La Tapería de Columela — Restaurant in Cádiz

Please avoid at all times! NEVER HAD AN EXPERIENCE LIKE THIS BEFORE… In the past it was such a lovely place but at the moment it is a true disgrace. The food used to be amazing, staff extremely friendly and welcoming. The waiter directly asks if you want jamon or queso, but when you say that you want to look at the menu first he will be annoyed with you and ignore you. Out loud making fun of you that how dare of you don’t order that, how stupid are they. Ordered a bottle of wine and water. Wine took 25 minutes to get to us (no joke), water we never got. When we ordered 3 things to start with, constantly told not enough why don’t you order most expensive things on the menu basically. Trying to oversell things the whole time and making us feel bad we just wanted what we wanted. Another waiter dropped a plate and shoved it under a side table never to be cleaned after, unbelievable. As end of this beautiful experience the meat in the burrito was off and we had to send it back. Was definitely not fresh and when both of you ask how do you like it, you both say this tastes off. What topped it off is we were made fun off to other people. “You like your food right?”. Waiters constantly taking bad about other people and eating and taking forever to get you anything. When the bill came, because we just wanted to get out of there (not soon enough) we were charged for things we ordered and never even got or we sent back (burrito). Shouting across the whole bar you need to take this off as a they don’t want to pay. Awful experience avoid at all times!!! Our last night in Spain, a place we love got...

I came here at Lonely Planet’s recommendation. I know well Andalusian food and I have been traveling to Spain since 2007. This place was possibly authentic a couple of years ago, but the moment you walk in you smell tourist trap (and old and tacky interior). Probably they changed Chef or management. Not sure. It was rush lunch time and the place was half empty. No crowds and pushy locals like in any legit bodegas y tavernas in Cadiz. Ok, I assumed it was a bit more “formal” - and decided to give it a chance. Ordered the Zamburiña and the carrillada ibérica. The moment I ordered, I knew something was off. The waitress asked if I wanted two Zamburiña instead of one (they never do so at a proper taperia, but just take your order). Also, she said they only had the big glasses, so I would have got a big caña (I ordered a small alcohol free beer). The carrillada was actually quite filling - but poorly seasoned and a bit blend. The seafood tasted ok, but again poorly seasoned. The check was around 20 euros. For the alcohol free beer, they charged me 3.90 Euros.. In the afternoon, I started feeling bloated and by the evening I got sick. Now, I cannot tell you 100%, if it was spoiled food, touristy trap or poor allergens advice - I even stop by the place the day after to flag my experience and the manager apologized. What I know for sure, it’s that I didn’t enjoy this place. It probably used to be an authentic spot, but it’s def a tourist trap...

Everyone in this restaurant is working very hard, but of them all, the hardest workers are the MICROWAVES! I had the pleasure of sitting at a table with a view of all the action. The “cooks”, if you can call them that, had at least two microwaves going at all times. It’s no wonder the food is a disappointment. I was so sad as it was our only night in Cádiz and what a waste of a dinner it was. When we arrived, there was a few people waiting in line and the restaurant was full and seemed very inviting. I was convinced that we should stay and the wait didn’t take long! Once seated, we were served bread and our drinks. The bartenders were great. We ordered 5 tapas dishes and they arrived extremely quickly. First the cuttlefish (which was tasty), and then the Bao bun (overpriced but my husband liked it). Our next three dishes arrived together: fried cheese which was served with whipped cream from a can (weird), salted cod (cold and a terrible representation of a local staple), and the tuna lasagna (also very weird). Due to how fast everything came out, I started noticing the sound of the microwaves dinging and I could see one of them open and close over and over. As soon as a dish came out, another went it. No surprise they can turn over so many guests. Just an...