Boa-Bao
Pan-Asian · Eixample, Barcelona · €€
Boa-Bao is a Pan-Asian restaurant on Plaça del Dr. Letamendi in Eixample — Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Lao, and Filipino dishes served across two floors of an elaborately themed interior, in the building that housed the Joan Gaspar gallery where Picasso had his first Spanish solo show in 1957.
The Delekta Review
Boa-Bao earns its reputation on starters and baos — the mains are afterthoughts by comparison. The black bao filled with fried seabass at €7.50 is the dish to order first and possibly again. The moneybag-shaped wontons, fried dark and packed with chicken and prawn, disappear fast. Scallops in their shells with a green sour salsa — tomatillo-adjacent in sharpness — round out the starters with real purpose. The steamed pancetta bao is decent but forgettable without its condiments, a reminder that this kitchen shines on contrast and texture. The spicing is crowd-calibrated rather than confrontational — heat-seekers will be disappointed. But for an atmosphere-rich meal in a Picasso-era gallery building, at prices mostly south of €10 a dish, Boa-Bao delivers exactly what it promises.
What the critics say
- Boa Bao Barcelona, Asian, Eixample – Foodie in Barcelona
- Boa-Bao, authentic Asian flavors in Barcelona – Salir por Barcelona
- Boa-Bao – Asian restaurant Barcelona, Lisbon and Porto (official site)
Visit
- Address
- Pl. del Dr. Letamendi, 1, Eixample, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
- Phone
- +34 932 71 55 08
- Website
- boabao.es
- Reservations
- Book a table
Nearby restaurants in Eixample
- Batea — Seafood, €€€
- Besta — Seasonal Seafood Bistro, €€€
- Mordisco — Modern Mediterranean, €€€
- Embat — Bistronomic Mediterranean, €€
- Topik — Japanese-Catalan Fusion Tapas, €€€
More Asian in Barcelona
- Dos Palillos — Asian-Spanish Fusion, El Raval, €€€€
- Sense Seny — Asian-Catalan Fusion Tapas, Eixample, €€
- Desoriente — Plant-based Asian Fusion, Poblenou, €€
- Mae — Creative Asian-Mediterranean, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, €€€€
- Mosquito — Asian Tapas & Craft Beer, El Born, €€