Can Solé — Restaurant in Barcelona

We wanted to try this place since it has been in business for over 100 years. With that long standing business, we thought it had to be great! Unfortunately, I have to agree with several other reviews that this place is a bit pretentious. It's somewhat expensive, not amazing, and the service is seriously lacking in hospitality.

This is our first trip to Barcelona and first time having paella, which is why I gave it three stars since we weren't sure what to expect from the food. And it was good. It wasn't mind-blowing by any means, but it was decent. The baby squid and peppers was a delicious appetizer and the paella was good, but I'm not a big enough seafood lover to make a good judgement on that.

The service was awful though. We walked in around 2pm to a restaurant with 1 other table. The server asked if we had a reservation, which we did not. When we told him this, he looked around the (empty) restaurant seemingly hesitant to seat us. He obviously did, gave us menus and walked away. About 8 minutes later came back to get our drink order. We were ready to order meals at that point so we did. It didn't take long to get the food, which was nice because we were starving.

Our biggest complaint was that the server was just rude. He did not smile at us once, nor was he the least bit friendly. Other couples came in while we dined and he struck conversation with an older couple that came in and laughed with them, but not with us. I don't know if this was because we look very young (in 30s but blessed with good genes lol) or were obvious tourists, but either way it was offputting.

We asked for our check and when we paid he asked for an additional tip, which we also found rude. Now, we are from the US and have both served in the restaurant industry. I understand the culture is different here, but this was all around a bad service experience. Hospitality goes a long way, and this place just doesn't serve that with...

Our starters arrived quickly consisting of a surprisingly hearty green salad (9.50€). For the price, I was expecting the classic iceberg, tomato, and cucumber affair but was treated to romaine, olives, tomatoes, shaved carrots, onion, and poached white asparagus spears instead. As with most European restaurants, the dressing of oil, vinegar, and salt follows a DIY approach.

Then there was the simple grilled asparagus (12.50€), just cooked through with a sprinkle of salt. It’s not fussy, it’s done right.

But it was the glistening plate of Iberico jamon (25.50€) that elicited ohhs and ahhs across the table. Shaved carefully and thinly, the ham was wonderfully sweet and “clean” tasting compared to Canadian counterparts. Our server suggested we get an order of the tomato bread (2.50€ per two slices) to go with it: thick pieces of well toasted (some a bit over done) country bread accompanied with raw garlic cloves and halved tomatoes to rub and smash to your heart’s content.

The rice in the seafood paella (21.50€ per portion; two portions pictured below) were plump and well seasoned adorned with a generous portion of mussels, clams, calamari, bay scallops, and two shrimp and two langoustines. For my standards, I found the seafood a smidge overdone, yet Can Solé was already better than other restaurants.

Their black seafood rice (21.50€ per portion; two portions pictured below) had a depth of flavour that brought the paella to another level and was a favourite around the table - if you’re only having one paella, I highly recommend ordering the black version. Both rice dishes weren’t overly salty but had tons of flavours; since it wasn’t over seasoned, the seafood flavours could...

Never been treated so poorly in my life. Was excited to try this place due to the reviews & Went as a solo diner. After waiting 30mins for a table, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. As it’s to be expected with any ‘well-reviewed’ restaurant. But once seated The waiter deliberately ignored me when I tried to get his attention to ask where the restroom was. Made eye contact, then Continued polishing cutlery right next to me. Said excuse me three times and waved at him as he was literally standing right next to me. Other customers in the restaurant noticed the behaviour and were watching, so he must have definitely heard if he was standing right next to me. Tried to get the attention of another waiter who also ignored me even though he heard the first time. Then after saying excuse me again responded ‘please just give me one minute’. Even though the second waiter was polite about it, The constant ignoring and dismissiveness was too much for me. I know the restaurant was busy and there was alot to do but is a customer not allowed to ask where the restroom is without being ignored? It takes nothing to just say “I’ll be with you in a moment.” There’s no need to ignore someone, especially a solo diner. That was quite embarrassing for me especially with all the other customers seeing me get ignored multiple times. Could it be subtle racism? Picked up my bag and left. Did not want to spend my money somewhere that literally ignores me. I had an amazing experience at Be-One Barceloneta which is...