Adam B.
Yelp
The food here was good ... but we felt that either we were taken advantage of ... or, the ordering system is just completely wacky. Long story short, we waited at the bar ... about 25 minutes. There were 2 people waiting (hoovering behind the diners) ahead of us and as diners got up, they slid in. Finally, we grabbed a seat at the counter and asked to order.
"There is no menu. You don't order ... we bring you the food we bring." said the person behind the counter. "Just tell me if there is something you don't like". Out of the 1,000 or more foods on the earth, I am sure there are a lot we don't like. So, you want us to just start rattling off foods we hate? We figured that it's some kind of 'SoupNazi' type of system and decided just to go with it ... although we kind of knew what we wanted to eat for lunch and were not expecting (or wanting) to eat 6 courses.
I see this absolutely awesome dish of what looks like Langoustines (small lobsters) that the person 3 or 4 seats down is eating. "Can I get that?" I asked the server. He just looked at me and kind of shrugged. Surely, that would be included ... right? Wrong! The ONE dish I wanted and asked for ... he did not bring. Instead, we watched them bring plate, after plate to us ... none of which we ordered. Half of which we didn't want.
Here is what was brought to us:
- Some kind of mushy corn-tasting cake, (maybe a sweet omelet?) which would have fed 6 people, though there were only 2 of us.
- A small dish of clams in broth.
- Tuna Tar Tar ... I don't eat raw fish, so it was basically wasted.
- A piece of cooked white fish ... this was good, but nothing either of us would have ordered
- Steak and potatoes ... again ... not bad but never would either of us have ordered it.
Here is what we wanted:
- Langoustines
- Fritto Misto (fried calamari and other sea creatures)
- Razor Clams
It was frustrating watching other people be served the food we wanted to order, only to get steak and potatoes, white fish and other things we considered more like a dinner meal vs. a luncheon tapas. The bill came and it was around $150. We came in thinking we'd each have 1 or 2 things, and instead we left feeling full to the brim, as if we had just ate 6 meals. (and we kind of did)
The food here is good ... and it's high quality. The chefs seem to know what they are doing ... but to not be able to order what you want and be forced to eat way more food than you want ... we won't return. If you go in knowing that you are not allowed to order, there is no menu and you basically have no control over the meal, you'll probably enjoy the experience. Go in hungry and with no expectations. This was our least favourite meal in Spain. And ... the atmosphere looks like an American diner from NY or NJ.