La Alcaría de Ramos — Restaurant in Estepona

It used to be my fave place for almost a decade and I used to look forward, every year in our vacation, to go back a few times.

Service was never the best, as they were always in a rush, but quality used to be good and lots of tasty “on the house” finger food was given which was cut over the years by quantity and quality to a little cucumber/ham sandwich and salty gazpacho yesterday.

I always eat beef fillet and the last couple of times, I had ordered it, it was not cooked the way I had ordered it. When I complained, that it was dry and chewy, i was told “ it’s a different cow” sure it’s a different cow, but the same cut, so it shall be the same quality as days before. So we gave them the last few times “another try” and we returned, even though, we were disappointed the last few years already. We used to have great memories there and had nice evenings, so we always have it another try…. But yesterday was a bit too much to handle. Service again a nightmare, they don’t have enough staff to serve you in a proper way, always in a rush. First we sat in that little terrace across the street, but there were so many ants on the table/plates due to the bushes next to us, so we moved to the main terrace. White wine was served to warm, drinks empty for good 40 min without any one asking, if we care for more drinks. Time in between starter/main course way too long, without service in between. The phil-phil as starter was ok but not a wow and the 2 the beef fillet‘s we ordered, were another disaster. The pepper sauce this year tasteless, the steak too overcooked with a HAIR in my vegetables. Therefore, my meal was done before I even started to eat my main course. Sure, no one asked how we liked the food, therefore i waited 20 min with the hair on my plate to complain with no one coming, until I took my plate and walked into the restaurant to complain. Sure, they apologized but my appetite was gone. I would have had another glas of wine, while the rest of the family completed their meals, but no one asked.and I couldn’t get anyone to even take my order. When we asked for the bill, it took them 20 min and my meal (which I didn’t eat because of the hair) wasn’t removed, so I had to complain again. The restaurant is located on top of a hill, so the view is beautiful especially with a rising sunset, as well it’s the restaurant itself which is gorgeous with all the flowers and decorations but what’s the use, if the quality of the food isn’t great anymore and you don’t get served. They are just overwhelmed and therefore service and quality of the food has gone down. I would say, the last 4-5 times we visited, it was always an issue with food/service, but we gave it another try, but after yesterday’s disaster, I wouldn’t go back anymore. The beautiful view and the atmosphere of the restaurant itself do not overcome the non existent service and the quality...

How this restaurant gets over 4 stars is beyond belief. At best the food is very mediocre. Steaks are very small and come with very little else but the worst part is being ripped off with the prices. Before you even sit down you are charged 2 Euros per person - even kids (the cubierto) so that was 8 Euros for our family of 4 before we even started. There was very little in way of meals for children but the waiter did say he could get the chef to knock up some spaghetti bolognese for our two little ones, so we opted for this. The dishes of spaghetti bolognese were so large there was enough in one bowl to feed the four of us. How anyone in their right mind can think that a small child of ages 6 and 8 could ever eat this much spaghetti in one sitting is beyond me. This must be the reason for charging 10 euros per dish! Further charges such as the service charge (10%) are already added to the bill, which is something I have never liked as I have been informed that the waiters, who usually work so hard, do not receive any of this - if it is included on the bill.

"I much prefer to pay my own tips thankyou!"

Basically a meal for four of us which did not include any starter or dessert, just two bowls of spaghetti bolognese and 2 very small steaks and a bottle of water cost us over 100 Euros. Had the food been of exceptional quality and the steaks come with a bit more than 3 small green beans and 3 carrots slices the size of a Euro coin, the price may have been slightly more acceptable.

Would I recommend this restaurant to families with kids? No! Will I ever go...

One of the strangest meals I’ve experienced in quite a while. First of all, the head waiter/manager was actively hostile. Communicated in grunts, flicks of the head and eye rolls. Truly a bizarre way to interact with paying customers, like being served by a surly teenager. He was in such a rush to get away from us whilst taking our order that he incorrectly took down my starter. When the wrong dish arrived and we complained there was no apology. There was a lot of screaming coming from the kitchen though. The starter never came. The food was quite complicated, 80s style fayre: stuffed mussels, timbales of this and that, architectural stacks of seafood - lots of fruity sauces. A nightmare to catch up on as the wheels came off in the kitchen, it would appear. The terrace and restaurant itself are beautiful. The inside was really nicely decorated, and the view from the terrace quite lovely. The place was clearly over booked as the wait between courses was very long, even by local standards, and the staff were rushed off their feet. Nobody asked us how our meal was or said goodbye as we left. Simply put, it was...