Casa Salvador Restaurant — Restaurant in Cullera

Having seen this venue on English tv we really wanted to experience it so we drove from where we live in Andalucia and stayed in a nearby hotel. The location was fabulous, an historic building right on the river, idyllic and very relaxing, despite the terrace being full it didn’t feel noisy and we didn’t notice any real hustle and bustle although we were sitting right on the edge of the terrace at the side of the river. The food didn’t disappoint, we chose the mixed rice (paella) which you have to pre order when you book, it was honestly the best rice I’ve ever tasted, and living in Spain I’ve tasted a lot in restaurants, made by friends and neighbours, at large gatherings and my own. The flavour of their rice was incredible and it was packed with prawns, chicken, green beans, butter beans and artichokes, with a superb Socarrat (crusty bottom), really was delicious. What let this restaurant down for me was the service. In Andalucia I’m used to such warm, friendly, jolly and personal service where the waiters have a chat and a laugh with you. Here, we were greeted in a pleasant manner and they were friendly over the phone but the actual food service was very slow, we waited a long time for our rice despite having pre ordered the day before, they didn’t bring any bread, olives or nibbles, and when the rice did arrive, they didn’t even bring a serving spoon which we had to ask for because we were sharing, but it was almost impossible to catch the attention of our waiter or any of them. When the restaurant started to empty, the dessert and drinks service became a bit faster, but when we got up to leave, having paid the bill, no one said goodbye or thanked us for our custom which they always do where we live and to be fair, we’ve travelled extensively around Spain and there has always been a thank you and goodbye whenever we’ve left a restaurant. I had read previous reviews that suggested there was a disdain towards their customers which I agree with having experienced it for myself. Don’t let this put you off visiting though as the food, location and value for money in terms of the quality of food still make it a worthwhile experience, just don’t expect a homely, friendly atmosphere. And there are so many different rices to choose from, you are spoiled for choice. Toilets clean and well...

We have recently been to this popular restaurant and I have to say it was below my expectations particularly for paella. We had a couple of starters (Calamar a la Romana, Foie Gras, Esgarraet) which were OK. We had also fried Anguila, which was too dry and hard to eat. We also ordered Tellinas as another starter but we had Clotxinas instead as a mistake of the waiter. I shall admit that the wine list is really good comparing to such big paella restaurants in the region. There are nice wines from different parts of Spain as well as other countries which makes the wine list really interesting. When it comes to rice dishes we had Paella Valenciana and Arroz del Senyoret. Paella Valenciana was not done well. The rice was undercooked, no socarrat, very few amount of ingredients such as chicken or rabbit. I can say that this was one of the worst Paella Valenciana experience that I have ever had in Valencia region since many years. Senyoret was ok but not close to any of the other experiences that I have had in other places in and around Valencia. Service was good though. Even though there was a mistake in the order and considering the fact that the restaurant was too busy due to a classic Sunday lunch time, the service was quite good. As an overall view, it is a pity that we left the restaurant with some disappointment especially for rice dishes. May be I need to go and check this restaurant once again after summer time on a...

We received a terrible embarrassing and humiliating treatment from the waiters at reception and by the phone. I made a reservation for 9,... 4 hours before the reservation time, I call them to change diners for 6... and basically they told me they were going to charge me for those two extra diners even if I cancel it, literally they told me that they will charge it and if I wanted I could take a tupper to take away (totally insane). Then I asked for a table on the terrace and although they had space enough, they told me they refused to give it to me (because they just didn't want to, without anymore explanation). Once in the restaurant I ordered clams and they were dirty, full of sand, definitely badly cooked (almost chewing gum). As for the dessert, I ordered turron tiramisu and it was simply bitter coffee beans with custard, basically disgusting. They took a long time to serve and the bill was incredibly high. An unfortunate situation. There are some other restaurants in the area to eat much better rice and for less than half the price, and obviously with a better deal by the staff. I do not...