Pino R.
Yelp
We have been coming to Las Palmas twice a year for the last five years. After trying a lot of different restaurants in the Las Canteras area, Bodegon el Biberon stood out as one of the best that we found. The restaurant interior feels really traditional in an authentic way. The food has always been amazing. And the ladies and gentlemen who work there have always made us feel very welcome, despite us speaking hardly any Spanish. On our various holidays we have been to Bodegon about 3 or 4 times per trip. I would say that we are friendly, quiet and polite and thank the servers when anything is brought to the table. We usually tip around 15%, but have tipped more because it is such a lovely place.
However, on our most recent trip to Las Palmas, things dramatically changed. We chose to visit Bodegon el Biberon on the evening that we arrived. Several of the usual staff were present but a young male server, who we had never seen before, was assigned to our table. It became very obvious, very quickly, that there was something about us that he did not like. He had a very abrupt manner, made no attempt to be friendly, or even smile, and almost threw the plates of food on the table. We observed him interacting in a friendly, chatty way with other clients. When we tried to attract his attention to order additional items and then eventually pay the bill, he seemed to be intentionally ignoring us. Having both worked in shops and had to deal with rude members of the general public, we assumed he was having a bad night, settled our bill, left a 15% tip (as the food and the other members of staff are always great) and left. My wife was really upset by this change of attitude at probably our favourite restaurant. We avoided going back to Bodegon for the rest of our visit. My wife did not want to return. But I persuaded her on our very last night to go back to the restaurant.
Unfortunately, we were waited on by the same young guy. And despite our efforts to be extra friendly he was, unbelievably, even more rude than at the start of the week. We ate the three dishes and drank the beers that we ordered. We would have ordered more food and drink, but we could not stand his attitude any longer. I paid the bill and for the very first time, left no tip at all.
Over the years we have been coming to this restaurant, we must have spent well over €1000.
Maybe his attitude was down to our lack of speaking the Spanish language? Maybe it was our nationality? Maybe it was our ethnicity? But we are always polite and friendly. And we have had no previous issue at this restaurant. The management need to understand that one bad member of staff could completely ruin years of future business of a great establishment like Bodegon el Biberon.
We are already booked for another trip to Las Palmas in 2024. But I don't think we will be going back to our favourite restaurant. What a shame!
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