El Tapeo de Cervantes — Restaurant in Málaga

As this was our fifth or sixth visit to El Tapeo de Cervantes, with new friends (we are Irish tourists), we wanted them to experience why we liked it so much. This was our second time seating in the larger space & we were served twice by TJ (?). Both times, but especially this visit we were essentially somewhat bullied into what he wanted us to order. While he is charismatic & entertaining, we eventually ordered what We wanted, but with some difficulty due to our servers 'talk over' & apparent 'not listening'. This became evident when only our mains arrived, no starters. When we queried this with the server who delivered the mains, 'I don't know' was the response. At no time did TJ (?) reappear to explain what happened. We accepted this because we didn't want to spoil the new visitors/friends experience. But it was not good enough. El Tapeo lost revenue from the food as well as, no doubt, some more wine etc. We are all adults, well travelled & well dined & do not need to be patronised into ordering what the server proffers, unless we ask for that. So, unfortunately, this second experience has altered our intent to visit again, despite our many trips to Malaga, which we save for to be able to afford.

On a positive note, our mains were delicious but we left hungry. The second server who took over, was well worth the €50 tip, at which he professionally tried to decline. As an ex server myself, I had been more than happy to share tips with my colleagues but this share was not earned, especially as there was no retrurn to our table nor an apology from TJ (?).

Non of us want this man to loose his job but perhaps some more training is the least he & El Tapeo would benefit from. & thank you nonetheless, for the good times we have had in the smaller element of...

We visit Gabriel and Romina's restaurants several times a year, and we absolutely love the food and hospitality at their establishments (Meson, Tapeo, Pampa Grill). Fortunately, Urs had made a reservation a few days in advance—otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten a table.

After a warm welcome from Gabriel, Raffaele guided us through the recommended number of tapas, the house specialties, and helped us pick the perfect wine to accompany our meal (the Tamaral is truly top-notch!). Shortly after placing our order, the first dish arrived, and the Tuna Tataki practically melted in our mouths. Next came two more hits: the Pulpo and Baby Squids—absolutely delicious! With the following courses, we weren't as impressed as usual. The mushrooms with asparagus and artichoke lacked a bit of zest, and the asparagus was a bit sparse. The risotto was also a bit thinner and milder than we remembered. But this is truly nitpicking at a high level. The subsequent Pork Loin was a real visual delight, making up for everything. Raffaele enthusiastically supported our choices throughout the evening, praising the dishes we ordered. It's invaluable to have staff who are so passionate about their concept and menu!

For dessert, we were treated to an exceptional pistachio cream slice, which isn’t yet on the menu but absolutely should be. The dessert was simply heavenly and incomparable to pistachio desserts in Switzerland. The flavor is much more natural, without that unpleasant artificial bitterness.

A huge thank you for the excellent meal and a wonderful evening...

We have been to El Tapeo de Cervantes several, several times. We tried to come last winter but there where chains across the doors with a sign that said to go to their other restaurant around the corner. We were quite disappointed because we thought that they had closed permanently. To our delight, we walked past it 3 nights ago and it was open. We had a nice meal and noticed that the menu was exactly the same as last year. After we finished our meal and paid, we noticed that the server charged us for something that we didn't order. We mentioned it to him and he wanted to give us the money back right away. We said no worries because we will be back in 2 days and pay us back then. He said, no problem. We came back 2 days later and the restaurant was busy. We waited and this 'bald' man came to us and said to us 'habla', which means speak in spanish. We said that we were looking for a table for 2. He asked if we had a reservation, and we told him that the 'waiter over there knew that we were coming'. His response to us blew us away, "I am the owner, he is a simple waiter. He doesn't schedule the tables". We were floored. He told us that he could not serve us because they were fully booked and to go to his other restaurant around the corner. Ya, sure we were going to go to his other restaurant. We understand that they were busy, but his arrogance and treatment of his staff was unacceptable. We would have given this establishment a 1 star, but in all honesty the...