Goiko — Restaurant in Cádiz

We need to admit one sad fact about our beloved Cádiz: burgers here are terrible. Even burger patties sold in grocery stores are ...so strange. Southern Spain is not the place to order a burger. Go for the ceviche, the paella, the tuna tartare. Those are reliably amazing in Spain, and more or less pathetic everywhere else (Mexico excepted, with the ceviche!). What is wrong with you, going to a restaurant IN SPAIN and overlooking los productos ibericos and ordering a BURGER, of all things?!

...however...

...there is Goiko.

The way they form some of their burger patties is unorthodox, for lack of a better word. But it works. I have now tried three different burgers from them (the Nicky Nam, the Kevin Bacon, and the Smash) and all three are excellent. Like, not just "excellent compared to other Spanish attempts at burgers," but able to compete with any other burger I've ever had in Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, California, New York City. Goiko can stand toe to toe with the best in the world.

Now, Goiko's best contenders will look a bit odd next to the competition. I absolutely loved both the Nicky Nam (WOW) and the Kevin Bacon (also wow), but they won't look like what you're expecting. Somehow, Goiko fuses together (homogenizes?) the burger patties with most of the toppings into these hugely thick discs of delicious protein-and-whatever-toppings that won't spill out the back of your burger when you take a bite out of the front of it.

That's nice, that's a nice trick. I appreciate that.

But still, it looks weird to have a solid mishmash wall facing you, all around the sides of the burger.

Now, the cheese and lettuce and some other things are laid on top of that fat straight-sided slug of burger fixins, and the buns (yum!) are holding things together too. It's just a unique solution to an ancient challenge, that's all.

And once you try a Kevin Bacon or a Kevin Costner or a Nicky Nam, I think you'll agree, a bit of Iberian innovation in the burger world is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

(Caution: Goiko is not cheap. Any of the premium burgers will set you back 11 to 14 euros, a side of homestyle potatoes 3.9 euros, a drink 3.4 euros. Our dinner at Goiko totaled 42.8 euros. So ask yourself: how much do you REALLY want that rare and truly excellent burger? If you want it THIS much, Goiko is...

Sometimes, you can not trust the reviews. We had only read the positive reviews, and hubby felt like a burger, so we went for Goiko in Cadiz. I have never left a negative review anywhere, even when the food or service was only mediocre. Goiko's staff and customer service prompt me to write my first ever negative review.

The staff did not appear friendly to begin with, but once we had ordered, there was no customer service at all. There was no check-in if the food was ok or eye contact if we wanted more drinks. It appeared like the staff made a point of not engaging or serving or checking in. We had to wait more than 40 minutes for the table to be cleared, and we took it upon ourselves to move the plates out of our way, despite the waitress passing a couple of times. All this with the restaurant not being busy, only 2 couples in the whole restaurant. The two waitresses appeared to be hiding from eye contact or serving us, and we waited more than 40 minutes to get a chance to order a second drink or even desserts. At this stage, we had enough and only wanted the bill.

The food was ok, but nothing like 4+ ratings. The meat topping on the nachos was tiny, whereas there were about 5 full tablespoons of sour cream on the plate. I would have easily let this go if the service was close enough to decent.

Halfway through the meal, we noticed a dog present and barking in the kitchen. Also, something I would let go of if the staff was decent, but they really ignored us absolutely consciously for an hour and had no concept of how to make a person feel welcome.

The waitressing girls clearly did not want to work or be there, and they made their point more than obvious.

The minute we put on our jackets and walked towards the front door, they were ready with the bill, with 10% service charge put on, which is absolutely not deserved.

We cannot recommend the place at all, what a disappointment, I wonder if the owner is aware of the staff's behaviour or if they even care.

Reading the negative reviews only after our visit, we realised that e very one of them spoke of rude behaviour of the staff despite the place being empty in the first place.

Cadiz is beautiful, but this place is below average standard, and plainly bad behaviour...

Absolutely Appalling – Avoid at All Costs!

Where to even begin? Let’s start with the fact that I ended up with food poisoning from this disaster of a restaurant. The food was utterly disgusting and nowhere near worth the price. My burger was so undercooked it was practically raw—something that might be acceptable for a steak but is absolutely unacceptable for ground beef.

I tried to raise this issue with the staff, but—shockingly—there was no one to be found. The servers were completely uninterested, avoiding eye contact at all costs to dodge additional orders, and I couldn’t even get anyone’s attention in the kitchen. Why? Because the kitchen staff was too busy doting on a dog that was freely wandering through the cooking area. Yes, you read that correctly—a dog, in a working kitchen. How this place hasn’t been shut down by health inspectors is beyond me.

Despite the fact that there were only eight patrons in a restaurant with seating for over fifty, I was still told to wait while they “checked” for a free table. This level of incompetence is staggering. The service was nonexistent, and given the blatant neglect, I skipped dessert and coffee altogether—why risk further disappointment?

This is, without question, the worst dining experience I have ever suffered through. Avoid this place...