Xemei

We found slight but noticeable improvements in cleanliness, order, and overall organization. The food is still thoroughly delicious, and the wine list, along with the wine service, remains one of the house’s enduring strengths. In a city full of variables, this is one of the safest plays around.

Venetian soul, seafood muscle, and a room with real pulse

Xemei serves Venetian cooking—“cocina venexiana” with a strong seafood backbone—translated into Barcelona with confidence. Think cicchetti-style starters, fish that tastes like it came straight off the ice, and pastas that feel handmade rather than manufactured. The style is bold but not fussy: real sauces, clean salinity, and that Northern Italian knack for making simple ingredients feel rich without feeling heavy.

What we love is the attitude. The place has a lived-in, slightly chaotic energy that keeps it fun, and the kitchen cooks with a steady hand: you can taste technique, but it never turns into a lecture. It’s the kind of restaurant where we end up ordering more than planned because the menu reads like a greatest-hits list of things we actually want to eat. If we have one caution, it’s that the room can run lively—great for a night out, less ideal if we’re chasing silence. Still, as a food-first, Venice-in-Barcelona address, it’s hard not to come back.