their glasses! We were so flabbergasted and so we asked why they bring us the bill, since we haven’t asked for it, then both waiters „act“ as if it was a mistake! Then we asked: ok then we would like to have one more beer. And then they r responded: oh no sorry we need the table. So in that moment it became clear that they brought the bill not by a mistake but by intention. Strange unnecessary behavior. Specifically because we were not even occupying the table and hour! So well the food is good, but you should be prepared that at one or the other moment you will be dropped out ;) probably 5 seconds after you have swallowed your last bite. A normal conversation would have changed this scenario totally. A restaurant is actually a place of hospitality and human communication. Well that was missing. At least in...

We came here because of its reputation, and by the time we arrived there was already a long line at the entrance. I’d definitely recommend making a reservation in advance.

For starters, we ordered spicy dumplings, edamame, and Japanese fried tofu. My favorite was the tofu, the coating was perfectly crisp. Many Japanese restaurants make fried tofu too heavy, but here it was much better.

For rice dishes, we tried two. The fried chicken portion was huge, and the oil they used was very clean—not the kind that’s been reused, so there was no greasy or off flavor at all. The pork dish was also tasty.

We ordered three kinds of ramen, though I didn’t manage to photograph them all. The miso ramen was my child’s favorite—she ate an entire large bowl on her own. Every serving was very generous; I couldn’t even finish mine. My father really enjoyed the dandan noodles he ordered. I had the soy sauce ramen, which was fine, though not as impressive as some reviews suggested. But maybe that was just because I didn’t have much of an appetite today.

We also tried three types of xiaolongbao: classic, foie, and black truffle, with two dumplings per portion. Personally, I preferred the classic ones, while my child liked the foie best. All of the dumplings were freshly made, with delicate wrappers and flavorful fillings. Just make sure to eat them with a spoon—otherwise one bite will send the soup and filling...

This is in my top 3 of ramen places in Barcelona. We had an amazing time having dinner in Shoronpo. You can make a reservation or wait outside for a while and most likely you will have a seat (especially if it’s 2 people or 4 max I would say).

The place is small but perfect, the attention is great. Also, we got lucky and sat in the bar that is in front of the kitchen with Keita ‘San’ Tanaka serving us the entrees and watching them prepare all the dishes. It was a very nice experience.

We had the Shoronpos with cheese and truffle, the kaarage and also ramen: Tantanmen and Wantanmen. Everything had a unique taste and was spectacular!

I will definitely come back to try more of...