Restaurante El Árbol | Tu rincón de siempre — Restaurant in Benalmádena

First and last visit to Pil Pil yesterday - grey headed staff member was unbelievably rude and arrogent, ordered a bottle of wine and cured meats & cheese and was initially pleased with our choice of venue - we had even been texting images to freinds who come to spain regular and was recommending it to them... . However we ordered Prawns pil pil and ham croquettes for our next course - the prawns came after about 15/20 minutes so we ate those - ive had far better.... But there was no sign of the croquettes, another 25 mins or so passed and my wife and i joked that they must have forgotten them, by this time we hadn't had our drinks order taken again and felt a bit forgotten so we decided to ask for the cheque and leave, it was brought and the croquettes were charged on there , i then enquired about this only for them to magically appear, we politely told the female server that the moment had passed now and we were planning to leave - she was nice enough but must have told this older grey headed server who I got the impression felt a lot of himself and wanted to show off to the junior staff - thing's got very strange and uncomfortable, im not exaggerating when i say his attitude was horrible and aggressive - he basically said we had to have them and had to pay - we said we weren't paying as they had taken an AGE to arrive, close on 1 hour! He then said something about that time being slow for us but but not for them and threw them down on the table and walked away, i cannot stress enough how disgusting his attitude was - the croquettes didn't look too appealing either - very overcooked. I told my wife to wait whilst i went to a cash point around the corner , i returned a few minutes later and left cash for the bill minus the croquettes. What started with us liking the place turned very sour, we have never been spoken to like that in a restaurant. We come to spain a lot and have a large circle of friends who also love the area - you've lost a lot of custom over a plate...

It was a nice looking restaurant, clean and modern with fire pits. Service was good to start, but then slackened off after we'd ordered food and a bottle of wine; they didn't ask if we wanted to order anymore drinks at all during the evening. Starter arrived quickly, ordered Pil Pil, it was ok, not the best I have had, it had a strange aftertaste, like a beef taste, can't quite place it, clearly their own touch, but it was ok. Husband ordered a parma ham, cheeee on toasted bread which was nice. We both ordered steak, this took a while to arrive. Mine was medium rare, husband medium well but unfortunately when they arrived they were both the same which was disappointing. The sautéed potatoes were too soft and were mushy. Veg was mix of peppers, onions, courgettes. Food presentation not the best really, it was all on one plate, expected a restaurant like this to have veg separate, to help oneself. All in all, it was okay restaurant, it looks more up market visually than it is. Not bad, but...

Service was slow and rude; waiters were rushed and horrible. Got the nachos, there was a HORRIBLE blue cheese sauce on it that tasted exactly like vomit. The quesadillas also has the same taste. When complaint was given to the manager, complaint was taken as an offense, we were yelled at and told that it’s Italian cheese and taht is why we didn’t like it. I like blue cheese, it was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. A waiter came and ate said blue cheese in front of us to show us that the cheese was good, that was a strange encounter. I am convinced that it was not the same cheese as it was a different color, texture, and he did not immediately spit it out. Compensation was not added and we payed full price for a meal we did not consume. Be wary when visiting, you will leave with the traste of rotten flesh in your mouth, and a very bad stomach ache. Stay safe, don’t go here. (Pictured below is the cheese...