Dos Palillos

Es un restaurant que la comida no es lo único que importa sino toda la experiencia.
Me gustan muchas cosas del lugar como la localización, que está en pleno Raval, muy cerca del Macba; es local es pequeño lo que hace que te sientas en un ambiente muy íntimo; la iluminación es tenue, parte de la cocina está a la vista y una de mis cosas favoritas, es que es prácticamente una barra.
El que sea una barra, tiene como desventaja que no es un lugar para ir en grupo, pero si vas en pareja, se disfruta mucho porque es como un «espectáculo» todo el ritual de los diferentes platos.
La dinámica se basa en 2 menús; uno corto y uno largo. Si vas a cenar recomiendo el corto que creo que tiene platos suficientes.
Tiene platos que sorprenden y otros que no tanto. Por ejemplo, los camaroncitos con red, el calamar, el sashimi de toro fueron muy buenos, muy originales.
Por otra parte, hubo para mi, abuso de alguna hierba que no recuerdo su nombre, que al ser un sabor especial, resalta mucho y la tenían muchos platos, lo que se vuelve un poco cansado este sabor repetido.
Sobre el servicio, bien, muy amable y agradable. El pero, que iban demasiado rápidos; apenas terminabas un plato que ya te ponían el otro.
Buena experiencia en definitiva, sabores exóticos, productos de buena calidad.

Had dinner here on our last night in Barcelona. Sat at the bar and had the tasting menu and was amazed at all the different dishes and flavors. Staff was excellent! Would recommend!

Von aussen extrem unscheinbar. Hat aber wohl einen Michelin Stern.
Wir stolperten per Zufall vorbei und mein Trüffelschweininstinkt meldete sich.
Also rein in die kleine Stube. Im Restaurant mit offener Küche, um die der geneigte Esser sitzt gab es natürlich keine Chance mehr auf einen Platz. An der Bar jedoch konnten wir noch zwei Sitzplätze ergattern.
Zwei Gin Tonic von sehr guter Qualität wurden vernascht.
Aufgrund der späten Stunde lieferte die Küche noch zwei hervorragende ‘Snacks’ — nicht gerade preiswert aber essenswert ;-).
Sicher eine nette Erfahrung, mit Reservierung mal die Speisenkarte zu testen.
Ich kam mit meinem Nachbarn ins Gespräch, der aus dem Schwärmen nicht heraus kam und mir unbedingt empfahl, hier mal aufzuschlagen.
Next time…

Deben renovarse, llevan muucho tiempo ya con el mismo menu. y no es para tanto, puntuo poco por la relacion calidad precio

Das Dos Palillos liegt gleich bei der La Rambla, also lagetechnisch wirklich top. Es hat einen kleinen abgetrennten Außenbereich (die «Terrasse») und einen engen Innenbereich mit Schauküche. Ich kann mich leider meinen Vorrednern nicht wirklich anschließen, denn es sind etliche Dinge vorgefallen, die einer Spitzengastronomie (eigene Aussage des Restaurants und auch der Preise) nicht würdig sind.
Wir reservierten auf der «Terrasse» ohne zu wissen, was die Terrasse ist. Diese ist gegenüber und sieht wirklich ansehnlich aus. Begrüßt wurden wir von einem Typen, wo ich nicht sicher war, ob er ein Security oder ein Kellner ist. Hat ganz wichtig ausgesehen mit seinem Ohrjaukerl ;-) Es war der Kellner, der auch als Security durchgeht. Praktisch! Der Service war auch dementsprechend. Auf der «Terrasse» hat man uns erklärt, gibt es nur ein Menü. Wie unflexibel !! Das Restaurant ist ein paar Schritte daneben. Selbst kleine Änderungen waren nicht möglich. Eigentlich ein guter Zeitpunkt zu gehen aber wir entschieden uns zu bleiben. Gut, wir hatten das Einheitsmenü bestellt und einen Wein gewählt. Die Weinkarte war gut sortiert und für Barcelona-​Verhältnisse auch definitiv nicht günstig.
Das Essen selbst war nicht schlecht (bis auf das Teppanyaki), klein, kreativ aber eben nichts besonderes! Der Hauptgang war ein Teppanyaki mit einem Mini Kobe Burger und Mini Kobe Filet. Mit Mini meine ich wirklich Mini!!! Mehr als die Hälfte waren Innereien und genau da finde ich, dass man dies den Gästen vorher mitteilen sollte. Das ist nicht jedermanns Sache! Sich auf Authentizität auszureden wäre nur die halbe Wahrheit bei Katalanischer-​Japanischer Fusionsküche. Eine Kostprobe wäre OK aber mehr als die Hälfte, Leber, Lunge, Herz & Co ist zu viel, gepaart mit der Unflexibilität bei der Bestellung, denn die Nachspeise war auch nicht berühmt (wollte ich tauschen) und dem seltsamen Security-​Kellner fällt mein Fazit sehr ernüchternd aus. Außerdem hasse ich Unflexibilität in einem Restaurant, das dann für 2 Personen unterm Strich mit ca. EUR 300 zu Buche schlägt.
Daher: Wenn man in Barcelona wohnt, warum nicht aber als Tourist, der ein paar Tage in Barca ist, sollte man sich das nicht antun.

