Jaç Hi-Fi Café brings Japanese listening-bar culture to Barcelona

Jaç Hi-Fi Café invites guests to slow down and listen. Designed by Isern Serra Studio, the Barcelona opening invites visitors into a Mediterranean interpretation of Japan’s revered jazz kissa. The name Jaç, which nods to jazz and recalls the Japanese listening bar, means ‘to recline, rest, and let go’ in Catalan. The project combines coffee and acoustics to create a setting where time feels recalibrated.

Jaç Hi-Fi Café, Barcelona

The 95 sq m interior is arranged as a sequence of tactile environments. At the entrance, a lounge introduces the palette with a concrete sofa softened by beige cushions, a sculptural Akari E lamp by Isamu Noguchi for Vitra, and custom walnut tables finished with lacquered beige tops. Stools by Noo.ma and an artwork by Chidy Wayne offset the neutral microcement shell with contrast and colour.

The bar functions as both counter and acoustic instrument. Crafted from a single monolithic slab of walnut by Fusteria Vidal, it doubles as a speaker cabinet, with shelving for vinyl, a baked-goods display, and custom Bloom Island speakers carved from the same timber. The uninterrupted grain runs across cabinetry and speaker fronts, binding architecture and sound into one continuous surface.

At the centre, a stainless steel communal table designed by Serra introduces a brutalist edge softened by the warm tones of surrounding wooden and metallic stools. Its reflective surface catches the light of Antoni Arola’s Lámina pendant for Santa & Cole, which hovers with sculptural precision above, amplifying the table’s role within the plan.

The rear alcove delivers the most immersive encounter; produced by Fusteria Vidal, the walnut installation curves across the wall and ceiling to form a semi-enclosed listening zone. A cylindrical column divides shelves filled with vinyl, while stainless steel Bloom Island speakers project finely tuned sound.

Cushions and low tables extend the invitation to linger, illuminated by the Disco wall lamp by Jordi Miralbell and Mariona Reventós. Smaller gestures reinforce the intimacy, including a four-seat window niche, discreetly integrated bathrooms, and a façade in iroko wood stained to match the walnut interior.

Coffee is roasted in-house, sourced from carefully chosen farms that highlight the character of each origin; matcha tea comes directly from two growers in Japan, found by Jaç owners Arnau and Lígia. Breakfast at home is the inspiration: tomato toast with Iberian cold cuts, pastries based on family recipes, and ingredients bought from the tienda de toda la vida – the traditional, family-run stores.

Jaç is located at Av. Diagonal, 335, L’Eixample, 08037 Barcelona, Spain.