Paco Meralgo — Restaurant in Barcelona

I visited Paco Meralgo in Barcelona on July 6 for dinner. The food was excellent, and the overall service from the restaurant was mostly good. However, our experience was severely tainted by the behavior of our assigned server.

He asked us three separate times if we were ready to order, and each time we clearly said we were ready. Yet he kept disappearing, asking us to “wait a moment,” only to go joke around with other tables or perform unnecessary tasks like placing napkins on already empty tables — instead of simply taking our order.

Even after we finally managed to order, the server neglected to serve our food once it was ready in the kitchen. Hot dishes were left sitting for over ten minutes, and by the time they reached our table, they were cold. We had to escalate the situation and ask to speak to a manager to formally complain.

Even after that, the staff left our wine glasses empty for several minutes, seemingly ignoring our table completely. We were extremely disappointed and upset.

We were respectful and quiet throughout, so we’re left wondering why we were treated this way. Sadly, we cannot help but feel that this was racially motivated, as we are Asian. Discrimination of any kind has no place in a reputable establishment like this.

We hope the management seriously reflects on this, because while the food deserves praise, no amount of good flavor can make up for the feeling of being mistreated and...

Not very impressed with the food, atmosphere, or service. Especially at a Michelin recommended place. (I've been to many Michelin starred and recommended restaurants all over the world.)

We were told we could not order some tapas to start and more after (like every other restaurant does), and had to order all at once - but was told not to worry that they will take care of us and bring items one-by-one. Only they did not.

We first had 2 plates plunked down, then 1, then our last 3 seafood items all together - which made them cold by the time we got through eating one and not the rest. Felt like they were trying to rush us out of there just so they could get in more people. It kinda ruined the experience. The food itself was ok. The tomato bread came out burnt. Padron peppers were a tiny portion for the price - though salted perfectly. Mini scallops were good but because they brought them out with 2 other dishes they were cold by the time I ate the last one. The Spanish red shrimp seemed like from frozen and 6 tiny ones for almost 30 euro wasn't worth it. One positive was the veal carppacio with foie gras - delicious. Presentation was nice for items, but they often looked better than they tasted.

A highly rated place, but I've had better food and more fun at other restaurants I've gone to just by choosing one walking by on the...

A must...yet expensive.

We took plenty of different tapas. Every single one excelled in quality. Every single one was amazingly good. No discussion about the food: excellent.

Service was knowledgeable, fun and friendly. It reminds me of the typical Spanish taberns in Madrid or south of Spain. Love it.

Ambient is modern and stylish yet with a traditional touch. We had to stay at the bar because we had no reservation, so it was the only possibility. I liked it very much though, yet it makes sense if you are maximum 3 people as the place gets crowded and noisy and, as such, you can not talk to each other easily.

Apparently it should be a 5 star, yet the quality/quantity/price relation is not fair in most cases, so it is very expensive for what you get. I do acknowledge that quality comes at cost, yet they take it too far here, mainly serving small rations. Few examples: you can eat the cod omelette in 2 or 3 bites, and it costs 14.6€! You can take the grilled octopus literally in 6 bites and it costs 17.3€! A tiny lemon pie is 7.6€!

It holds most features of old traditional tabernas, yet it fails to make all tapas overpriced, despite -let me insist on that- ALL of them are extremely good.

Worth to mention they have a nice private dinning room on the first floor that can fit around 16 people.

Labels: 2eat, #tapas, #fashion,...