I want to give Dos Palillos a 4.5: because it could be just a mite, a smidge, a smattering better for what it aspires to be. Dos Palillos is really excellent but at this level I really do feel I have right to criticize through a bit of nit picking.
We got:
* Thai Lily Pads: baked baby sardines with thai salts served on a lettuce leaf. Excellent even though I can’t quite get my head around eating sardines. It’s not my thing but it was prepared excellently
* Black Garlic Nigiri: a large baked black-​garlic clove, atop a pad of rice with a sprinkle of salted sesame seeds. The garlic was slightly sweet, as you would expect with baked garlic. The rice was unseasoned and actually slightly conflicted with the garlic. I would have gone with a bit more mirin (rice vinegar). But this was truly a unique and fabulous nigiri
* SeaBass: This was just excellent
* Tuna make-​your-​own sushi: served with the tuna and rice as nigiri with a assortment of shiso leaves, seaweed leaves and accoutrements (wasabi, candied ginger, soy sprouts, sesame seed spice mix, umeboshi). Excellent idea and very well executed
* Lotus root with ume: Fried lotus root disks with a dab of umeboshi (plum paste) in the middle. Excellent combination of flavors. Never would have thought to do lotus with ume!
* Vegetable Steamed Dumplings: filled with shiitake, black sesame and something crunchy, perhaps chives? Very very nice!
* Green tea icecream in a sponge cake. I loved it. It had zero sugar and tasted like a very very mild sponge-​cake with a filling of deeply green green-​tea icecream. This is where my other objection is: I loved it, my friend hated it. It would have been good for the waiter to mention that it was not sweet at all, and in fact a bit bitter.
* Orange mochi with orange blossom essence. Just excellent. So mild and yet just perfect.
* Sherry from Jemez. Loved it.
So my only objection is that they should have mentioned about the dessert, and they could have done the garlic a mite better given El Bulli history.

Es un experiencia alucinante. Disfruté como pocas veces en mi vida en una barra. Digo barra porque, a pesar del precio y a pesar de la estrella michelín, comes en una barra; eso sí, una barra privilegiada donde no pierdes detalle de cómo trabaja un equipo con una estrella michelín.
Es seguramente para muchos un lugar atípico y a muchos les puede decepcionar. Mis dos primeros años en Barcelona me los pasé pensando que era un bareto del raval porque la apariencia desde afuera no es nada intimidatoria por decirlo de alguna manera…
Cuando pagas casi 100 euros por un menú degustación sin bebidas, te esperas un restaurante con un trato excepcional y con manteles blancos. Si buscas eso aquí no lo encontrarás. También conozco a personas encantadas de poder degustar alta cocina en un ambiente muy relajado. Así que importa y mucho que conozcas a dónde vas antes de decantarte por el dos palillos.
De la cocina, decir que elegimos el menú degustación largo (hay uno corto por 75 euros, el largo está en 90) Es un menú muy basado en sabores marinos. Aproximadamente 20 platos con una clara influencia oriental. Para mi fue un placer degustar las interpretaciones de los clásicos orientales. Creo que con cada dumpling o niguiri que probaba sentía que elevaba mi estándar (y he tenido la suerte de haber estado en Japón, China y Tailandia) Recuerdo que no quería que se acabara nunca.
Lugar muy recomendable para justo este perfil de persona: Amante de los sabores orientales, tendente a ambientes poco pretenciosos y posiblemente recomendable para grupos reducidos (al menos a mi no me gusta ir en grupos y comer en barra porque te centras en las personas a tus costados) Por supuesto, dispuestos a invertir más de lo normal en una comida, pero no es una comida normal. Para mi el Dos Palillos queda en la memoria.

