La Sal — Restaurant in Casares

It would be so very simple, such a salvation for many businesses, if they took the time to ask clients "how is the food?", "is everything ok?" etc before the client leaves the establishment. Food - The starters were great, really great. The octopus very tender, a welcome twist with its chilli flakes from the traditional version of Pulpo a la Gallega, and the potatoes just right, soft but not falling apart. The tuna tataki generous, beautifully presented and melt in the mouth. The mains appeared to have been prepared by an entirely different chef. The salmon dry and tasteless. Probably silly of me to expect the advertised capers, onions and garlic to be some type of tapenade, puree, pesto.... I don't know, anything except the almost raw onions, lightly warmed capers and zero garlic that were just chucked on top! The cod, just sad, with its not quite cooked chips and 4 pieces of micro-greens. The atmosphere was loud, like a canteen loud, not funky, chilled, relaxed, friendly. A shame because the decor is great, they have a welcoming no smoking policy in all areas, and of course the view across the bay is lovely. Service - the head waiter/manager (?) was in the middle of explaining the drinks list and literally walked away mid-sentence without a bye or leave to go and chat, along with another waiter, with someone who had just entered the establishment! The (only) waitress literally threw our desert forks on the table, and later, in "drive by" fashion, she threw our bill on the table. Not a word, no asking if all was good, didn't even look or nod in our direction. Just, unmistakably, threw the bill at us!

4 Wait staff, and barely over half full - I mention this because where we ate the following day the place was full and there were 3 staff that had to go up and down between 2 dining levels, and it was a world of difference.

Bill €140 - way too much money for 2 people for the level of service and the quality of the mains.. Oh and we both had a crema Catalan dessert. A barely caramelised sugar topping, above a solid, your finger would not leave a depression in it, custard. The red wine list of 6 choices - 5 are tempranillos.

Where we lunched the following day was an entirely different, delightful, scene...

Horrible service! Visited the place as 2 families with kids, their attitude was very rude from the second we stepped in, made us feel that families are not welcome there (as this cheap place wannabe posh but fail miserably).

We asked for a baby chair which they didn’t had but regardless we decided to stay as not alternative nearby. The waitress was unbelievably rude and yet again showed disgusted face whenever speaking to us like we not posh enough for their place (fun fact they allow dogs).

The food was ok, served really quickly (maybe too quick made us again feel that we not welcome and we should finish and leave)

The whole experience was awful… No one came to ask if “everything is ok?” No one came to ask if we want to have another drink.

Once finished they immediately cleaned the table within seconds and tossed a dessert menu.

Same with the bill, once asked the bill they served it literally within 10 seconds!

Absolutely disgusting service, I do not recommend to anyone!

UPDATE: REPLY to owner:

Anoche (18 de mayo de 2024) visitamos el lugar y varios camareros nos atendieron, pero una señora (la única allí) fue quien afirmó que no había silla para niños, y otro camarero con gafas de sol también tuvo un comportamiento cuestionable, ya que puso caras sarcásticas cuando pregunté sobre alérgenos porque mi hijo es intolerante a la lactosa.

Es bastante triste que en la hostelería empleen a...

I recently visited this restaurant with my family, and it was a terrible experience. One of my cousins is gluten-free, and they advertised BBQ chicken on the gluten-free menu. When we arrived, they said they could only offer plain chicken, which turned out to be super dry and bland, served with flavourless boiled potatoes and no sauce.

The service was awful by one staff member she just dropped our menus on the table when we arrived without a word and walked away without even sitting us down properly.

To top it off, my other cousin ordered fried squid and found three bugs in it! When we showed the waiter, he claimed it was just baby squid, but it definitely didn’t look right. I refused to pay for the chicken and the squid, but I was willing to pay for everything else, but they were only happy to remove the chicken.

I don’t ever like to complain, but this was beyond...