Restaurante Los Manueles - Reyes Católicos — Restaurant in Granada

I stayed in Granada for three days and chose Los Manueles for all three dinners. Overall, my experience was mixed. First, I was pleasantly surprised that I could easily get a table without a reservation and without waiting in line, which was different from many reviews that described the restaurant as crowded. The process was straightforward, and the service was highly efficient—my food arrived in less than 20 minutes. For reference, on the first day, I dined at 9:30 p.m., while on the following two days, it was around 5:00 p.m. Additionally, the Iberian pork I had on the first day was absolutely divine. Although the fries beneath the pork were soaked in oil and completely soggy, which made them a bit unpleasant to eat, I had rarely tasted such delicious pork before. The oxtail and peppers I tried on the second day were also delightful, as was the fried octopus on the third day. However, none of these dishes gave me the same level of amazement as the Iberian pork. Unfortunately, there were also some disappointments. First, the English proficiency of the staff varied greatly, which is understandable. The lady who served me on the first day spoke excellent English, but on the next two days, the staff barely spoke any English, making ordering quite complicated. Of course, a large part of the issue was my lack of Spanish, but given the restaurant's reputation, I had hoped for a higher level of language support. While I also wish to have a sparkling san gria, which is just a minor reccomandation. More importantly, I must criticize the service attitude, especially on the third day. If my first two experiences had made me eager to give Los Manueles a solid five-star rating, the poor service on the third day was the reason I ultimately settled on three stars.

To start, while I again got a table easily, I clearly noticed small bugs crawling on my plate along with black stains. When I tried to ask for a replacement, the waiter seemed unable to understand what I was saying, so I had no choice but to swap my plate with one from a nearby empty table.

Additionally, for some reason, I did not receive the complimentary cheese and olives that I had enjoyed on the previous two days. While this was just a small extra perk, I noticed that I seemed to be the only table that did not receive them, especially when the restaurant was not particularly busy at the time.

The most frustrating part came when I tried to order padrón peppers. I had checked multiple times that the restaurant offered this dish, but I had trouble locating it on the menu. When I asked, the waitress rudely told me that they no longer served it. However, what infuriated me was that, as I was preparing to leave, I clearly saw several other tables being served the padrón peppers I had requested. This left me feeling extremely...

This meal was extremely memorable… for all the wrong reasons. I brought my family here because of the good reviews but I’m laughing at all the “the service is so good and the food is so quick!” reviews as our experience was completely different. Ever had an amazing day that was completely ruined by one person? That’s what happened to us.

We came at the end of lunch service but they sat us without issues and a lot of people were still eating so obviously didn’t think anything of it. 30+ minutes after ordering our food, we had only received our drinks so I asked how much longer our food was going to take… apparently that isn’t allowed. (for reference, we ordered gazpacho, a croquette, fried eggplant and rice)

Instead of saying they’re busy or the food will be out soon, the waiter chose to respond in the rudest possible way: “this isn’t Burger King. We cook our food.” (this *’s name was Alvaro, though it’s possible I got a fake name.) Really? 30+ minutes for a croquette? For gazpacho (that we never even received btw)?

The sangria was good and the food was okay but as someone who understands service and hospitality (or just human decency) I cannot recommend this place to anyone when Alvaro is working. I know my 1 star review in this sea of (possibly fake) 5 star reviews won’t make an impact on this restaurant, but people should know that you could have a horrible experience. Everyone else was pleasant, even though I heard Alvaro talking sh** about me to literally all of his colleagues. (Seriously?? Don’t assume that I can’t understand Spanish because I am speaking in a different language with my family.)

The worst part was that it was clear that the food didn’t take long because they were busy cooking our food. The croquette and rice were lukewarm when they came to our table.

Maybe we would’ve been better off at Burger King, where at least their customers come first. My bad for not reading all the 1 star reviews that clearly state they’re rude to non Spanish speakers (I thought our waiter was just racist, which I guess he might be). Here’s a tip (since I didn’t leave him one for lunch): Don’t work at a tourist trap restaurant in a touristy part of town if you hate tourists.

TL;DR: waiter Alvaro is rude and this place is...

I had never been made to feel like a thief in a restaurant before, but alas, first time for everything.

We sat outside, on pretty uncomfortable chairs (all the restaurant has these chairs, not just outside) and asked for the menu. After a while of checking out what they had, we ordered our drinks and a seafood paella. The waiter told us that the paella needed to be divided by two people and the price was per person. I was with someone else, so there were two of us at the table. We told the waiter that, well, yes. It's for us two. He wrote it down and went inside.

A while later, anothet waiter came with our drinks already opened (and mine was wrong, I asked for a Zero Coke ane got a normal Coke, but decided not to even complain about it since the drinks were already open), but she also brought the payment terminal to pay with card. She tells us we need to pay for the meal.

First time this every happened to me. I told her I would not pay for a meal I haven't even had yet. She agreed but printed the check anyway (of the drinks plus the paella) and gave it to me. Told me this is how much I had to pay. 40-something Euros, nothing out of the ordinary at all. I told her okay, but only after I ate.

The paella took around an hour to get to us. As soon as she brought the paella, she took out the payment terminal and told me to pay. It was absolutely ridiculous, never had I been made to feel like a waiter thought I'd just eat and run away after. For not even 50 Euros.

I paid, there was no room for dessert, since we had been given the check immediately after ordering: not that I'd want anything else from a place like this.

Absolutely nothing fantastic for the price (17-something Euros per person), and with only some squid and fish (and three or four small shrimps) to show as seafood.

If you want to have decent paella in a decent restaurant that won't make you feel like a thief and where the paella is even cheaper (15 Euros and you get a whole paella to yourself, no need to share (and thus double the price)), go further up the road to Plaza Nueva and eat at Torres Bermejas Castle restaurant. You...