Big Fish Born

So schlecht habe ich schon lange nicht mehr gegessen. Absolut nicht empfehlenswert. Wir haben einen Burger war nur ein Fleischklops, der lauwarm war und innen noch roh. Der Fisch war eine gallertartige Masse. Bier gab es im kleinen Weinglas und der Wein war teuer, schmeckte aber nach Wasser. Es war ein Fiasko.

Came in for a late evening diner. Wonderful staff exquisite food. We chose to share a series of plates tapas style, everything was tasty and perfectly portioned. The risotto is a must! The ceviche was delicious. The whole meal came in under 80 €.
If you’re looking for a romantic place with the right sound track and just out of the way of the hustle of the city. This is that place.

Sushis como se encuentran pocos en un ambiente delicioso.
Esperamos que la qualidad del pescado se quede tal cual.

Our food was excellent, I will say that much. However, our service was terrible. We showed up an hour after they opened. We ordered beers, three starters and the special of the day main course for my boyfriend. For my main course, I ordered a new (menu item) maki roll that I was excited about trying. After eating our first three starters, my boyfriend was then told they were out of the special (a good 45 minutes after we gave them our order). Instead of handing him a menu, another dish was strongly suggested, so my boyfriend rolled with it. Not long after, my boyfriend received his dish. It was a nice looking plate of sea bass with vegetables, but it was nothing exciting. I still hadn’t received my maki.
After waiting a few more minutes for my food that still wasn’t arriving, I urged my boyfriend to start eating before his plate got cold. My boyfriend SLOWLY ate his fish and vegetables while I was assured several times that my maki would be arriving any minute.
Twenty minutes later my boyfriend was finishing his plate and I still hadn’t received my maki. I asked another server to cancel my order and to give us the check. It was after she left to do this that my maki showed up (as my boyfriend’s finished plate was whisked away). I told them I’d eat the maki and to not bother canceling it.
The maki was delicious, but by that time, I just wanted to eat, pay and leave. My disappointment lies not with the delay but with the lack of communication that the sushi chef was behind. I don’t write negative Unilocal reviews if the service is slower with an explanation and option. As I told my boyfriend, I’m an understanding person — if the chef is behind, be honest with me. Stop telling me «in a minute» if it’s truly going to be 20 plus minutes for my food to arrive.
Also, if the chef is behind on my main dish, ask if my boyfriend minds waiting for his dish so we can eat together. Slow service with honesty and common sense will get a higher rating from me. We weren’t in a hurry. We enjoy leisurely meals.
Nevertheless, our food was so good that I left the table thinking I would give them three stars for the food. What bumped my stars down to two was the fact that our waiter chased us down as we were leaving thinking we didn’t pay our bill. Um, no. We left the correct amount of Euro (and then some for a tip not deserved) on the table. I watched the hostess (who had given us our check) pick up our Euro. And that’s what left the sour feeling in my belly that killed the taste of the excellent food.
Bummer. We really were excited for this meal.

Great food, lousy service. Normally, I’m skeptical of Unilocalers preposterously high standards, but in this case they might be on to something. I hate leaving a bad review because I know this can effect people’s livelihood. However, when you pay a lot of money, there’s an expectation that you won’t get treated like you’re hassling them just for showing up. Things started going downhill when our waiter didn’t bother to tell me that my main course (the special of the day) was 86’ed until well into our meal, and then he didn’t even give me an option to change it– I just got what he suggested. Oddly, it arrived like a minute later. Meanwhile, my gf’s main course didn’t arrive for another 20+ minutes (according to our waiter’s bad math that was just «one minute»), after asking for it twice and after I slowly ate all my food. They tried to make it up to us by comping us another appetizer, but neither of us wanted more croquettes (we already had some) and so they sat untouched.
After my gf was fed up with waiting, she asked a different waitress for the check. And then, as if on cue, her main course arrived immediately following that exchange. She gulped it down and we asked for the check again, twice (once to our waiter, then once again to the other waitress). The other waitress got us the check right away so we paid and left, annoyed. After taking a few steps outside, our waiter ran after us to give us the bill, thinking we skipped out on a tab. That was just adding insult to injury. We paid, dude. We just didn’t leave a very good tip.
Ok, so everything we ordered (even my subbed course) was delicious. The space is wonderful and the atmosphere was very romantic. Frommer’s didn’t steer us wrong in that sense. However, the poor service ruined what was supposed to be a very special night for us. Blah.

