La Mejillonera — Restaurant in Benidorm

It’s me and my sisters first time visiting Benidorm and we really have loved it but our visit to La Mejillonera really was a downer on our trip. We were excited to visit as we were looking for authentic Spanish food but the staff were so incredibly rude which surprised me because since being in Benidorm the spanish people have been so friendly. There was a big queue when we arrived and we waited around 15-20 minutes to be seated but we didn’t mind waiting for what’s we thought would be a nice dinner. We don’t speak Spanish and I understand that can be frustrating for the staff especially because they are very busy but a little bit of patience and courtesy goes a long way. Whilst ordering we wanted to clarify a few things about the menu items and got attitude in return. They would speak very fast in Spanish at us knowing we didn’t speak Spanish and get irritated when we couldn’t understand or respond. It felt like I was bothering them whenever I tried to speak to the staff to the point I decided to just not ask them for anything more. I wanted a glass of water and it took me ages to pluck up the courage as I anticipated another bad reaction. We were trying to use the translator our phones but they were irritated by this and would just walk away without giving us a chance to respond. I tried to ask for hot sauce as I’d seen another customer putting hot sauce on his muscles and the waiter gave me salt. I politely tried to explain and hand back the salt but the waiter just gave me a blank look and walked away whilst I was still speaking. I was so embarrassed and a few customers had seen the whole interaction and were looking at me which made me feel even more humiliated. We experienced dismissive and rude service from altleast 4 of the waiters, there was one female waiter working and she was polite compared to the others but still not great. Really hostile environment which just ruined what should have been a relaxing start to our holiday. Near the end one of the waiters got really friendly out of nowhere, no doubt buttering us up for a tip but we saw right through it. The food was just okay aswell we ordered muscles and a seafood paella, I’ve had much better elsewhere. If you don’t speak Spanish don’t bother, they have no patience for anyone who cannot speak Spanish and don’t mind embarrassing paying customers. I will never return and wouldn’t recommend to anyone. Such a shame as I was so sure that I was...

Such a shame. We've been to Benidorm a few times and always meant to try this place...there's always a queue and we usually can't be bothered waiting so go somewhere else for a reasonably priced dinner. We actually live in Valencia, the "home of paella" and we've eaten our share of very good (and very bad) examples. This was one of the worst. FAR. TOO. MUCH. SALT!!! I mean, seriously, we LOVE (and I mean LOVE salt) but this was painful to eat....actually burning the skin off your gums -salty. Leave some in the ocean for the poor fish!!!

2 "chuletón" (big beef steak, they call it a T bone, but you only get one half of the meat) were also ordered for the other 2 in our party. On the menu it's shown as a whole steak, accompanied by potatoes and grilled jalapeño peppers.

What actually arrived was a sizzle plate of meat that looked like Freddy Krueger had butchered in the dark into little pieces with a chainsaw. Both full of gristle and un-rendered fat - truly unappetising.

That sat in front of us for 5 minutes while we "digested" the job at hand.... By the time a handful of potatoes arrived we (HUGE red meat lovers) were feeling quite overcome by the mound of brown mess sizzling in front of us and really struggled to force it down.

SO disappointed...don't waste your money. Plenty of better, cheaper, more refined places to eat in Benidorm.

And that's not even mentioning the mussel starters, which anyone with an ounce of cooking skills could do better justice.

Really not good enough....not even for drunken...

Id mark this as 3.5 star rating, We ordered meat platter to share, but the meat was different to advertised on the menu. When i asked the waiter he asked the kitchen and apologised as he wasn’t aware the meat was different They said they had run our of beef rib but i could see it in the fridge as the meat is on show. We were give double pork but the beef is the main focal point of the dish. (Beef rid platter)but we didn’t get any beef. The food was tasty, lamb chops incredible but i wouldn’t have Lamb skewers again, I argued with my friend As we were trying to decide if they were even lamb. The pork was very tasty, and tender, The chips & salad were also tasty. The sausage was fatty however very tasty. We were also server crisps on arrival which was very very stale. Yes I would eat there again. Thought I would doublecheck my meal before ordering in future, The staff were very friendly And our waiter was very...