Leña & Karbon — Restaurant in Cartagena

We visited the newly refurbished restaurant with an open mind, hoping the recent makeover signalled a step up in quality. Unfortunately, the experience was deeply disappointing on all fronts — from the food to the service and overall atmosphere.

The salmon starter was completely inedible. It appeared to have been left out all day in the heat — sweaty, off-putting, and poorly presented. One of our party had to discreetly spit it out into a napkin. Still, we gave the benefit of the doubt and waited for the mains, hoping things might improve.

Sadly, they didn’t. The steak arrived far undercooked — practically raw despite being ordered medium-rare. We politely asked for it to be cooked further. When it returned, it was charred to the point of being inedible, the complete opposite extreme. When we raised this again, the staff were dismissive. Despite our concerns, the steak was not removed from the bill, with the excuse that since we had “tried it,” we were obliged to pay for it.

After several polite attempts to explain our position, we were told the manager had refused to adjust the bill — and the manager, conveniently, was not on site. Staff attempted to guilt us into paying by saying the cost would come out of their wages. This was unprofessional and inappropriate.

We left feeling frustrated and disappointed. We won’t be returning, and we would caution others not to be misled by older positive reviews. Many of these reviews were for the previous restaurant that operated at this location — this is a new establishment under different management, and sadly, the standard has dropped...

I’ve been coming to La Manga Club for over 25 years, and I never write reviews unless the service, food – the whole experience – is either truly exceptional or completely the opposite. Sadly, this visit was the latter.

This restaurant used to be Luigi’s Italian, one of our long-time favourites. It’s now been relocated to the hotel and undergone a renovation. While the space certainly looks the part in photos and in person, the food and service fell far short of the standards Luigi’s once upheld.

The fillet steak arrived completely undercooked, and when it was sent back, it returned charred to the point of being inedible. The salmon tataki was warm, sweaty, clearly had been sitting out for far too long, and was completely unseasoned. The burgers were rubbery, and the buns were frozen solid – we literally couldn’t cut through them with a knife.

Despite the poor quality of the meal, we offered to pay for everything except the steak, which seemed like a very fair compromise. Instead of accepting this, the waiter became unnecessarily aggressive – which only made an already disappointing experience worse. To top it off, I had to ask three times before a simple Diet Coke was brought to the table.

This was without question the worst meal I’ve ever had at La Manga Club – a real shame given the many great experiences we’ve had here over the years. I hope this feedback is taken seriously, because while the setting and décor may have been upgraded, the quality of the food and the overall service have unfortunately gone in the...

This restaurant serves Las Lomas apartments. It's an Italian restaurant in the evening and a breakfast bar in the morning. The restaurant doesn't have an extensive menu. However that is probably because most people will go down into La Manga village complex where there are more places to eat and drink. However the food is very good and the service is excellent. The staff are well organised and friendly. We found it great for those evenings when after a tough round of golf we didn't...