Can Kenji
High-end Japanese · Eixample, Barcelona · €€€
Izakaya on Rosselló since 2010. Traditional Japanese with a Catalan accent — seasonal products, Mediterranean fusion. Small, luminous, meant for sharing. Average €25. One of Barcelona's longest-running quality Japanese outside the high-end circuit.
The Delekta Review
Kenji Ueno arrived from Kyoto in 2003 and opened this izakaya on Rosselló in 2010 — one of Barcelona's earliest serious Japanese restaurants outside the high-end circuit. The concept is straightforward: traditional Japanese tavern food, conditioned by local and seasonal Catalan products. Expect dishes rarely seen on Western Japanese menus alongside reinterpretations that blend Mediterranean and Japanese sensibilities. The room is small, luminous, organised for sharing — tapes japoneses, as the sign says. The tataki, the gyoza, and the seasonal specials are highlights. Average 25 euros, which is remarkable for this quality. Reservations essential — word has spread and the room fills fast. Fifteen years in, Can Kenji remains one of Barcelona's most distinctive Japanese voices, and one of the clearest arguments that serious Japanese cooking does not need to cost a hundred euros a head.
What the critics say
- Restaurant Review: Can Kenji - Barcelona Metropolitan
- Can Kenji - Time Out Barcelona
- Can Kenji - Japanese restaurant in la Dreta de l'Eixample - Postcard
- Can Kenji – Macarfi
- Can Kenji Japanese — Foodie in Barcelona
- Can Kenji — Catalunya.com
Visit
- Address
- Carrer del Rosselló, 325, Eixample, 08037 Barcelona, Spain
- Phone
- +34 934 76 18 23
- Website
- cankenji.com
- 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 Japanese in Barcelona
- Kibuka — Casual Japanese, Gràcia, €€€
- Ramen-Ya Hiro — Japanese Ramen, Eixample, €€
- Kobuta Ramen — Ramen & Japanese Tapas, Sants, €€
- Suru Bar — Japanese-Catalan Fusion, Eixample, €€
- Ikoya — Japanese Izakaya, El Born, €€€