Chiringuito Rompeolas — Restaurant in Algarrobo

So…we have eaten and drank here many times in the past whilst on holiday, the last being 2021 so we decided to dine here for our anniversary. We looked at the menu outside earlier in the day and thought it would be a good choice. We got there around 20:40/20:45 and sat inside, it was almost empty which surprised us as it used to be always full, after a couple of mins we had a member of staff come and take our drinks order and we asked for the menu. What was given to us was a set menu not the one that is displayed outside, as there was nothing to our taste so we declined…a family sat down near us and was given the menu that was outside not the set menu and ordered from it..I found this quite strange so asked the woman who served us why we was given the set menu…so just looked blankly at me and mumbled something in Spanish and walked off, another member of staff came and I asked the same question and was given this answer “the menu that is displayed outside is only available to order from up until 21:00, the set menu is for ordering after 21:00” Now, we came into the Chiringuito at 20:40/45 and ordered drinks and asked for a menu 2 minutes after that…so why was we not offered the main menu, she said you can ORDER from it until 21:00, I would give this place 1 out of 10 overall, the 1 is for the actual place the rest would be 0 I asked for the bill for our drinks and it was rung up at 21:01 proving that it was only gone 21:00 a good 10 mins after talking to staff about the two menus.

Lazy staff who could not be bothered to cook more extravagant meals…they would rather cook basic stuff, bad customer service and...

If you are a traveller be cautious of this place. When I went to pay the bill with a credit card the server entered a number on the credit card machine and said to tap the card, I simply asked to see the amount on the machine prior to tapping my card and he pointed to a paper receipt he printed previously. I again said may I see the number on the actual credit card machine face that his hand was covering and he took the machine away and said to trust him that he was not a scammer... Why would this be an issue to see if there was nothing to hide? No other shops, restaurants or any place in all Europe refused to let me see the machine screen before I tapped it.

It was such an issue it developed into an argument.

Service was also so slow that we waited over half an hour to 40 mins before we were served any water and my "reservation" for three did not actually have any table reserved and they only had a table for 2 available and brought a chair over for the third to sit.

I was not impressed and they obviously don't care about their customers or their reputation since they are right on the ocean and most tourists will go there anyways.

Just be wary.

Also it can be a bit pricey.

I might have been overly sensitive since I am still feeling sick, slowly recovering from high fever the past few days, but that just didn't seem...

We went with friends who recommended Rompeolas after a visit a few weeks earlier. We were intending to have a menu del dia as they had done preciously for around €9 per head. Once seated we were told there was no menu del dia, only a special menu or the a la carte. The special menu was about €15 each but we thought at least it would be special.

Sadly it wasn't, the only thing which some may say in its favour was the large portions. The choice was quite limited and the only thing special about it was the high price. Desert was an ice cream cone straight from the freezer or, I think, one other choice or coffee. To top it all, a rather surly waiter and to find drinks were extra meant it was a big disappointment.

Having lived in Spain for twenty years, we know what is value here and what is excessive by local standards and feel we wasted a good lunch opportunity when there are many alternative choice restaurants close by who serve a menu del dia for less than €10, drinks included.

We will be giving this one a...