Siento darle 2 estrellas a Dos palillos pero la cena de la otra noche me decepcionó bastante. Hace casi un año estuve aquí por primera vez, mi marido pidío en la barra y recuerdo que fue una comida muy agradable. Probamos cosas que nunca habíamos comido como el higado de rape o el sashimi de pollo, todo bien. En especial recuerdo la fondue de marisco y pescado, luego del caldo que sobraba de la fondue se la llevó el cocinero para prepararnos un risotto que estaba de muerte … Entreví en la cocina unos huesos en la parrilla y eran tuetanos, una pinta increible pero no llegamos a probarlos porque no quedaban. En fin, volvimos hace unos dias y esta vez cenamos en la terraza, la decepción empezó aquí. 1. Cenar en otoño en una terraza poco iluminada en un callejon del Raval no es del nivel de 2 estrellas Michelin 2. Devorada por los mosquitos de debajo de la mesa me ha entretenido la velada sin parar de rascarme 3. Pagar tanto para cenar unos Xiaolongbao o unas empanadillas chinas al vapor, pues NO ! 4. Postres de los más atrevidos y más raros … han acabado con la desastrosa cena. El camarero brasileño muy simpatico pero no muy profesional como debería ser en un restaurante de este nivel. Siento decir que no volveré a este restaurante por mi cuenta, y menos si es en la terraza. Ah, esta vez tampoco pude probar el tanto esperado Tuetano … Pero el risotto de centolla y el nigiri de salmonete eran muy buenos. Las ostras con sake no acertaron …

Going to this restaurant I knew exactly what to expect. I was booked in for the tasting menu and I was sitting at the bar counter surrounding the chefs at the back. I also knew that it should be an awesome meal, and by the end I wasn’t disappointed. The food, the kitchen theatre and the alcohol pairings were simple perfect and it made for one unforgettable dining experience.

