Usagui Barcelona - Japanese Cafe

I just recently discovered Usagui, and it's already my favorite Japanese in Barcelona. When we think about Japanese restaurants, we tend to associate this concept to sushi, and yet Japanese cuisine is so much more than this! 

We have amazing ramen in town, like Ramen-Ya Hiro, and also, luckily, Japanese cafes, my favorite. There's currently two in Barcelona, Takashi Ochiai, a Japanese bakery and cafe I must write a review on soon, and Usagui, an absolute hidden gem. 

Usagui is run by a Japanese couple and the sister of the wife, making of this a perfect family business cafe. Not only do they serve outstanding matcha drinks and Japanese desserts such as mochis or matcha cakes, they also have some dishes available for lunch and dinner. Absolutely everything is homemade, of course. Usagui means Rabbit in Japanese, and you're bound to see little rabbits everywhere: in their business card, decorating the blackboards at the entrance, on their menus, and even their  hashioki (the chopstick rest) is a cute little rabbit. 

The first time we visited {last week}, we went for tea and absolutely adored it, so we decided to go back yesterday for dinner. We had Yakisoba Omu {Yakisoba noodles wrapped with egg}, and Oyakodon {Chicken and egg with rice}. 

Both dishes were delicious, but I liked the Yakisoba the best. We had miso soups as well. And for drinks J had cold matcha latte, and I had a hot matcha latte with soy milk. Matcha latte is my absolute favorite drink in the whole world, and I cannot understand why Starbucks has it in Hong Kong but not in Spain :'(

Visited on: May 29, 2015
Overall Quality: 5*
Price: You may find matcha latte sort of expensive at 4€ but I think it's all worth it for the quality you get. Cake slices are around 4€ as well, and main dishes around 9€. We paid 31€ for this dinner. They lunch set for 11€.

Value for Money: 5*
Would I recommend it? You simply cannot miss it. It feels like being in Japan!

Usagui - Te Japones & Cafe

Carrer dels Santjoanistes, 28 (next to Plaça Molina)

Phone: 93 200 55 41

Opening hours: 

Tue: 4:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Wed-Sat: 1:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Sun: 4:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Closed on Monday

Brunchelona Barcelona - Cup&Cake L'illa Diagonal

Brunchelona, Cup&Cake's new branch, opened yesterday afternoon in Barcelona's mall L'illa Diagonal. It's the first of their shops to be located in a shopping mall, and I think L'illa will benefit tremendously from this new addition. As with all Cup&Cake branches, decoration is looked after till the last detail, resulting in a young, cozy cafe. Stunning as this may sound, some tables here are even smaller than a seat, allowing for plenty of sitting spots in the outer area.

Cupcakes are served at an incredible speed, yet luckily there's always replenishments coming from the kitchen :) Yesterday we had a red velvet, a croccanti and a lemon one. There's no doubt Cup&Cake's cupcakes are the best in all Barcelona.

I like the name of this place: Brunchelona, Brunch + Barcelona. Who knows, it may be an omen and this will become the best branch of them all for a perfect Sunday brunch in Barcelona! 

Visited on: March 16, 2015

Overall Quality: 4.5* Trendy and pretty as they may be, seats without a backrest aren't comfy for too long!

Price: Unbeatable: 1.5€ for a cafe latte and 2.5€ for a cupcake

Value for Money? 5*

Would I recommend it? Certainly. This and Escribà (also recently opened) are the best places for afternoon tea at L'illa Diagonal.

Liam was exactly 200 days old in this pic :)

Brunchelona

L'illa Diagonal

Av. Diagonal, 557
(1/F next to Zara)

Flax&Kale Brunch - Barcelona

You've probably heard of Teresa Carles, Barcelona's most renowned vegetarian restaurant, and here I am today ready to introduce to you its little brother: Flax&Kale, which aims at providing healthy nutritious food. Last month the hubby, Liam, my parents and I visited for the weekend brunch, and it was alright, yet not outstanding. There's nothing like my favorite brunch ever, anyway.

First disappointment: by noon their kale chips, which I REALLY wanted to try, were sold out. Seriously?! I had a veggie burger that came with a carrot instead of the kale chips :( The burger was good, but I still like the one at the other brunch I mentioned earlier better! :D

The hubby had eggs benedict and my parents had scrambled eggs, kale salad and spaghettini. I'd say everything was good except for the pasta which didn't have much flavor. I had been to Flax&Kale once before for breakfast and had their Açaí Bowl, which I loved! I would go back for that, but probably not for the brunch, because for what you get, I think it's pricey. 

Next to Flax&Kale is Teresa's Juicery, the other sibling of Teresa Carles and Flax&Kale, where cold pressed juices are made. They are really good, yet expensive at €5 per juice. They are served at Flax&Kale, too. My parents had an Antiox and a Green Slim Fit juice, while I had a chai latte that was quite yummy.

Visited on: December, 2014
Overall Quality: 4*
Price: Around 15 euros per person for the brunch
Value for Money: 3.5*
Would I recommend it? It is a lovely venue, and their food is actually good, just a bit pricey. I'd definitely recommend visiting at least once, though!

Flax&Kale
Tallers, 74B
Barcelona