Restaurante El Cortijo — Restaurant in Estepona

From the appearance and the reviews I expected more. First, the menu says please tell your server if you have any allergies. From that I could only assume they actually cared. I am allergic to sulfites. They have a decent looking wine list so I mentioned my sulfite allergy hoping the server could recommend a sulfite free wine. She was rude and dismissive to me.

Next, I ordered the lamb chops medium rare. She should have told me they were going to be paper thin and medium rare wasn't possible. I wouldn't have ordered them. I would have chosen something else. I couldn't even eat one of them as it was charred. I didn't much care for my dinner but no one bothered to ask. I don't so much mind the price, but if I'm going to pay that much I at least want to enjoy my meal.

A nicer gentleman, Fabian, asked if I wanted dessert so I asked what his favorite was. I was leaning toward the creme brulee but he recommended the cheese cake. It was good. I'm still craving creme brulee though. Maybe I'll take myself out somewhere again tonight.

The restroom could use to be cleaned a bit more often too. I know they're busy. I worked in food service for years, but there was urine all over the floor by the urinal. Who wants to see that in a place where you're paying 50€ per person?

I've lived here almost 3 months and still haven't found the perfect restaurant. I'll...

Looking at the rating of this restaurant we had higher expectations than previous restaurants we went to. As we went there on a Saturday we had to book the previous day. It typically gets busy on weekends. The waiters were very nice and very honest. We were going to go for one starter each and the paella with Iberian pork and we were told that unless we were really hungry it would probably be too much. The waiter was very right, we went for one starter to share, the mussels with a provencal sauce, and the paella and it was plenty. The mussels' sauce was good (tomato, wine, herbs) but was a bit too salty. The biggest problem with the mussels was that they were definitely not clean enough. They still had far too much "barb"/seaweed attached to them. The paella with Iberian pork came with asparagus, peppers, and mushrooms. It sounded good but the paella was a bit too dry and definitely far too salty. We ended up eating the meat and leaving all the rice apart. The paella came in a proper paellera that served two plates each.. so good quantity. The wine was good. Location, in the old town, is great. Pity that they over...

The restaurant presents itself as highly appealing from the outside, and this impression continues once inside – the ambiance is undoubtedly stylish and inviting. The appetizers were tasty, but considering the price, they were clearly overpriced.

The service was generally fine, though not exceptional. The disappointment began with the main course: The ordered salmon was unfortunately very dry and hardly edible, which is simply unacceptable for a dish at this price point. Instead of the ordered calamari, we were served lamb chops, which were mostly fat with little meat. Another meat dish was solid, but not outstanding – we had certainly expected more.

Overall, the impression remains that the restaurant is more about appearances than substance. This is particularly unfortunate in a tourist-centric location, where it feels like the focus is more on attracting tourists than on cultivating regular customers. Despite the high expectations set by numerous positive reviews, the visit was disappointing. The pricing is simply not justified by the quality offered. A visit that, unfortunately, fell short of...