La Escalera De Balthazar — Restaurant in Benahavís

Avoid this restaurant Hi, this is in response to the feedback provided by escalera to my husbands review We booked a table and one of my children was crying and we were refused service. In your response you noted that there may have been a misunderstanding as my husband wasn't there for the unfolding of the events, so this review is to provide context to whole situation. Firstly I find your response not only factually incorrect, but wholly inappropriate. We actually booked a table for 12 people, 8 adults, 4 children. You were aware children were coming as you informed us you only had 2 high chairs which is why we brought our own booster seats. Secondly when you state "Our waiter, who happens to be a father of three youngsters as well, made an effort to calm the child down." This was simply not the case. Your waiter said "we have a problem." I genuinely thought he was joking. Then he said "I'm serious I cannot serve you if you cannot be quiet, I have guests." At no point was he sympathetic or attempt to calm the situation. The fact that he has 3 young children himself somehow makes it worse as it's obviously sheer arrogance rather than ignorance which could have perhaps been forgiven. My husband arrived and I told him what was said. He said to the waiter "are the children a problem?" The waiter shrugged so my husband said "it sounds like it's going to be a problem." We left which I think was the absolute right decision. What my husband didn't mention in his review out of respect to me, was that your waiter was so rude, I actually broke down in tears once I left the restaurant. Having visited the village for over a decade and my children since they were 9 months old, I was in absolute disbelief at the way in which we'd been spoken to. Never in my time have I been denied service. It was humiliating. Whilst I appreciate the offer to come back for a glass of wine, unfortunately it's not something we will be doing. It's a shame, as we used to frequent the restaurant under previous ownership, but unfortunately the whole experience has ruined it for me and my family. I wish you luck, which is what I suspect you will need in order to survive in this gastronomic village that prides itself on it's family values and...

We recently visited this restaurant in Benahavis and had a disappointing experience due to the rude behavior of the staff. Upon arrival, we requested to sit outside, but the person who welcomed us insisted it was too hot. We expressed our willingness to try sitting outside and move if needed, but he bluntly told us to decide immediately without any flexibility.

Once seated outside, we wanted to order drinks first and take some time to decide on our food. The same staff member rudely informed us that if we didn't order food right away, we wouldn't be served at all and would have to leave. This level of inflexibility and rudeness was completely uncalled for and ruined our dining experience.

We have been to this restaurant before and met other staff members, and we had a good experience then. However, this time, the poor service overshadowed our previous positive visits.

Customer service is crucial in the hospitality industry, and this restaurant's staff failed to provide even basic courtesy. I hope they work on improving their attitude towards customers...

We had a very disappointing lunch today. We had high hopes as the restaurant looks lovely. However, the restaurant was very hot. The table, plates and cutlery were covered in dust due to the construction happening outside. No effort was made to fix this.

They bought me the wrong main course and tried to make me have the incorrect one, but I insisted on getting what I ordered. This came about 20 mins later so my husband and I ate our meals separately.

We booked via The Fork, that advertised 30% discount for lunch. Our reservation confirmation clearly stated it applied for our booking. When we went to pay the bill we were told that they were not honouring the discount. Shocking really given all the other issues. The food is of a good standard, but not good enough to make up for the poor service, poor attitude and the other issues we encountered.

So we do not recommend this restaurant as you are taking a risk. It is a shame as we have a number of people that would have visited the restaurant had we...