Merikenko
Japanese Tempura · Gràcia, Barcelona · €€
Barcelona's first gourmet tempura bar — a 10-seat Kanto-style counter by Kenji Ueno and Neus Busquets, with omakase menus that change with the seasons.
The Delekta Review
Kenji Ueno and Neus Busquets have opened something Barcelona badly needed — a dedicated gourmet tempura bar. Ten stools line a counter on Carrer Sèneca where Kanto-style preparation unfolds before you: egg-enriched batter, white sesame and sunflower oils, seasonal ingredients fried to a golden crunch that keeps everything juicy inside through residual heat. Maitake mushrooms, langoustine, squash, and seasonal fish rotate through the omakase (€35 lunch, €62 dinner), each piece arriving moments after leaving the oil. The technique carries the same rigor as high-end sushi — precise temperatures, obsessive timing, zero excess. Wines from Penedès and Terra Alta accompany rather than compete. Reservations by phone only, which says everything about the seriousness of this place.
What the critics say
- Time Out Barcelona — Merikenko
- Metrópoli Abierta — Primera barra de tempura gourmet de Barcelona
- 7 Caníbales — Merikenko, oda a la tempura en Barcelona
Visit
- Address
- Carrer de Sèneca, 28, Gràcia, 08006 Barcelona, Spain
- Phone
- +34 937 43 15 19