Albé Barcelona — Restaurant in Barcelona

The meal started out well. Nicely designed space. Very friendly staff. We chose the larger of the two tasting menus. The first few courses were flavorful and timed well. However, the restaurant moved two couples to make room for a large party in a rather small room. At this point the timing of the dishes began to lag, usually significantly delayed (20-25 min) toward the end. We stopped being waited on and drinks and refills became non-existent. The group next to us became very loud, drunk, and regularly shouted profanity. Sadly the staff did nothing to curb any of this behavior. We were not sure what special favor they were providing to this group but could not imagine any restaurant that aims to be of this high of a caliber would tolerate this behavior. The courses were now arriving lukewarm at best and bordering on cold towards the end of the meal. At this point having to listen to close to three hours of shouting, swearing, and slow cold dishes we decided to leave before the last course. While the manager was very friendly and handled the situation well (discounted the price), we would have preferred they intervened and maintained a pleasant atmosphere and presentation of the meal. Unfortunately we cannot recommend this restaurant and hope that they can focus on service and presenting their food in a manner that matches the high...

Disappointing Experience!

We had high hopes for this restaurant as the reviews looked very convincing and as a fan of innovative food and fine dining I had high expectations for this place, especially when the aim of the evening was to celebrate a friend’s 30th birthday. Unfortunately, what was meant to be a special evening quickly turned into a disappointing experience.

Although the waitress initially seemed friendly, we were left waiting quite a while before anyone acknowledged us. From there, things went downhill. Drinks were forgotten, and the food consistently tasted bland and undersalted. We ordered most of the dishes on the menu, but only one stood out as enjoyable. The final main course was so bad it was practically inedible.

When the waitress came to clear the table, she appeared surprised by how much food was left uneaten. We shared our honest feedback, but the only response we received was that it was “surprising.” There was no apology, no offer of compensation, not even a suggestion of dessert on the house to make up for the experience.

Sadly, this turned out to be the worst money we spent in Barcelona—and an unfortunate start to what should have been a joyful birthday celebration. We won’t be returning, and we wouldn’t recommend...

It's a very good restaurant, but over-rated. Overall 3/5

Food: we ordered the Albé tasting menu - 3/5 1st course (labneh) and dessert were superb. Aubergine, Prawn Baclava and Kebbeh were good. For me the Aubergine had a notch too much acidity, but still good. The other dishes were forgettable. The falafel had nothing special and ate dry. The sepia with peas was mostly peas. The mushrooms were on the salty side. The duck was correct, but nothing special.

Service: very nice people, but inconsistent. - 3,5/5 On the bright side, all the staff were very nice and polite. They also did the best to accommodate intolerances we had on the table on the tasting menu. As negatives, it took way too long for the staff to provide the wine recommendations they offered to make. Dishes timings were off (some too fast, other to slow). They didn't offer to change plates between the seafood and the meat courses. For a relatively expensive restaurant, it seems they are missing a couple of waiters to keep the service level.

Cost benefit - 2/5. Albe is nice, but feels expensive. You pay for the ambiance and not the food. It's also not romantic enough for a special dinner and probably to formal to chill with friends. It's a good restaurant for...