tl;dr: great food, nice quiet place, good service. I've always looked down at hotel restaurants, but here in Barcelona many of the best restaurants seem to be in hotels. I can't say enough good things about the food here, every course we had was delicious, especially in the beginning before the bread course arrived and we stuffed ourselves. Even things I don't like were good, like the oyster. Presentation was also usually very pretty. The restaurant is relatively small and quiet, and the four of us were off in one end so it was even better - it's a great place for small groups. Service was good by European standards. I thought there was a bit too much time between courses but I often think that, probably because I can't wait until the next bite. Our sparkling water ran out towards the end. But overall it was good service. read more

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Fantastic menu recently at Aleia. The food and service are as expected for a Michelin, but honestly this experience is at the top end for a one-star in my opinion. The somm was wonderful, we learned a lot about the wines we chose and the ones with the pairing. The menu is seafood focused, but there was a quail main. The pacing is good, restaurant is relatively quiet, tables are well spaced. A touch formal but not terribly so. Desserts were amazing, not often do I dine at a michelin where the desserts equal or surpass the savory courses. The menu began with a series of small bites, presented beautifully. The star here was the mackerel tartlet for me. Then a couple savories before an amazing bread course with warm brioche, a trio of butters and duo of salts. Then 3-4 more savory courses before moving to dessert. The savory courses were all very well balanced, sauces were rich but done very well and paired well with wines. The peaches and cream with caviar dessert, cheese cake and finally ended with a luxurious chocolate dessert with fresh truffles - again, amazing. Chef Rafa presented the main entree for us, and the pastry presented the dessert courses. The menu was just right - even after a big tasting for lunch, we were able to make it through this menu and eat everything. There were similarities in the menu to Amelia (also by Paulo Airaudo), which is another wonderful experience. read more

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I'm surprised that I'm only the 2nd reviewer for Aleia. This is a superb restaurant located in Hotel Casa Fuster. We were easily able to make a reservation after checking into the hotel during the week. The food is fantastic and the amount is perfect where you do not leave the restaurant feeling hungry. We were brave in entering the restaurant with our one year old daughter, but we had asked ahead of time if bringing her was ok and we were given the green light. That being said, this is not a restaurant that has high chairs for small children - so we just held our daughter in one of our laps and took turns going to the lounge just outside the restaurant where there were plenty of space and couches for my daughter to explore whenever she got ancy in between meals. We also had one of the earlier reservations. Nevertheless, she also got a chance to try some of the plates and thoroughly enjoyed them too! The staff and other patrons were super nice and also said hello to our daughter when passing by. The wine pairing is fantastic because the restaurant really tries to highlight local wineries that would go well with the food. some of the types of wines i've never heard of and one of the pairing mixed a sweet wine with a sherry. I wish I could find some of these wines in the states! If you ever get a chance to stay around this area- please check out this restaurant! read more

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The two-stars rating is for the efforts of kitchen to transform those ingredients into many dishes. However, they are too fusion to keep balance of flavor, feel the ingredients 'got divorced' while laying on the same plate, especially those cold starters, for the warm dishes a bit better, but one Michelin star in Barcelona, I would expect much more. The staffs are well trained, unfortunately, have nothing to do with hospitality nor attentive, even arrogant when we gave a constructive feedback on their food. Ambiance, yes, looks very much like a Michelin star restaurant. read more