Antic Cafè Espanyol — Restaurant in Barcelona

Antic cafe espanyol el paral•lel Barcelona

It is late July 2024. This restaurant is just on the edge of the Gothic Quarter. It was a short walk from our hotel. We sat outside for dinner.

I had the paella with squid, smal clams, 1 prong and half a small lobster. I substituted the muscles for the lobster at no additional charge. All the seafood was cooked inside the rice. It was flavorful just a bit too much for me but very good. I ate all the seafood and about a little more than half the rice.

Hubby ordered three leg of lamb, rice and veggies. The lamb was tender. He had to dig in and pick up the lamb. He also had a beer recommend by the waiter, not sure of the brand, but he highly recommends it. All the food was fresh.

Quick note: I hear about rudeness but keep in mind when it comes to your food and someone serving and/or preparing your food. Put a smile on your face and you will get one back. If you’re not interested in the restaurant say thank you. When seated hold a short conversation with your waiter and the hosts. Ask for a suggestion, ask their name. We found you get better service. I am not saying be overly friendly nor am I saying it will work every time. Just a smile can brighten someone’s day, they may treat you differently and get you food you don’t have to worry about.

We were also given complementary glass of wine.

The waiter name unknown was great. The price per person was about 18-22 Euro. We spent about 55 Euro, including tip and drinks in uros.

Check the out....

Usually, I don't typically write reviews unless the service is horrendous or excellent. My husband and I went to get some coffee and food, and since we came in, we were treated unequally compared to the locals in the place. Typically, it would be best if you treated everyone the same. However, I felt discriminated against without disguise. You can see how the servers were treating everyone respectfully versus the tourists. Initially, the server gave us coffee and some egg entries. I spent 45 minutes waiting for the server to take our order, and the server didn't take the time to explain the menu because I couldn't understand the way they ordered plates. You could see this with people who arrived after us and already had their plates at the table. It's unfortunate how customer service is among tourists, even if they speak Spanish. I think people in Antic Cafè Espanyol should treat everybody equally without prejudice. We paid even though we were tired of waiting, and no one asked us why we wanted to leave without ordering food (cause the server knew we wanted to order). This should be a concern for tourists going to this place, and for that reason, I don't recommend this...

Horrible desayuno no lo recomiendo a nadie! Fui a desayunar y solo quedaba una mesa con sofás (obviamente más cómodas que las otras mesas que parece que te comes al de alado). Ya sentados nos dijeron que nos levantáramos (de MUY mala manera) porque venían 3 personas y era un sitio de 4 y nosotros éramos 2. Accedimos como es lógico. Sin embargo, mi crítica va a que no solo sirvieron antes a esa mesa y otras que vinieron después de nosotros, sino que hasta les dio tiempo a desayunar y pagar antes de que nos tomaran nota a nosotros. Cuando le dijimos que ya estaba bien que por favor nos atendieran (porque además les hicimos el favor de levantarnos de nuestra mesa y cambiar a otra muchísimo peor) en muy mal tono el camarero nos dijo: tranquilos que el Mago Pop no empieza hasta dentro de 1 hora.. NO, NO ÍBAMOS A VER AL MAGO POP y nos daba absolutamente igual, solo queríamos desayunar sin estar 15 minutos esperando a que nos tomaran nota. Muy mal educados, groseros y prepotentes. Cuando pedimos, como soy alérgica a los frutos secos le pregunté si el croisant (unico dulce que tienen) tenía frutos secos y me dijo que si, por lo que pedí una tostada y me dijo: no te lo puedo servir porque el pan tiene gluten… me quede bastante sorprendida porque no tiene nada que ver la alergia a los frutos secos con el gluten lo que me dio que pensar que me dijo lo de los frutos secos por quitarme de en medio o porque no sabe distinguir entre alergia frutos secos y alergia/intolerancia al gluten. Por favor que el dueño del establecimiento les apunte a un curso de alergias alimenticias porque se van a buscar la ruina. Finalmente el aceite que pone de oliva virgen extra era de calidad pésima y claramente rellenado de otro de peor calidad (y no de virgen extra). A eso yo lo llamo ESTAFA y ser un poco sinvergüenzas. En fin, no desayunéis ahí y me uno al comentario que dice que mejor hubieran ido al McDonalds. Está claro que este sitio sobrevive gracias a la gente que va con prisas al teatro

P.d estoy viendo reseñas que dicen que el trato es exquisito y que hasta les dieron una tapa cortesía de la casa. Os aseguro que les invitaron a comer a cambio de una reseña positiva. Muy vergonzoso engañar...