Very friendly staff, excellent tapas and interesting desserts (mango cheesecake and the chocolate based one).

  We found here online and booked on the website and the meal was well worth our internet investigation time. We shared 5 plates between us as recommended by the friendlt... read more waiter, each dish was a big suprise when it came to the table, it´s well presented and just gorgeous! Then we had dessert, the chocolate mousse is the best I´ve ever eaten.

  What can I say ? I'm a travelling a lot in my job and love restaurant in general but RAO exceed all my expectations !

The place a very... read more cosy with a good jazz music on the background. The team is absolutely amazing and very friendly (they offer me a small dessert the first time and gave me some prosecco when I went back for the second time).

The food is the icing on the cake ! Taste, flavor... Incredible !

For sure I will come back again.

Regards

  Absolutely amazing. Five us us came over from the UK for a staff outing on Tuesday 10th and from the moment we walked in to the restaurant (via
the excellent... read more Whisky Bar next door) we had a brilliant time. We were greeted by Jason who knew exactly who we were (spooky) and proceeded to recommend some exceptional dishes and great wines. The service was impeccable with Jason providing detailed descriptions of each dish and serving up good humour as well. Paolo was in the background doing a great job of serving, clearing and filling wine glasses and was also great fun.
The star of the show is the food, it is simply fabulous. Everyone at the table had a different favourite from the beef to the sea bass, the duck to the pork cheeks. It was awesome and a very fair price too.
These guys have really nailed it. I'm desperately trying to find another excuse to get back to Barcelona so I can revisit Rao.
Cheers,
Justin

  Fantastic atmosphere and overall good experience. Quite different to other spanish tapas restaurants, the food is more elaborated and the thought and care of the team shines through the plate.... read more Beautiful restaurant, lovely people, super tapas food, good price....a great restaurant!

  Great atmosphere to go along with great food and service. I started with the Croquettes and Bravas Rao, and then the Duck Breast. All were delicious. I wound up having... read more dessert, even though I was totally full. Very glad I did!
That all being said, the service was excellent as well! Luis did an awesome job explaining the various items on the menu, and also mixing drinks on the fly. Asked for something with rum, and he came up with sort of a Mai Tai. To be fair, he didn’t have all the ingredients for a Mai Tai, but this was about as close as one could get. Whatever he’s being paid, should at least get another 20%! Jason was also great, handling everything cool and calm, even as more customers kept coming in. Great demeanor and sense of humor, and made things more fun and interesting. He went above and beyond to make the experience better.
I will definitely be back, most likely each time I visit Barcelona.

  Great dining experience. We tried a variety of plates unlike any other restaurant we´ve been to. Great imagination is seen in the roastbeef, pork tenderloin with mojo sauce and the... read more paella also different to the norm, but really good. Perfect attention to detail in every way.

  When I saw this restaurant popped up, my thoughts are: Rao is a Chinese character, could mean different things, like forgive/detour/a person’s name etc. I was very hesitant if I... read more should eat Spanish food in a Chinese restaurant; however, the good reviews got me in. Then I learned, Rao is “recent” in Catalonian. Felt better lol.

When I walked into the door, Jason called my name immediately with greetings. What a surprise! He said that’s his secret skill, well, it definitely lights up the night.

I sat at the bar, ordered some stuff. Drink was made by Luis, I told him I like fruity and sweet stuff, he delivered his creation. Six stars (out of five) for his cocktails, I had two, both are amazing and better than a lot of top-tier bars in San Francisco. I hope the owner pays him enough to get to keep him, I will come back in the future for his cocktail for sure. He kept working after he broke his finger, such a trooper.

Food is nice. Highlights: Octopus is severely burned and over cooked. They said they would try to avoid it happen again. Everyone makes mistakes, it’s late of the night and the chef is probably tired. But I could not even finish half, re-ordered another pork tenderloin, epic! Cooking was perfect and the homemade spicy sauce was amazing! Loved it!

Will come back for the cocktail, maybe another pork tenderloin.

  Beautiful dishes, natural and classical flavours with a new twist, excellent atmosphere, very friendly staff, stylish interior design

  Great food with creative details, nice atmosphere (enough space) and very friendly staff! As unexperienced tourists we first tried to order too much food, but the waiter said no -... read more you can get more later if you still think you need it. Very nice caretaking!

  Such an amazing place. The food is amazing, the staff is very friendly and helpful, the atmosphere is very romantic and relaxing.

  Among the uncountable number of excellent restaurants in Barcelona, this is a gem. The food is very tasty and creative, the service is perfect. The wine list offers great choices... read more that match the food. All that in a great setting both inside the restaurant as well as in the neighborhood.
We will definitely come back again next time.

  "RAO" restaurant should be on a "must have list" for Barcelona !
Jason is a great manager and is probably the "salt and pepper " of this place.(The... read more owner should probably think about seriously make him a offer as a associated ; if he's not yet in that position) 🙂 . Food tastes like "rainbow in your mouth" , it is simply amazing.
Every penny we've paid here was worth it!

Congrats!

  Friendly wait staff who were extremely attentive and who fit the vibe of the restaurant really well. Elegant, elevated menu that came with good recommendations. I was dining solo and... read more the waiters were extremely respectful of my space and provided exactly what you need. Great for couples~

Personally had the 8-hour braised pork tongue and the duck confit with a side order of croquettes. Definitely try the croquettes and the pork tongue and listen for the recommendations, I wanted to try everything but I was practically full after the 2 entrees to try anymore.

To top it all off, I had a few drinks and the waiter was nice enough to provide a local mixed coffee/chocolate inspired drink for me which was a lighter version of an Irish coffee. It was rich in flavor but robust in depth, with a chocolatey after taste that left me wanting more.

Easily a great experience near Raval and from the moment you sit down to the moment you leave, one can feel assured that they were well taken care of, especially with a unique fusion menu between local Catalan food with a flair of French/European inspired techniques. Will definitely be back!

  Jason gave us some choices on the menu to choose from and we were not disappointed! I wish I could have eaten more this has been our best dining experience... read more for the week in Spain and we have had excellent food. The service is impeccable. Do yourself a favor and have the chocolate mousse and the lemon sponge cake. You’ll thank me later.

  The location is fantastic in a small cute street. The place is will presented, great tapas food and cocktails. A real gem in the city centre.