Toni Solans and David Romero cook with an unfair advantage: they know exactly what wok, steam and dim-sum craft can do to Catalan product, and they deploy that knowledge without ever letting the fusion become the point. A year later the highlights are still startling — har gow built on a prawn-head broth, squid sashimi with its own ink and lime, and a Mediterranean sea bass under smoked-chile pil pil that we would happily nominate as one of the finest fish dishes being served in this city. The acids are clean, the textures are calibrated, the seasoning is adult. So the food isn't the problem. The problem is what it costs to find out. Prices here climbed into territory that leaves no room for an average night, and an average night is precisely what a restaurant this young occasionally has. The wine program remains the least convincing thing in the building — disjointed, oddly unambitious against a kitchen this sharp, and no help at all in justifying the total. The room, too, is spartan for the money. Mantis is a genuinely exciting restaurant asking to be judged as an expensive one. On the fish alone, most nights, it survives the audit.
Address · Carrer de París, 145, Barcelona 08036 Type · Restaurant District · EixampleBudget · 100€/pax
The 2025 Review
A brilliant opening act — now the prices are the plot twist
Mantis came out swinging: one of those openings that felt genuinely promising, powered by two serious chefs and a cuisine that plays fusion in the smart way—Mediterranean backbone, Asian techniques, clean acids, and precise textures. The kitchen clearly has talent and discipline, and when the food lands, it’s sharp, modern, and confident.
The problem is the price. It’s climbed into territory that’s hard to justify, and that kind of pressure can make any project wobble—because suddenly the meal has to be flawless and emotionally satisfying, every single time. On top of that, the wine selection is a mess: disjointed, confusing, and nowhere near the level the cooking is aiming for.
Still, we’re rooting for them. There’s a real restaurant here, with real cooks. If they recalibrate the pricing and rebuild the wine side with the same ambition they put on the plate, Mantis can absolutely get back to being one of the city’s most exciting tables.
