It's closed. It was wonderful. I'll never forget their Smokey rice. Perfect Sunday afternoon beach dining.

I love Kaiku. My in-laws are Catalan, and because my mom-in-law is such a fantastic chef, we don't venture out to eat too often. But when we do, we come here! We have a good friend who lives in the building above Kaiku, and he knows the chefs personally. What does that mean for us? It means the best seats in the house and a personal greeting from the chefs. Everything I've had here has been phenomenal. I love keeping these things a secret amongst friends, but they really deserve all the success. Try anything and everything from here. And if you're a little nervous, ask the server. And yes, they have menus in English. read more

Kaiku - Arroz Negre: paella rice with seafood cooked in squid ink! - Basque Near Me - Barcelona, B

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Clearly one of the best meals of our holiday...after enjoying a packed square of Castellers during a portion of Mercè Festival 2010, we appreciated the ocean breeze and vibe of the setting. The only celebrities we observed in attendance, we shared a table with - our gracious hosts Jaume and Marta! The food - fabulous. We opted for the chef to make our decisions and we were not disappointed. As delicious as was the food, the dessert plate exceeded our expectations. As a total experience we were simply blown away. Catalan or at the very least, Spanish is recommended as this is pretty much a locals place. read more

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Did I eat at the wrong place? We had an appalling lunch here, despite assurances from Yelp, the Infatuation, and my trusty Frommer's. First--the building adjacent to the restaurant is under construction which means noise noise noise and a very unpleasant ambiance. We decided to power through (to my regret) and it eventually stopped. Second, our waiter was in a huge rush, very agitated, yelling to his colleague, and acting like the place is on fire. He was also wearing dirty clothes that did not give me a good feeling. Third, I ordered the roasted artichokes with Romasco sauce, only to be told that they don't have them. It's April and they're all over the various markets, And, we had a 1pm reservation. First service of the day and they're out of a seasonal ingredient. Ok....? I ordered the daily soup instead, cream of carrot. It was adequate but nothing special. BF ordered the fixed lunch, selecting fedua (noodle paella) and fresh sea bream. Fedua tasted of soy sauce and something else I couldn't place and didn't enjoy, and the sea bream were so plain. Just baked fish, fully on the bone and a giant pain to eat. No seasoning, no sauce, just white eyed fish staring at me. The accompanying white rice and veggies were generic and added insult to injury. We asked for the cuenta to get out of there but we're informed the lunch comes with a dessert. Cool. Ordered the brownie. You've had better on a United flight. Overly sweet, damp, so generic as to be insulting. Now the real crime is that I'm writing this review from bed where my BF is shivering and sweating after eating the meal. I wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy and am pissed over what a disaster it was -- seriously, are there two Kaikus??? read more

When our waitress came by to check up on us and asked how our meal went, I was completely in earnest when I told her in Spanish that it was possibly the best meal of my life. She looked startled but then pleased. I hoped she knew I meant every word. Don't bother with anything else other than the seafood. The seafood is extraordinary. Most of it I've never even seen before but everything was wonderful. Since the menu changes daily based on what's available at the markets, it's not guaranteed these dishes will be on the menu but at the time of our visit (April 2012), we had the Galeres (something akin to a Spot Prawn but with a meatier body yet more delicate flavor), Anemones (Tempura style with a bit of Honey and Lime), Escopinyes (Cockles with Tomato Water and Oilve Oil), Zamburinyes (a type of Baby Scallop), and the Arros Negre. The Arros Negre was really some kind of incredible. I typically do not enjoy Paella but this was unlike any Paella I had ever tasted. Inky black and topped with the most perfect shrimp in shell, squid, and mussels, my husband and I devoured the entire pan and kept looking back at it longingly even though we knew it was completely empty. To round out our meal, we requested a sampler of desserts to be made and those in turn were also very, very good. Simply amazing. Amazing. If anyone knows me, I can be quite wordy at times but really, there are no words. Just go. *A heads up- they are closed certain days of the week, only open for lunch, and reservations are highly recommended. read more

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Went here. The person at my hotel told me I didn't need a reservation to get into this place. He was definitely wrong. I got there and was told there were no openings all day. I said I had walk 30+ minutes just to get there and she said that there still were no open table for the day. I then went and sat on the side of the restaurant to think about what to do. The hostess must have felt sorry for me and came up and told me that if I agreed to be out within 1 hour she could give me a table. I agreed. That was very nice of her. Had a salad and the Arros Negre paella. Food was very good and was it was nice to sit outside near the beach and watch the people. read more

