Wrote the lead review above.
Restaurant · Eixample
Mantis
Nobody Knows
WE KNOW
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Our take
Ten minutes was all it took to see what the fuss ought to be about, if only more people were making it. We arrived to no theatrics whatsoever: a greeting, a table, water poured, the menu explained without a lecture. Then the first of the Catalan-Asian small plates landed and the assurance was obvious, the kind of cooking that rewards a proper sit-down over a quick graze. For the polish involved, the pricing is gentler than you would guess, and sharing a spread of the smaller dishes keeps things painless. Somehow the place remains off most visitors' radar, a state of affairs I would give about six months. It has gone straight into my seasonal rotation, and I return with genuine anticipation, which frankly I do not say of many kitchens in the Eixample.
Order this: One of the more intricate small plates, where the kitchen's fine handiwork shows best.
E
Eleanor W.
Lead critic · We Know Barcelona
Lead critic · We Know Barcelona
Our score
8.6/10
Our score
How often we'd come back
WeeklyMonthlyQuarterlyYearlyNever again
ELead: Eleanor W. · panel of 4 · avg 8.5/10
Food
8.7
Wine / Drink
8.5
Service
8.5
Ambiance
8.7
Experience
8.6
Scored on our five facets. Last visit: .
What the guides say
MichelinNot listed
RepsolNot listed
Barcelona à Table8.5/10 ↗
MacarfiNot listed
TheForkNot listed
Observación Gastronómica 2Reviewed ↗
Guide ratings are facts, linked to each source. ObsG2 = Observación Gastronómica 2.
The panel — every critic who went
Divisive — the panel splitsHonestly? Everyone's sleeping on this place, and I've stopped apologizing for how often I go. Lunch is the move: the room settles into quiet confidence, the kitchen runs without theatrics, and you get dinner's focus with none of dinner's wait. Friends tell me it's merely good. My monthly habit says otherwise. Some kitchens just get on with it, and this one has me on repeat.
A crust that shattered properly, still hot from the pass: that settled the argument I had been having with the menu. Two dishes divided our table, one gently classical, one more daring, and Mantis cooks both with the same exact hand, cuisson judged to the minute. No theatrics, simply competence of a rare grade. The Eixample hides it for now; word travels. I go back each quarter and tell almost no one.
Quiet assurance is rarer than talent, and this room has both: no theatrics, plain good tables, and wine treated as part of the cooking rather than an upsell. My glass was minded all evening without a word needed, the white kept cold, pours judged, one sensible suggestion offered when I hesitated over the list. Somehow the crowds have not found it. They will. Until then I shall enjoy the elbow room.
Each critic scores, verdicts and writes independently after their own visits. Where they disagree, we leave it on the page.
Good to know
Questions
Is Mantis worth visiting?Eleanor W. scored it 8.6/10 for We Know Barcelona and would come back quarterly. Our panel of 4 rated it 8.5/10 overall.
What guides feature Mantis?Barcelona à Table: 8.5/10 ↗; Observación Gastronómica 2: Reviewed ↗.
Where is Mantis?Mantis is in the Eixample district of Barcelona, at Carrer de París, 145, 08036 Barcelona.
How expensive is Mantis?Mid-range for Barcelona: a proper dinner without a special-occasion bill.
Reviewed by our panel of 4 critics · a living guide, updated July 2026.