La Parrilla de Héctor — Restaurant in Benidorm

REVIEW EDITED AFTER MANAGERS REPLY, PLEASE READ UPDATED RESPONSE BELOW.

Avoid at All Costs – Terrible Experience and Even Worse Management

We visited the Argentinian Steak House in Benidorm and ordered two fillet steaks. My girlfriend was served what was clearly the tail end of the fillet — thin, fatty, and nothing like a proper cut. At first, I questioned if it was even a fillet, as it looked more like a sirloin due to the large strip of fat. The manager disagreed and brought out a whole fillet to prove his point, then smugly told me, “You don’t know what you're talking about with steak, do you?”

Even if it was technically the tail end of the fillet, no respectable steakhouse would serve that part to a customer. We've eaten at top steakhouses all over the world, and this was a first.

When my partner calmly said she wasn't happy with it, the manager told her to "be quiet." That was it for me. I demanded an apology for his disgraceful attitude — and he completely backed down when I stood up for her. In fact, the situation was so uncomfortable that other diners stopped eating. When the manager walked away, they actually clapped in support of us.

To make things worse, they refused any discount or goodwill gesture, then threatened to call the police on us — all for complaining about a poor cut of steak and awful service. One staff member even muttered something about “English people being dirty and causing problems,” which was disgusting.

As for the food: the one decent-looking fillet steak (mine) was completely average — certainly not worth the 108 euros we paid for two steak and chips. Honestly, you'd get a better meal (and definitely better service) at a Wetherspoons.

UPDATE AFTER THE MANAGER’S RESPONSE:

As expected, the manager replied with the same smug, sarcastic tone he’s used in dozens of other responses to negative reviews — which only proves everything we said about his attitude and lack of professionalism.

Let’s break down his "facts":

Yes, we were served the tail ends of a tenderloin, which no reputable steakhouse would present to a paying customer without warning. If it’s such a common practice, why not mention it before the meal? Hiding behind technicalities to justify poor quality is just bad customer service.

We never said we ordered sirloin. We asked if it was sirloin because of the visible fat — and we were right to question it, as the cut looked nothing like a proper fillet. That’s not changing the story — that’s asking a fair question when something doesn’t look right.

The manager claims my partner was politely told to listen. No. She was told to be quiet in front of a full restaurant — and that’s what triggered the public reaction. He can try to rewrite it all he wants, but the other diners saw and heard it too.

Yes, people clapped. They clapped when my partner stood up for me and I demanded an apology. The fact that the manager is now trying to erase that moment just shows how uncomfortable he is with the truth.

As for the racism comment — that did happen. Maybe not from him directly, but it was said, and it was heard. Denying it and threatening legal action is exactly the kind of bullying response we expected — and exactly why people should know how this place really operates.

And finally — we paid the full amount under duress, after being threatened with police involvement. So don’t try to twist this into an issue of us not respecting your “hard work.” Respect is a two-way street — and your team didn’t show us any.

So thanks for your reply — it just reinforces what we already knew: that your customer service is as poor as your attitude. You’re not interested in feedback, only in being right.

To anyone reading this: don’t be fooled by the rehearsed responses. Check the other 1-star reviews. The pattern is clear. Same arrogant tone. Same defensiveness. Same unwillingness to take any responsibility.

Avoid this place unless you enjoy being spoken down to, embarrassed in public, and paying premium prices for...

Firstly, the waiting staff were good. Very attentive and friendly. That is where the positive review ends. We ordered starters and mains. Starters were the Argentinian black pudding and the Creole Sausage. The Argentinian black pudding was cold in the middle and soggy. The flavour was ok, didn’t really taste any different to supermarket black pudding though. The Creole sausage was really bland, not much flavour and both starters were served with a salad which was the nicest part of the whole dining experience. Mains, we had the rump steak. They were not rumps. They were flavourless, not seasoned well and the texture was like it had been grilled from frozen. It was cooked to our liking (medium rare). The steak had a soapy/detergent taste to it. This was served with chips which looked really nice. They didn’t taste nice though. Again, tasted a bit soapy. Maybe the dishes they were served on hadn’t been rinsed thoroughly enough.

Whilst waiting for the bill, I noticed the chef wipe up blood from the counter with a gloved hand, then he handled 2 plates which going out to diners with the bloody glove still on.

The 1 star is due to the quality of the food and the chef not following basic food hygiene. Both of us were ill through the night and for a few days after. I wouldn’t recommend this...

It was last night of our groups holiday so 7 of us dined here, 4 of us ordered T-Bone steaks but one of the T-Bones had next to no fillet on the T-Bone, and when I mean next to none, when he cut it away from the bone there was only one fork full of Fillet. We accept that all T-Bones are different in size but that is unacceptable and the restaurant wouldn’t replace or do anything to satisfy us apart from leave the full plate on counter as my friend refused to eat anything off the plate. We all finished our steaks and before we could ask for the bill there were 7 police officers in the restaurant and a bystander came over and told us that’s what they do if they believe customers won’t pay a bill. We had no intention of not paying our bill apart from that T-Bone which wasn’t touched. So be warned, you are not allowed to be unhappy with the product they supply or risk jail…Absolutely disgusted, for us to spend just under €400 and be treated like that...