Delicious. Beach side. You absolutely need a reservation. I somehow got lucky without one and got a table outside. Best for more than one person because everything is shareable. Definitely check it out. Here on a Sunday and there's live music close by. They seem to have a limited selection of songs but it's far enough away to be enjoyable and not too loud read more

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It was a Sunday afternoon everything was close. Saw this rated favourably by the Guardian. Decided to give it a go. Service: friendly 4/5 Ambience: 3.5/5 Food & value: Primarily seafood place. For what you get for what you pay 3/5. Yes it is on the beach, but you partly pay for this. Somehow it is popular among locals. read more

Been waiting a year to go here ever since my Airbnb host recommended it to me as the best place to eat paella the last time I was in Barcelona. Despite the touristy location and the small establishment, Kaiku's food is some of the most sophisticated I've eaten in Barcelona, evident by the small window of opening hours. We had the carpaccio, leek frites, mussels, and the black rice paella, all of which were excellent. The paella has a flair and uniqueness unlike anything else in Barcleona. My only complaint is that the seafood could be slightly fresher considering the price and caliber, but all in all an amazing experience. read more

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I went there after a verbal recommendation of someone. The chef´s Paella is diferent, and surprises, it is a totally different taste than what you expect from a Paella, and it is not bad at all. But due to the high scores, i expected more of it. Also portions seemed rather small... They also forgot to serve us a glass of wine we asked for. Their excellent location maybe makes them " lazy" read more

Selected from our beloved Le Cool: Barcelona book, Kaiku was a great find and the best restaurant we visited during our stay in Barcelona.. Be sure to book in advance as this restaurant was already booked out by the time we arrived. Lucky for us, we were there before they were open for trading and the waiter was happy to squeeze us in. Right along the beach overlooking the W Hotel, the uninterrupted view of the ocean was another bonus to the incredible gastronomical creations on offer. Our friendly waiter suggested we try the crayfish in oyster leaf, which he insisted tasted just like an oyster. We were baffled yet extremely impressed. Any connoisseurs planning a trip to Barcelona must put Kaiku on their to-do list. I can't wait to go back again read more

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Been meaning to write this review but yes, recommend this place in Barceloneta especially if you have kids. Even though they did not have a kids menu they made my kids chicken tenders and pasta with butter - and may I say, the chicken tenders were quite delish! But the reason we came here was for the paella negra which was on the side of salty but freshly squeezed lemon took care of that...just wished they were a little bit more generous on the protein - hardly any seafood in the paella. read more

Kaiku - Paella negra - Basque Near Me - Barcelona, B

this is a great spot in barceloneta! it's on the end of a stretch of beach that hints at tourist trap, but fortunately, Kaiku lived up to it's reputation. the squid ink paella was delicious! one of the best in barcelona. it had a homemade-ish taste that was very comforting. we also ordered the razor clams, which were a bit on the small side. I prefer my razor clams more meaty, but at least they were fresh and the sauce on top of them was also quite tasty and complemented the sweetness of the razor clams. prices were reasonable, especially for being right on the beach. read more

The food here was incredible. The razor clams, red prawns, and their non-paella yet paella esque rice platters are all highly recommendable. Their wine was a little too pricey and the service, initially, was a little brusque, but our waitress warmed up to us after the restaurant got a little less busy. Note: their Yelp location is completely wrong. The restaurant is located at the very end of the Barcelonita peninsula where Calle del Mar meets Plaza del Mar. It's NOT right off Calle Ginebra like Yelp's map suggests. read more

Quite pricey but the food is of phenomenal quality, especially the seafood offerings. Sit outside if you can to enjoy the sea view.