This was the worst dining experience I can recall having. Let me give you some context, as I’v e noticed bad reviews of this restaurant span two categories: the truly ignorant and the truly experienced eaters. I’m in the latter category and I have a sophisticated palate, went to culinary school in Florence, eat adventurously regularly, am based among awesome restaurants and new chefs in San Francisco, etc. There is nothing I would rather drop lots of money on than an excellent dining experience.
Let me tell you a little about the negative gazillion stars I would to bestow upon this place. Staff members, please cancel my reservation for Thursday night. I will never come back. You’d think if I start the interaction with the place with «hey, I get that you’re booked for tonight, and I’d like eat here tonight in the bar where you have room, and also come back another night for your tasting menu on which I will drop 70 euros or more per person plus wine» that they’d maybe want to make sure I actually want to come to that reservation. Not the case. It’s too bad, I think the tasting menu at that price at any fine restaurant would actually be quite reasonable, and I was excited about coming back as I sat down this evening. I’m really glad I stayed and had the terrible experience I had and cut my loses there.
It was a mix of the worst service on the planet that should NEVER accompany a restaurant with a michelin star no matter how much they dislike a guest or how rude someone is or any number of other things that a customer could do «wrong.» I don’t think I fall into this category, but it’s a consideration– and a lack of innovation in the food – pretty one-​note for the few things we were able to sample due to the crappy service.
The soup dumplings were very good, and I always order them when such a thing is available because they are kind of a pain in the ass to make. What wasn’t good was having them slammed roughly in front of me and being barked at about how to go about eating them. I understand that they’re delicate, they have liquid inside, and you don’t want people wasting these concoctions by stabbing them desperately with a chopstick. I am not that customer. And, if you’re concerned I am, you could have relayed your instructions in a much better fashion. Furthermore, why are you making it so difficult to eat your food the way you want it to be eaten? If you want me to eat it with a spoon, serve it on a beautiful spoon! I ignored the instructions and grabbed them with my chopsticks skillfully and had no issues. I realize they may have wanted htem in a spoon so that you smell the broth more before consuming but again, SERVE THEM IN A SPOON IF IT’S IMPORTANT TO THE INTEGRITY OF YOUR FOOD. When I ignored the instructions I was given, the service took a further dive and as my glass of wine was finished, I was not asked if I wanted more, as my water was finished, the same, and no effort to make contact me to let me ask for such a thing was made. I understand in Spain it may not always be that they force a menu upon you suggesting that you spend more money. but they should have. We felt like we were getting the cold shoulder all of the sudden.
Furthermore, we ordered what was effectively a really straight forward pork bbq bao, which was good, but not mind blowing, and a whopping nearly 6 euros for one bun, which was served by itself to my dining companion (who lives here) while I had nothing, and we also had a vegetable stir fry that was really one-​note, just a soy based sauce with no complexity that really drowned out what appeared to be beautiful baby vegetables that would have had their own worthwhile flavors, and we ordered a tuna tataki which was the first thing we ordered and should have been the first thing that came regardless since it is room temperature to warm, and is fish, that didn’t come before we were so frustrated with the service that we asked for a check.
I couldn’t help but write a detailed review of this, because it was so horrific on so many levels. The place was recommended to me by someone who in general I would trust, so if that’s what happened to you and you’re thinking about going and you’ve had exposure to real asian cuisine and fine dining before, and you aren’t someone who enjoys spending money just because it makes you feel special to pay a lot for something, then steer clear. Go eat at Allium. It’s not asian inspired, but it’s a hell of a lot better and friendlier and gives an overall better fine dining experience.
— inexcusably rude service
— not innovative or complex food
— due to the above, extremely overpriced
— happy to pay lots for great food and service… this is just a disaster.

Fantastische asiatisch-​spanische Fusion-​Küche. Und probiert den Xeres zum Nachtisch :)

This is the best tasting menu I’ve had. Everything was wonderful, the staff was helpful, and I would highly recommend this place!

Added a star because the food and the service really were outstanding, but I want my review to remain as a warning, especially as during the summer one might arrive in daylight and leave in the dark. To the ownership, with respect: you have a security door, you chose not to use it, you chose not to install cameras, you chose this location. We think your food is outstanding, five stars without a doubt, but you do have some responsibility towards the security of your patrons.

We went for the lunch menu so we got 4 small courses for a more reasonable price than their a la carte menu. The tuna sushi was the best of the meal and it was one of the best sushi I’ve ever had. That’s a high compliment since I eat a lot of Japanese food and it’s one of my favorite cuisines. The rest of the meal — wonton, yakitori and others were not very memorable. They taste similar to what you’d get in an authentic Asian restaurant. The portions were small since the dishes are tapas, so it is a bit pricey for the amount of food you get. Overall, the experience was still great so I’m happy I tried it; but it’s not special enough for me to return to when I go visit Barcelona again.

Bei unserem Trip nach Barcelona, wurde uns Dos Palillos empfohlen, das ebenfalls einen Ableger in Berlin hat. Inmitten den engen Gassen von El Raval zwischen Universität und der sehr zentralen Shoppingmeile La Rambla gelegen, befindet sich dieses asiatische Tapas Restaurant. Eher versteckt fällt es Passanten eher weniger auf. Eine Tafel mit dem wochentäglichen Menü lies es dann doch identifizieren. Der Eingangsbereich ist eine lange Theke mit Sitzgelegenheiten für Gäste ohne Vorbestellung. Typisch japanisch würde ich sagen, und dass mitten in Barcelona. Durch einen Metallvorhang nimmt man dann Eintritt in die offene asiatische Küche. Man sieht bis zu 7 Köche zwischen Teppanyaki Grill, Ofen und den diversen Arbeitsflächen agieren. Teilweise sehr aufwendige, filigrane Arbeiten. Es macht wirklich Spaß zuzusehen. Das Essen ist ein Gedicht. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf der japanischen Küche, nimmt jedoch auch chinesische Themen auf. Die einzelnen Tapas starten bei etwa 5 EUR bis 12 EUR. Pro Person sollten schon mindestens 4 Tapas gewählt werden, wenn man a la carte essen möchte. Man hat die Möglichkeit zwischen Menü oder a la carte zu wählen. Wochentags wird zudem ein 4 Gang Menü für 20 EUR angeboten. Die sehr umfangreichen Menüs starten ab 55 EUR. Sind aber jeden Cent wert. Gute Weinkarte und angemessene Auswahl an japanischen Bieren machen die Auswahl wirklich nicht leicht. Ein angenehm freundliches Personal erklärt gerne jedes einzelne Gericht. Auch in englisch. Am ersten Tag waren wir Laufkundschaft und nahmen an der Theke platz, reservierten dann aber doch einen Platz, um direkt den Köchen zusehen zu können. Es ist oftmals sehr voll und eine Reservierung zu Stoßzeiten notwendig.

