MANUELA JIMENA BAR — Restaurant in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

I think I might have had the worst meal of my life.

Me and my sister just had dinner at manuela Jimena bar and my experience was so bad I had to post it immediately so I wouldn’t forget all the details.

I booked it for Saturday night (tonight) and confirmed the booking by accident twice as I have many bookings I had to confirm so I got a bit confused. They were a bit annoyed I called them twice but that was fine.

When we got to the restaurant, initially all seemed great although the lighting is very bright but the decor is really high end and the place looks very put together.

When we sat down we were asked for drinks and we ordered a cava each and it was lovely and they gave us bread as per normal to start (we didn’t ask or order the bread - please remember this for later).

The menu is scanned through your phone which no waiter explained to us but we figured it out. The menu is unbelievably long with so much choice. It is actually a bit too long and is a bit overwhelming.

When the waiter took our order he had the oddest demeanour, he came across very rushed and even argumentative. I decided to order the cod fritters for starters and the scallops for Main. However there seemed to be a problem with the scallops so to make things easier I just ordered what my sister was having instead. At this point he said he would go into the kitchen to show me what scallops are in case I was confused (perhaps he was concerned it wasn’t enough food) and then when he showed me the scallops (compared to clams) I clarified that I knew what a scallop was and then said “ok I’ll go with scallops then”. At this point he turned around and said “you ordered the other dish already ( the one my sister had) and then seeming almost angry at me asking did I ACTUALLY want the scallops? At that point I was actually starting to feel pretty uncomfortable with his stand offish demeanour I just said fine to the original order just so he would leave me alone.

After this we ordered the wine, we had tried to get a dry white wine as we don’t like the sweeter wines in the canaries and as he was about it open the wine he mentioned it was somewhat sweet and we had to query that and they did change it - but again the exchange was almost like an altercation.

After this we received our starters. The cod fritters (maybe a little heavy) were tasty and the scallops were very nice.

The next problem came from how quickly the food was both, being served to us and how as soon as we had finished the plate was taken away. It made us feel like they were rushing us out of the restaurant. Also the waiters tended to conglomerate in the bar area just chatting which have off a weird vibe.

Then came our main meal which was some sort of fried squid or octopus. It mentioned things like saffron so we thought it was going to be very flavourful. It’s worth mentioning the waiter did warn in advance that it would be fried but we just figured maybe pan fried as the restaurant is quite high end. They were deep fried and were very oily, bland and unappetising.

My sister Finished most of hers but I couldn’t stomach it so just ate one or 2 bits and just left it. When the waiter was taking it away again he was a little stand offish and asking me why I didn’t like it etc. at this point it was very obvious that we were uncomfortable and my sister was a bit upset at this point as he was just coming across as threatening to us.

Once I didn’t eat my main and they took it away they just left us alone and never queried the situation again so we figured they just wanted is to leave.

We asked for the bill from a different waiter and he just left it down with no expression almost like he was mad at us! It was unbelievable!

When we received the bill they had not taken off the main meal I did not eat or even offered a discount, and Also CHARGED IS FOR THE BREAD! we had a full meal with desert/coffees etc in a Michelin star restaurant in the days before and it wasn’t even that expensive! We didn’t even finish our wine and just left - it was just a...

I'm usually not one to write reviews, but my recent visit to this restaurant was so underwhelming that I feel compelled to share my experience.

The waitress's attention was practically nonexistent. We were seated, ordered, and waited for our food to arrive. When it finally did, we were shocked to discover that our orders were incorrect. I ordered the Las tres maravillas de jabugo 100% iberico and tabla de quesos canarios but received a mix of 6 slices of salami and chorizon instead with 2 slices of cheese. Also they didn’t put enough cutlery for 3 people and I had to ask 5 times for the glass of water that the waitress kept forgetting.

To make matters worse, when we politely informed the waitress of the mistake, she seemed completely unbothered and didn't even offer an apology.She said to me very firmly that I did order that.

The corrected orders took even longer to arrive, and by that time, we were both famished and frustrated. The food itself was decent, but the poor service and lack of accountability overshadowed any positives. Also when the waitress brought the bill it was incorrect. I asked her why she charged us 23.5 when they don’t even have that price in the menu and she said that...

The Manuela bar is a place I would recommend to others for a pleasant dining experience. It had a combination of a great atmosphere, delicious food, and attentive staff, making it a solid choice for anyone seeking a memorable meal.

I ordered the Iberian ham and a Coca-Cola. The ham was very much worth the money. What stood out was the staff's assistance – a member at the bar helped us navigate the online menu, making the ordering process smooth and easy. In the end, our bill amounted to €52 for two people, including three drinks and two meals.

TL;DR: The Manuela bar offers a recommendable dining experience with a good atmosphere, delicious food including the Iberian ham, and attentive staff, while our bill for two people...