This is my first time in Barcelona, but I did my research carefully with the help of my fellow Yelpers. Every restaurant has been a hit, setting the bar very high in advance of my Sunday lunch at Kaiku. Sadly, it was a disappointment. Service was far from great. But that was not an issue for me. I speak Spanish and struggled to understand the menu offered in both Spanish and English. The English menu was a very poor translation and the waitresses were too rushed to adequately help. In addition, the menu was not as special as others had described.. The fried anemones were not on the menu. The croquettes with foie mouse were well done but nothing new as we have great croquettes elsewhere. The mussels were described as steamed without any description as to what type of liquid they were steamed in. They sounded so boring we did not order them. Someone at a neighboring table ordered the mussels and I never saw anyone dip bread into the sauce. That told me there was not much there in terms of flavor. We started with an order of razor clams. They appeared to be a a smaller variety than what we have been eating prior. Unlike the others they had their parts, feet and siphon muscles protruding from the ends and a dark sack perhaps the stomach was visible in the middle. I wondered if this was a function of their being cooked or a sign they were not fresh. Visually they were not like those we had been eating for three days prior. Those were creamy white with rounded ends. Being recently introduced to razor clams I found this order of clams visually disturbing. In any event, I attempted to eat several but was disappointed. They tasted slightly fishy unlike those I'd previously eaten at Ciudad Condal, and Tickets. Neither I or my husband cared for their flavor and could not finish the order. Bottom line, they tasted as bad as they looked. Also, they were the most expensive order of razor clams we've eaten in Barcelona. While waiting for our main course to arrive We noticed olives being delivered to a nearby table. Had we seen them on the menu we would have ordered them first. They were actually delicious, seasoned with paprika. On to the main course. The rice dishes as described on the menu were not particularly exciting. That was disappointing as that was my reason for reserving at Kaiku two months in advance. We ordered the chef 's special rice dish. It is a dish with vegetables, mussels, two pieces of squid, and four small shrimp. The first problem was the size of the shrimp. They were very small compared to those in chef specials delivered to other tables. My boys joked they were not big enough to use as bait. Although they were very sweet and delicious I felt as if we were being taken advantage of because we were obviously tourists. The rice itself had little to no flavor. It was described as being prepared with fish stock. Well, the chef failed to season the stock. The seasoning of a dish is just as important as the freshness of the ingredients. I felt as if the chef at Kaiku depended on flavor of the seafood to speak for itself without any help from him.. The dish was very bland, bordering on flavorless. I was underwhelmed to say the least. I never pick up a salt shaker in a restaurant but was forced to do so in order continue eating. Bottom line, Kaiku,was a disappointment all around. read more

Misleading reviews. Watch out! With a high review, we had high expectations with Kaiku. Four of us really struggled with the food as it was not tasty. The seafood items were uncooked and had raw taste. I would not recommend to anyone! read more

Brilliant, ambitious, super-trendy restaurant on the Barceloneta beach - you have to fight hard to get a table. Celebrity hangout. It's just mostly seafood and fish really, but with daring, creative touches. Full of surprises - the menu looks ordinary, but the food has imaginative twists you wouldn't expect. And the fish and seafood are all locally sourced on the day. It's lively, busy, noisy and lots of fun. And the location is amazing, right in front of the sea. read more

My friends said I was not allowed to write a review for they are scared that this hidden treasure would be discovered by too many people. So I'll say this: Ck it out. And make a reservation. That's it. Now a siesta..... read more

Hey Yelpers! The food is excellent here, and you really can't top the view. (I'll ask my hub to download some pics.) We went September last year, so the weather was sunny and great, and it's off the coast ("beach") which gave it a laid-back beachy feel, and our servers were really quick, and helpful. Patrick H. of Santa Cruz, Cali is correct in saying this is a local place, and I could taste why. This is not a tourist trap, like half of the places we tried. The pork-stuffed squash flower appetizer was delicious! (my hub didn't like, but more for me!) The seafood is soooo fresh, and not overcooked; the prawns were perfect. Since we had arroz negro at another location (Xaica:, delicious! review to come), we chose the fideu(sp?), noodles... which is just as good, but the flavor we chose tasted like file used in gumbo. It was still really good, (My hubby's fam is from Louisiana, so you understand why I mention this?) but If we had more time, I would of liked to go back and try the arroz dishes. If you go, let me know what YOU think! I got lucky picking this place based on the few reviews on Yelp. (Thanks for your cue, Patrick H.) read more

My favorite restaurant in Barcelona! The menu changes daily, and it is fresh, innovative, beautiful, and 100% Catalan! Reservations a must & so is the VERY affordable three course 11.50 lunch menu (includes wine & the most creative desserts in town!). read more