Wrote the lead review above.
Restaurant · Eixample
Melo Jia
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Our take
Eighteen euros, give or take, is what the bill comes to, and the first time I checked it twice, certain something had been missed. The moment that stays with me is smaller than the arithmetic: midway through lunch, the woman running the floor saw my glass empty and my hands full, and put both right before I could ask. That is service as I was raised to know it, noticing first, no announcement after. The cooking is home-style Chinese, dim sum and dumplings from hands that have clearly made thousands, with more character than far dearer rooms manage. It deserves a bigger following and is perhaps better off without one. Closed Mondays, and Sundays it is lunch only, so time it right. I find an excuse more often than I should, and it has never once let me down.
Order this: Dim sum first, then whichever dumplings look busiest coming out of the steamer.
A
Aina R.
Lead critic · We Know Barcelona
Lead critic · We Know Barcelona
Our score
8.4/10
Our score
How often we'd come back
WeeklyMonthlyQuarterlyYearlyNever again
ALead: Aina R. · panel of 4 · avg 8.6/10
Food
8.5
Wine / Drink
8.3
Service
8.3
Ambiance
8.5
Experience
8.4
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 2Not listed
Guide ratings are facts, linked to each source. ObsG2 = Observación Gastronómica 2.
The panel — every critic who went
Divisive — the panel splitsI have one complaint, and it is with the city rather than the kitchen: everybody walks straight past. The block outside is ordinary Eixample, pharmacies and scooters and nobody slowing down, and behind it sits a quiet room, unforced, earning its regulars the old way. The cooking deserves far more traffic than it draws. I return more often than its low profile would suggest, and it has never once postured for me.
Rain was sheeting across the Eixample the day I ducked in, and foul weather may be this place at its best: the street gives you no reason to stop, so the storm does the persuading. Inside, the welcome is unforced and the room keeps its voice down. The cooking is better than its profile, the regulars earned the slow way, no marketing between you and the food. I go back more often than I tell people.
Honestly, the walk over was my favorite part, and I know that's not the compliment it should be. This corner of the Eixample hums along without noticing Melo Jia, and the room seems fine with that. The cooking is careful and cheap, the welcome real. Plenty of people leave smitten. I left thinking it was nice, and once a year is my true ceiling.
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 Melo Jia worth visiting?Aina R. scored it 8.4/10 for We Know Barcelona and would come back quarterly. Our panel of 4 rated it 8.6/10 overall.
What guides feature Melo Jia?Barcelona à Table: 8.5/10 ↗.
Where is Melo Jia?Melo Jia is in the Eixample district of Barcelona, at Carrer de Còrsega, 250, 08008 Barcelona.
How expensive is Melo Jia?Cheap by Barcelona standards — tapas-and-a-drink money.
Reviewed by our panel of 4 critics · a living guide, updated July 2026.