El Xulo — Restaurant in Barcelona

⭐ Scam alert – ATM and hidden surcharge

We visited El Xulo twice. The mist fans were great in the heat, and the menu prices looked reasonable at first.

The first visit ended with all three of our credit cards being declined — something that’s never happened before. Staff directed us to an ATM placed conveniently next to the restaurant. In hindsight, it felt suspicious.

A week later, we returned. We explained the issue and asked to test a card payment before ordering. We ordered one beer, paid with card — no problem. We made it clear we didn’t want ATM fees, and were told it would be fine.

After eating, the bill had a 10% surcharge on everything. Only then were we shown the fine print at the bottom of the menu: 10% extra if you eat outside. We felt tricked, but paid.

At payment, again, none of our three cards worked (Amex and Mastercard), even though one had worked just before. After a delay and some discussion, they brought out another card terminal, two free shots, and just shrugged.

We believe this is a tactic: ✅ Add 10% to the prices ✅ Block card payments when the bill is high ✅ Push tourists to withdraw cash from their ATM — with extra fees

Small but shady...

This place is the epitome of a tourist scam. Ordered a “seafood” fideuà, and what arrived was a sad, seafood-free insult to the dish. When we questioned the waiter, he had the audacity to argue that if we wanted seafood, we should’ve ordered paella. Seriously? The menu and the pictures blatantly show seafood in the fideuà.

After realizing he couldn’t gaslight us, he scurried to the kitchen and returned with four miserable prawns and a side of revolting salad. No mussels, no clams—just a pathetic attempt to cover up the scam. To make it worse, the prawns were uncleaned, complete with the black vein left in. Disgusting and lazy.

Who in their right mind serves seafood separately from fideuà? This was a culinary joke and an insult to anyone with basic food standards. Avoid this dump at all costs. Save your money and...

We dined at a restaurant offering halal options and enjoyed the food overall. The sea bass (€19) was exceptional—perfectly cooked and full of flavor. The chicken paella was good, though the seafood version might look more appealing in photos.

The staff were accommodating with our dietary restrictions, which we appreciated. However, the service was quite slow, taking over 30 minutes to serve our meal, despite informing the server that we were on a tight schedule due to a cruise. While most of the staff were friendly and helpful, one was less attentive, which impacted the experience slightly.

It’s a good place to eat with a nice selection of dishes, but the service timing could use improvement, especially for guests in a hurry. If they can address this, it would enhance the...