Bar Chiqui / Grado Sushi - Unexpected Sushi
In Sant Antoni, there’s the most surprising place called Bar Bodega Chiqui. You might just pass by it since it looks like any bar, but there’s a little something different: it says Sushi in large neon letters outside..!
Bar Bodega Chiqui / Grado Sushi, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Bar Bodega Chiqui serves vermouth, wine from the barrel, and tapas from tinned cans (the really great ones do!) and opened in 1959. The place is still family-owned, but since some time ago, there’s also a different menu altogether available, that of Grado Sushi. A great chef, the son-in-law, has worked in Tunateca Balfegó, learned how to prepare rice with Hideki Matsuisha from famed Shunka, and worked in both Mishima and Nobu. He lost his job when COVID hit, and together with his in-laws, they decided he would install himself in the kitchen of Bar Bodega Chiqui and offer excellent sushi both for lunch and dinner.
Bar Bodega Chiqui / Grado Sushi, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
There is a very good lunch deal with several dishes that includes sushi as the main course. As a first course, we had fantastic yakisoba and gyozas, and we loved the matcha truffles for dessert. You can also order from the menu during lunch; there’s a lot to choose from. A fun little detail is the empty old Bitter Kas bottles that now hold soy sauce: a wonderful mix of the old and the new!
Bar Bodega Chiqui / Grado Sushi, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Bar Chiqui/Grado Sushi might look like any bar, with its wine barrels and simple tables and chairs, but don’t let looks deceive you. There’s some good quality sushi to be had here, and it feels like a secret gem that you might not even want to share with anyone..!
Bar Chiqui/Grado Sushi, C. de Vilamarí, 29, 08015 Barcelona (Sant Antoni).
