UMA — Restaurant in Barcelona

If you are looking for a Michelin experience, there are much better options in Barcelona. First of all, the most important: The Food. Except the first dish that was served and aligned with my 10 previous michelin experience (a caramelized onion mousse, a very original mochi and a mini taco made out of leaf and perfectly semi-cook eel), and one of the desert that was also nice with cherry ice cream, the rest of the food (meaning the other 7 to 9 dishes) was un-impressive, especially a real lack of flavour, and sometimes a combination of elements with no real value on the taste. Let me be clear, even if this was not a michelin restaurant, and the price was 10€ per person, I would not go back to eat the food. Simply because apart from the 2 dishes mentioned, the rest was truly nothing special, sometimes not even that good.

But let's talk about the price, we paid 433€ for 2 persons, we didn't even drink wine (my wife was pregnant). We got served instead some home made drinks without alcohol. One of them had Hibiscus in it, which we learned after the restaurant you should not serve hibiscus to pregnant women (interesting that a Michelin restaurant didn't know that).

Anyway this has been by far the most expensive 1 star michelin restaurant I've tried and normally we have a bottle of wine, not this time. To name a few of Barcelona michelin star experience where the food was so much better and cheaper: Disfrutar, Oria, Caelis, etc.

Now about the environment, the restaurant decoration is nice, but not sure if they gave us a special table because it was my wife birthday and she was pregnant, but needless to say we had the worse table. We were seated behind the kitchen (not in front, not inside, but behind), where you didn't see much except all the shelves of kitchen storage (plastic and metalic boxes piled together), and where you saw the backroom door, isolated from any decoration. So we didn't get to enjoy the vibe of the michelin star. The normal room seemed nice though, but we didn't get that chance, not sure why. The service was ok (3 out of 5).

So yes, unless they improve their dishes, I don't recommend this michelin restaurant and would pick another one in Barcelona. And for that price you can even go to a 2 star michelin, or go the extra mile with a 3 stars, for example ABAC, which...

We chose Uma for our final meal in Spain, expecting a Michelin-level experience. Unfortunately, it was the most disappointing meal of our trip and fell well below standard.

Two of the three fish dishes contained fish scales — an oversight that is unacceptable in any serious kitchen, let alone one bearing a Michelin plaque. When flagged, the initial response was to laugh it off rather than apologise. Only after pressing the matter did we receive acknowledgment. A second time (dish) we raised the issue, it was brushed aside with “it happens,” which left us stunned.

An eggplant mousse revealed another lapse: wood chips. The explanation shifted from “part of the eggplant” to “a piece of stem,” neither of which justified its presence on the plate. Such foreign matter should not make it past the pass.

The venison course was also inconsistent: one portion served medium, the other well-done. At this level, consistency across the table is a basic expectation.

Service, while prompt, often felt mechanical and dismissive. Questions were cut short with a hasty “yes,” and the pacing of the meal was dictated entirely by the chef’s workflow rather than the diners’ rhythm. We were served starters before even finishing the amuse bouche. If guests are expected to follow the chef’s timing, then the execution should at least be flawless.

What left the worst impression, however, was the chef’s indifference. Despite multiple serious issues raised, he never once addressed the situation personally, leaving the front-of-house staff to fumble through inadequate explanations. At a Michelin-recognised restaurant, accountability from the kitchen is non-negotiable.

The only redeeming point was efficiency, but efficiency without attentiveness or care is hollow. The combination of careless execution, dismissive handling of complaints, and a lack of ownership made this the lowest point of our trip.

Mistakes can happen anywhere, but what distinguishes Michelin establishments is how they are handled. At Uma, both the food and the response fell far short of expectations.

I’ll park my calories and wallet...

My wife and I were looking forward to eating here given all the great reviews. The restaurant is small, about 10 tables, and it’s an open kitchen, so you can see the chef at work. We were a part of the 9pm service, all guests are served together and I think it’s a part of the experience. Service was great all the way through. We started with a glass of cava rose’ - really smooth and fresh. There is no menu, the chef creates dishes based on what’s available and it’s always changing. It’s a tasting menu, I think we had around 10-11 courses in total, each one coming with a different plate. It never seemed rush, we were there for about 2.5 hours in total. The highs: the scallop with Lebanese saffron was fantastic, the white asparagus with caviar was delicate and yummy, the egg with black truffle (this one was served in a lava rock that is covered with candy floss with foie grated into it), the shrimp potsticker with a coconut broth was really flavorful, something that looked like a small egg sitting on a fluffy pillow, but once you break it, it’s vanilla ice cream with passion fruit and raspberry (very creative), la vie en rose, a strawberry dessert containing different variations on strawberries. The lows: the steak dish was disappointing, very gristly (some parts were quite tasty, some my wife actually spat out as they were inedible), the fact that there were 3 desserts (2 would have been better, especially since the last dish was pretty big), there was a fish and foie gras dish - fish was phenomenal (possibly trout), but the whole thing fell apart when you cut in, the first course called green salad (a play on a green salad, quite acidy). Overall, the tasting menu was 85 Euros per person, a great deal for the amount of different things that we had. Cost was 220 Euros for 2 tasting menus, a bottle of nice rose’ and 2 glasses of cava. Definite ups and downs, but it’s a nice space with great service and very creative food. Well...