Botafumeiro — Restaurant in Barcelona

Well, it's been a while since I have reviewed. But 'Botafumeiro' just demands a review after visiting. So here goes.

We reserved. Running late, taxi SNAFU, so we Insta-messaged to let them know. Message back in literally seconds saying no probs. First tick in the box!

Friendly welcome on arrival. Showed to our table by the bar, not in the restaurant as such. But it worked out wonderfully. Bread and table snacks brought as we were asked what we would like to drink. We went wild and asked for Campari and Soda. Not a problem. Not made at the bar but everything brought to the table in a rustic tray. Made to order or what! Asked if it was strong enough... it needed a boost, no problem. Second tick in the box!

The menu is not huge, seen much larger, but the diversity of seafood and fish will make everyone ask for a little longer before ordering. It took sometime, and this is where and why you choose 'Botafumeiro'. Our waiter must have had a cape on as he came to our rescue! He walked us through and back over the menu and just when you think you have chosen he hits us with the styles of cooking that they can adapt for your particular taste. NOTE: just choose your seafood/fish and just ask for suggestions of cooking style.

So we started with, three small plates, a size recommendation so we could manage three dishes! Fisherman's Clams to start. Devine. Light and juicy fresh clams in a beautiful sauce. Local octopus, well you have to! Now this was the best we've had in Barcelona. It melted in the mouth. Just enough salt and smooth olive oil. Delicious. Then we went with a recommendation, Calamari Diablo. Spicy in a light tomato, near curry-esque sauce. Not firey hot but did excite! That set us up nicely.....

I went for Hake cooked with sherry vinegar and garlic! OMG so simple but so the right choice! My partner went with the small, I say small local Spanish crab. Helpfully they de-fleshed it for us and used the body as it's dish. Came with egg mayonnaise with added crab, just in case you did not have already! To compliment the dish, a teaspoon of La Ina sherry mixed into the crab at the table. Delicious.

Once we devoured those, and it took time, why rush! Washed down with a local Cava Rosé, again a recommendation and delicious. We were offered dessert. We sort of cheated here. We saw what we wanted earlier. But the desert plater was shown to us, all made in-house. On any other day it would have been such an easy choice, all of them!

However, today we saw the souffle served to another table. No question it was the winner, and oh boy was it a winner. One between two, that was all that was required. Brought to the table in all its glory, doused in flaming Grand Marnier and finished with a small drizzle of fresh cream. This was souffle heaven, the lightest you could possibly want. The chef knows their egg whites!

After all that we had a refreshing carajillo, but again served at the table and what a carajillo it was! Generous pour of delicious Spanish brandy. Devine.

So there you have it out wonderful experience. But the one constant throughout was the exceptional table service we received. Our waiter was simply polite, attentive, knowledgeable and experienced. He 'joined' us all the way through our wonderful lunch at Botafumeiro.

We will...

The food itself was fine. But that was the only positive. The experience we had was terrible. This is a predatory business, I am not sure if management knows what is happening or if it is certain employees trying to scam customers, but either way there are predatory practices at play that need to be shared with the public.

It began with them placing bread and olives we did not ask for as we sat down. These are items many restaurants often include for free. So as most would with items the server brings out without asking, we assumed they were provided to all customers at no charge. They did not warn us we would be charged for them and we only realized when they gave us the bill. We barely even touched them as they weren’t something we wanted. We would have ordered them if we did. But no big deal, it was not costly, and we were willing to forgive this.

Then the bottled water. We ordered one bottle between two people. When the bill came, we saw they charged us for two. We clarified we had only ordered one and the server became irate and refused to listen. They would not take the additional bottle we did not order off the bill. Not wanting to fight with an irrational worker, we gave up as it was a small amount that was not worth our time to argue about.

Then, the server would not leave us alone and strongly demanded that we tip them. As you know, tips are not the standard in the EU. Not to mention that throughout the whole meal, we could barely get any attention as they were busy and unhelpful. I suspect they were trying to target foreigners unfamiliar with Spain to take advantage of them.

Can you imagine a restaurant employee acting this way? Especially after bad service and already charging us for extra water and food we did not order? To make customers feel so uncomfortable that we left the tip just so we could get away from that server as soon as we could?

I expect management to reach out to me about this, otherwise I will be submitting complaints to OMIC and FACUA. In all my travels to 50+ countries, I have never had an experience like this, even in the smallest, most casual restaurants.
 Shame on you. Locals, travelers, avoid this place. Good food is easy to find in a lovely city like Barcelona. There is no reason to give your money to a business where behavior like this is possible.

La comida estuvo bien, pero la experiencia en general fue terrible. Este negocio emplea prácticas depredadoras, ya sea por parte de la gerencia o de empleados deshonestos. Nos pusieron pan y aceitunas en la mesa sin pedirlos, y luego nos los cobraron. Pedimos una botella de agua, pero nos cobraron por dos, y el camarero se negó a corregir el error. Estábamos dispuestos a perdonar esto ya que eran artículos baratos.

Luego también nos presionaron para que dejáramos propina, a pesar del mal servicio durante toda la comida. Parecía que estaban tratando de aprovecharse de los extranjeros que no conocen las costumbres locales. Presentaré quejas ante OMIC y FACUA si la gerencia no aborda esto. Locales y viajeros, eviten este lugar; hay muchas buenas opciones para comer...

It’s busy and bustling: army of immaculately groomed waiters, hair slicked back with pomade in sharp white tux juggling large platters of fresh seafood and weaving through the dozen serving ladies equally groomed in their well cut black jackets. The interior exudes timeless charm with black and white marbled tiles, vintage photos of the owner Jose Ramon, shaking hands with celebrities, perfect white linen laden tables with complimentary high end cane dining chairs. The crowd unlike most of the tapas bars in Barcelona is a mix of well heeled tourists and sophisticated locals with their high heeled jimmy choos together with their companions mainly in dark or black shirts and some with jackets. We got the wine and cocktail menu. About 15 mins had passed without service and I had to put my foot down. “Can I have service before the Olympics start” I asked with sarcasm. “Very very sorry sir. Ofcourse” replies Rudy the charming senior waiter. 2 Margaritas I said and Rudy replies “I make them spicy”. Hmmm no just regular I reply. “Trust me” he replies and I just shrug ok… Verdict: The margaritas were FANTASTIC! Could taste the fresh ingredients..I would say the best I had! Next came the wine…I spotted a gem: the pazo de rubianes, from a local grape Albariño. At Eur 60, it maybe overpriced for the local market but if you live in London or Singapore, it’s a bargain and not to mention comes with a rating of 4.4 on Vivino. So to the food….heres a tip: if it’s your first time, a bit of prior research is helpful. The menu is extensive and given the fine print, I noticed most tourists defaulting to waiters for recommendations. Be careful. Some dishes come with only a line saying “market prices” on the menu. I already knew what I wanted and after a nod from the boss aka wifey, the following was ordered with my scores: 6 oysters - very good. Local varietal 2. Fleshy with a lot of brime 8/10 Anchovies marinated- very fresh 9/10 Tuna tartar- possibly the best I ever tried.10/10 Seafood paella. Excellent texture and stock beautifully flavoured 10/10 Grilled seabream 8/10. Very good although predictable One point to note: if you act like you’re a naive tourist from Texas you’ll get treated like one. “should my wife and I have one paella each?” asked our American neighbours. “Si Ofcourse sir…” replied Rudy. I smiled…there’s no way they’ll finish a paella each. Please share if you’re coming in a couple. Final verdict: excellent ambience, timeless decor, great service once you nudge them and fantastic food. Expensive yes…but be familiar with the menu...