Jim Novack
Google
After months in confinement, I was really looking forward to visiting this iconic restaurant in the historic area of El Escorial, about 30 minutes from Madrid. You would think that they too would extend themselves to shine after this long period of imposed rest.
Nothing could have prepared me for the level of disappointment experienced. I made the reservation 2 days before and was informed that the day of my reservation was "cocido" day (a typical dish of garbanzo beans and several meats) and that if I would like to order it, I must reserve it in advance, which I did.
Upon arriving, and even though the restaurant was completely empty, my guest and I were unceremoniously directed to a table at the furthest reach of the terrace, smack dab in the hot air flow and noise of an an air conditioning vent. I have lived in Spain for over 20 years and I politely asked in Spanish for another table and after some deliberation we were pointed to another table at the far opposite extreme of the outside terrace in an area that would be partially in the sun. After some insisting, they finally acquiesced to seat us at a table for 2 with a side table as the cocido service requires several side platters.
The next surprise came when, even before taking our order, a surly waiter placed a Spanish flag on our table and when my guest asked why, he simply said "it is the policy of the management". Now I must say that I have nothing against the Spanish flag, in fact I am a Spanish citizen, but my guest is from another region of Spain and the act of simply planting a flag on our table after we were already seated did prompt the question of why not simply ask?
Given that it was a record hot day, my guest simply wondered if the cocido dish was going to be his preferred choice, and was also somewhat concerned given he was scheduled to receive his second dose of Covid vaccine, but the maitre d' practically threatened us to order it "as we had reserved it in advance". My guest complied so as to not create a scene.
Continuing with the food service, which was slow and without any empathy, we wondered how such a famous and well-located restaurant with few patrons had so fallen from grace and if the Charoles was simply coasting in its previous fame from another age.
The cocido was undoubtedly good, but extremely over-abundant to the level of absurd waste. I suppose that it is a way of partially justifying the also excessive price which we didn't have any way of knowing in advance because it is not printed on the menu given to us.
I promise fellow future visitors that throughout the meal I kept hoping that the previous events were a bad dream, and given my attention and deference to my out of town guest I was completely courteous throughout and did not "raise a stink". After my guest needed to leave for his vaccine appointment I waited alone for over 30 minutes with no waiter attention just to get my check and another 15 minutes to be able to pay. No "thank you for coming", no complimentary shot (as is customary in high-end Spanish restaurants), and frankly I left sad that what was once a paragon of good Spanish cuisine and attentive service was no longer.
What is also no longer is the anonymity that bad customer service fortunately is shared so that it may be corrected by management and if not at least patrons should adjust their expectations.
