Sato i Tanaka
Japanese / Sushi Omakase · Eixample, Barcelona · €€€
Awards: 1 Sol Repsol
Open since 2017
The Kenji Ueno + Neus Busquets group's third address (after Can Kenji and Aiueno), opened in 2017 — two parallel sushi counters, fewer than twenty seats total, each itamae working an Edomae-leaning omakase. 1 Sol Repsol awarded 2021, renewed 2025.
The Delekta Review
Two parallel sushi counters in one room — fewer than twenty seats total, no tables; each itamae runs his own omakase for the diners in front of him Edomae-leaning nigiri with seasonal small plates — the group's shun principle (seasonality) anchors what comes off each bar each night Lunch tasting from around €29; evening tasting €55–68 depending on season — accessible relative to the fish-grade on the counter
Nigiri de gamba roja de Palamós — Time Out calls it 'rendición absoluta', a single bite that defines the bar Nigiri de navaja, nigiri de toro, nigiri de salmonete — the Edomae spine, cited across reviews from 2018 forward Uni gunkan and uni tofu — sea urchin in two registers, repeat highlight in Time Out and Observación Gastronómica Higadillos de rape — Philippe Regol singled out a monkfish-liver ice cream on crispy lotus root in his 2018 piece; the offal register is part of the house identity Gunkan of tuna tartare with quail-egg yolk; maki of jack mackerel; sepia at the small-plate end of the run
Opened 2017 by Kenji Ueno and Neus Busquets — the third address from their Can Kenji group (Can Kenji 2010, Aiueno, then Sato i Tanaka) — with Aki Tanaka and Ryuta Sato as the original counter chefs Ryuta Sato spent roughly three years on the second bar before leaving in 2021 to open his own counter, Sensato, with his wife Aya Sato in El Putxet i el Farró; Kazutoshi Komuta took over the bar Ryuta vacated Aki Tanaka has held the original bar throughout; the room remains a Kenji Ueno / Neus Busquets property and is run as part of the Can Kenji-group supply network
Two side-by-side wooden bars, ~15–16 seats total, no tables; minimalist lighting, soft piano on the speakers — built to make you watch the hands Address on a quiet stretch of Carrer del Bruc, between Carrer de la Diputació and Gran Via — Dreta de l'Eixample but well off the tourist track
Address: Carrer del Bruc 79, Dreta de l'Eixample — three minutes from L2/L4 Passeig de Gràcia, five from L4 Girona Service Tue–Sat lunch 13:00–15:00 and dinner 20:30–23:00; closed Sunday and Monday — verify current schedule on the booking widget Reservations via CoverManager on the house site (canonical) — not OpenTable; book around a month out, the two counters fill fast
What the critics say
- Sato y Tanaka — Time Out Barcelona
- Sato i Tanaka — Macarfi
- Sato i Tanaka (Barcelona)
- Sato i Tanaka — ComerJapones
- Sato i Tanaka — barra de nigiris
- Sato i Tanaka — Barcelona Secreta
- Sato y Tanaka — FoodyinGourmet
Visit
- Address
- Carrer del Bruc, 79, La Dreta de l'Eixample, 08009 Barcelona, Spain
- Phone
- +34 938 09 92 74
- Website
- satotanaka.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, €€€