Mandala Beach Bar — Restaurant in Benissa

The location is fantastic, the view of the sea is beautiful, but the food was lack lustre, two salads were ordered, one of which was comprised of soggy spinach, a couple of raisins and some slabs of parmesan cheese, and one which was a pile of seasoned couscous with halved cherry tomatoes, chopped orange and cucumber cubes. The paella ordered was nice, with a lot of flavours which was definitely enjoyed by all, I would reccomend going for larger more traditional Spanish food, such as the paella as they clearly have a specific area of expertise. As for dessert, we ordered the 'cookies cake' which was described as a traditional Spanish dessert. I think that this was due to translation as it seemed to be layers of wafery sponge, with chocolate sauce. This was nice, but not exactly what I expected, something to...

We arrived at about 10.30am on a Sunday and were the first people there. The beach was almost deserted, so we had a tranquil scene to gaze upon while we waited for the breakfast menu. We both had poached egg on toast (fresh bread, not supermarket sliced) with avocado and smoked salmon and a small side salad garnish. The eggs were a nice bright yellow, so not the cheapest ones in the shops, and you could taste the difference. The waiter was pleasant and, as we were so early, our order came promptly. When we left 45 minutes later it was getting busier and by the time we left the beach at about 12 the cafe was almost full. Mandala is obviously very popular, especially in the summer months, and I am sure it is very atmospheric in the evening. A cute cafe in a...

Some reviewers on here complain about the quality, some about the service. All I can say is that I go to Mandala once a week for lunch most of the year and I find the food to be consistently good and the service to be consistently excellent. Yesterday, we were, as always, very well looked after by Jessica, even if she was clearly having an extremely busy shift. But, on other occasions, it might be any one of her colleagues - and I always find them charming and helpful. If I had to criticise, I would say that it's sometimes a little packed and so this might slow things down a little - but I believe this is also known as being a victim of one's success! It's not just popular in the tourist/holiday season; it's very popular with us locals...