Restaurante Asador de Aranda Paralelo | Asador de carnes en Barcelona — Restaurant in Barcelona

First trip to Barcelona! I was full of excitement, ready to dive into the local culture and cuisine, but apparently, my waiter had other plans. I walked into a well maintained, great vibe restaurant with high end decors yet almost empty in the evening and was greeted by a middle age bald man so unwelcoming, he seemed genuinely offended by my existence. My English was apparently a trigger, and he exiled me to a corner booth. After some negotiation (and what I can only assume were mumbled Spanish curses), he granted me permission to move. I had to wait 10 min for the menu and after sometime another waiter left some cold breads in a brown paper bag with some olive oil as if it was a “to go” menu item! After some patient waiting, the 'lamb quarter’ arrived which was salty and over cooked. I'm pretty sure it's the culinary equivalent of getting shipwrecked. My tastebuds are still filing a police report. Save yourself the trouble and your sodium intake—steer clear of this place, particularly if you don’t speak Spanish or if your skin tone doesn’t match the old gentleman’s! After ordering ~€40, the guy did not even come back to check and totally disappointed by this kind of treatment. Note to this restaurant chain owners: You need to check on these guys intermittently and fire some of these inept fellas! The only solace was a cup of wine and I am giving 1 star for that...

We chose this restaurant because of its great reviews, especially those from Chinese customers, and were excited to try the famous roasted suckling pig. Before ordering, I politely asked the manager whether drinks or wine came with complimentary tapas, as many places in Spain offer this. He clearly told me they didn’t offer anything.

However, halfway through our meal, two English-speaking guests sat in front of us, and a waitress came by shortly after offering them free tapas— and emphasized they were complimentary. I heard this with my own ears.

When I brought it up to the manager, he first denied it, then said they “could give us olives,” which we never received. It was disappointing and made us feel unequal as customers.

I’ve been traveling through Spain for over two weeks and have deeply admired the people’s warmth and religious spirit. On Easter Sunday, a day that represents love and equality, it was sad to experience something so unfair.

In the end, the manager brought us a small treat, which we appreciated. But I hope this kind of discrimination doesn’t happen again — not to us, or to anyone.

I also sincerely hope this manager will one day visit China — we would never treat you the way we were...

Disappointing experience overall. We ordered two mains only to be told after the fact that both were sold out — something that should’ve been mentioned when we were seated, especially with such a small menu.

We were brought bread without asking, which we didn’t mind, but then a second identical bag was placed on our table while we were clearly already eating the first. That second bag went untouched, yet we were charged for both. It’s not about the €5.80, but the lack of communication and attentiveness.

Plates were cleared too quickly (mine while I was still eating), our dessert order had to be repeated because it was seemingly ignored, and the cake arrived cold.

Food was decent and one of the waiters was polite and helpful, but the overall service — especially from the second waiter — was unprofessional and underwhelming given the price and the...