Very low quality sushi, do not waste your time in that place. We had a starter and as it was good proceed to main course however it turned out not a good decision. If you want just to have a drink and rest a bit order a cocktail and leave

Para lo que valen las cosas, ya se puede pedir que te rellenan la copa de vino. Las 4 camareras tenian una buena charla de mientras :)

Average food … snooty service … super cool vibe but «too cool for us.»

The worst sushi and service I have ever experienced. Salmon roll was half cooked half raw. Tuna roll was just horrible. Took them over an hour to bring our food and finally we had to cancel the last roll. The only good thing about the place is the location.

I went here with a friend from out of town who was visiting the city for a few days and wanted to enjoy a nice meal in front of el Mercat del Born. We sat down for a midday lunch in the springtime sunlight, directly facing the newly-​renovated market. The restaurant’s interior and exterior vibes are upscale, clean, modern, if not excessively oriented toward a tourist-​clientele – it was clear our waiters expected us to speak in English. The meal was fine – I had a cream of vegetable soup, a slice of beef served in a red wine reduction sauce, and a slice of watermelon for dessert as part of the establishment’s menú del día offering. Everything was fine, satisfactory. Born is filled with charming, sophisticated, and exciting restaurant options. I’m not sure if Big Fish Born is the best option you could find in the hood. That said, everything about this place was just fine. A solid, if unexciting, choice.

Oh man. Amazing food! I actually came for a place next door, but it was closed, so I stopped by here. All the dishes were amazing. Service was fast, and I made a great memory stopping by here.

Excelente decoración y auténtica de Lázaro Rosa-​Violán. La ubicación también excelente en pleno Born frente al reformado Mercado reconvertido ahora en Centro Cultural. La especialidad el pescado, buen sushi también. En primavera-​verano se puede disfrutar de la terraza pues toda la zona es peatonal.

Dining outside, with people watching in a great neighborhood was the only regret of this meal… only because the interior décor was so amazing! We loved our rolls ands would revisit on our next trip. A bit pricey for a snack (which is what we stopped for) but enjoyed it all the same. Our server wasn’t the friendliest and seemed rather annoyed when we didn’t all order wine. He also forgot to bring out a roll and acted like it was our oversight instead of his. While this wasn’t a perfect experience, I liked it all the same… even so much that I’d revisit when returning to Barcelona and I don’t like to repeat normally!

I read all the Unilocal reviews and was staying not too far away so I was excited to try this place. It has a sexy, cool vibe, with leather couches and big chandeliers. Reminds me of downtown NYC.
I found the service to be good and my waiter was attentive. I did not encounter slow service like some have reported. I did not want sushi so I tried the salmon tartar and avocado appetizer. The presentation was great — big pieces of salmon atop a circle of mashed avocado. While the salmon was very fresh, the entire dish lacked flavor. It was entirely bland, even the avocado had nothing added to it.
For the entrée I had monkfish and grilled vegetables. Now I know where the missing salt from my appetizer went. Both dishes were a little over salted for my taste.
I would go back for the Cava and to try the sushi, but will bypass the regular menu. I am giving an extra star for atmosphere.
I was a bit disappointed, but would try again to see if the sushi is better.

My wife and I don’t like tapas so we struggled to find restaurants to our liking in Barcelona. We eat mostly fish at home so the name clearly interested us. It was a bit hard to find — behind a massive construction site where the city is renovating an old market hall — but it was worth finding. The space is really interesting with high ceiling and comfy couches all around. I had sushi and the wife had a thai salad, both were excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant!