Enjoyed eating here. Had dinner at the bar on two occasions during my brief stay in Barcelona (was en route to Roses). Dos Palillos was created by Albert Raurich who was the chef de cuisine at elBulli for 8 years and Japanese chef Takeshi Somekawa. The restaurant is pretty casual — you enter through a traditional Spanish tapas-​type bar and in to a seating area that is small and situated like a sushi bar, in a «U» around the cooks and chefs preparing the food. Dos Palillos offers a tasting menu (as well as a la carte) in its dining room and bar area. Service is friendly and efficient.
I devoured 2 portions of the caramelized walnuts with my beer. I enjoyed the cherry tomatoes in tempura batter (with wasabi) and the Japanese burger (very cool). The Cantonese Iberian pork belly was pretty good but my favorite was the grilled oyster in sake. The tasting menu is a good way to experience a variety of the items on the menu at a reasonable price (a la carte — tapas-​style — can add up!).

This restaurant is AMAZING!!! Unfortunately, we could not sit in the dining room or order off of the main menu, because they were booked solid. We sat in the bar and ordered off the bar menu. The food was incredible. Next time I am in Barcelona I definitely want to come back to Dos Palillos and be able to enjoy the restaurant.

Yo no se que le pasa a la gente que se obsesiona por locales chic. Es el caso del Dos Palillos: una fusión asio-​española de lo más espectacular. Y de aquí el nombre: palillos chinos, y palillos españoles. Ambas culturas los utilizamos aunque sean palillos diferentes.
Un local con dos barras alargadas donde podrás deleitar miniplatos exquisitos. Piensa que el cocinero viene del Bulli, con lo cual tu paladar va a alucinar con estos platos. Delicatesen 100%.
Es super caro, las cosas como son. Pero para ir un día a flipar con los sabores, vale la pena. Por decirte algo, burger japo o tortilla de ostras. Que tal, eh? Todo es originalidad y extravagancia. Todo es diseño, todo es lo más cool del barrio.
Al menos una vez en la vida se tiene que ir al Dos Palillos, pero procura que no sea final de més… auch!

The concept of the Dos Palillos is «Asian tapas, but Spanish style». The restaurant is situated in Raval area quite close to the MACBA.
You enter the restaurant through a bar which looks like one of the hundreds of other bars in Barcelona with a long counter and high seats. They also serve some of the dishes served in the restaurant at the bar, so if you are curious as to what you might expect, the bar can give you low-​risk preview.
The restaurant itself has Asian-​style open kitchen from which the food is served directly to your place. While the styling is rather modern, I did not really like the atmosphere as it failed to create an environment in which you want to enjoy the tasting menu which is priced at 75 or 90 Euro depending on the number of courses you want.
The «small» one is definitely tummy filling with a unusual high number of small tapas. Of course serving a high number of small dishes creates logistical problems, however this should not effect the selection of food. In my opinion however, a number of dishes was prepared in advance and while pre-​prepared food does not necessarily taste worse than just prepared food, it lowered the perception of value for me. Some dishes were very delicious, others just same-​same as in non-​gourmet Asian or Spanish restaurants.
I was honestly disappointed at the overall experience. Not to say that I did not enjoy the food at all, but the value we got for what we spent was not up to par.
I would rather choose amongst one of the other excellent restaurants in Barcelona where you don’t feel ripped off after paying the bill.