Fui con una amiga y cenamos genial, el local era perfecto para nuestra cena íntima y el servicio como el ambiente fueron geniales.
Además esta situado en plena zona de copeo en el Born y te puedes ir de bares sin preocuparte de coger el coche si te has bebido alguna copa de más durante la cena.
Totalmente recomendable sobre todo si queréis llevaros a un ligue ;)

Looking for sushi in Barcelona? Good luck… Big FIsh is just about the only place we could find after an extensive search (I mean really, who wants to mess around with sushi?).
It took us a while to find it, as it’s near the Born but not in the main street of the Born. It’s behind the soon-​to-​be open market, tucked on a corner and well-​hidden from passers by. Just look for the gigantic red door — that’s Big Fish.
We were seated relatively quickly, but that was as fast as things got. It took fooooooooreeeeevvvveeerrrrrr for us to get menus, then order, then get the cava, then get the food. Forever. The servers were sweet as can be, but super-​slow, even by Barcelona standards.
Our meal was good. The fish was fresh, the preparations creative, and everything was tasty. However, for what we ended up paying I can’t say it was worth it – we spent nearly 100 Euros on a bottle of cava, two orders of nigiri, tuna tartare and two rolls. That’s pretty steep, compared to the rest of what Barcelona is offering.
We were still hungry after our meal, so we ended up hitting a tapas place before the night was over. Lesson learned: Spain is not the place for sushi.

This restaurant is incredibly designed and just a few blocks from the born area, which is great for having a drink before or after dinner.
The space was chic and bohemian. Service and food were good. We started with the tuna tartare and then ordered the «spicy hot» roll, which was unique but not my favorite. The roll was literally served pipping hot in both temperature and spiciness. We sat outside because it was a warm night but the true charm of the place is definitely inside.

Loved it! Fishmongers son does hip funky eatery in the cool El Born neighborhood. Sushi heavy menu, good wines, nice people. Easy on the wallet. I’d go here every day if I lived near.

Descubrí el Big Fish gracia a alguna de estas guías hipster que ponen este tipo de locales por las nubes. Lo tenía todo: local relativamente nuevo, anclado en ese Born que parece que nunca se acabe, propietarios con una bonita historia detrás (son una pareja que regentaba una pescadería en el Mercat de Galvany y que abrieron dos restaurantes para acabar de rematar su adoración por el pescado como materia prima infinita), y mil etcéteras.
¡Y qué gusto da ir a un sitio y que la fama y la publicidad sean merecidas! Big Fish no es solo un pequeño restaurante con un gran concepto detrás, es y debería de ser uno de los puntos calientes de la restauración barcelonesa en lo que a pescado se refiere.
Obviamente, los fans de la carne no deberían ni molestarse en asomar el morro, porque este sitio es todo un festival de lo que nada bajo el mar: pescado en todas sus acepciones y formas. Desde un sushi creativo y delicioso (probe una bandeja de sashimis de salmón Hot Philadelphia con crujiente de sésamo por fuera que me dejó lela) hasta platos de pescado con esencia europea (también comí una deliciosa corvina con salsa de mostaza y chalotas al vino tinto), incluyendo, además, arroces.
El precio es el que se espera de un sitio tan fancy, cuentan con un menú diario de 14 euros muy completo y respetable y los platos oscilan entre los 15 y los 26 euros. Pero merecen muchísimo la pena el viaje y el gasto porque Big Fish ha resultado ser un restaurante precioso de grandes pretensiones y mejores resultados.

Ok so first let me say I spend half of my year in Hawaii so when it comes to sushi well I am not an amateur.
This place was so damned difficult to get into. We don’t speak spanish so calling to make a reservation we did not do. We were staying in the neighborhood and would just try to walk in, this did not work not even one of the 5 previous times we tried.
FINALLY the very last night before we left Spain we went by late and Wha-​la we got in and man was it worth all the hassle.
Everything was just unbelievably delicious and I wished I had more room in my tummy cause I did not want to stop.
This is a MUST for sushi in Barcelona!!!

Big Fish es un restaurante para tomarte tu tiempo comiendo, charlando, saboreando. Está especializado en pescado, en su carta podrás encontrar desde sushi y especialidades japonesas a tartar de atún, arroz con bogavante, rodaballo, rape, bacalao… Con muy buena carta de vinos.
El local es muy agradable, con mucha luz natural si vas a comer al mediodía, los asientos muy cómodos, los sofás de los que te sientas y ya no te levantas. La decoración combina lo más clásico con lo más vanguardista y ciertos toques muy lejanos a pescadería. La cocina en la que hacen el sushi la ves desde el comedor. Y todo está perfectamente ambientado con una selección musical pop actual a un volumen suave.
El trato es correcto e informal y los tiempos de espera los razonables. El precio está alrededor de unos 40 euros por persona, pero como siempre, eso depende de lo que elijas.