小笼 Little Dragon Plaza de España — Restaurant in Madrid

I've been a fan of the Little Dragon, having eaten there 4 times since discovering it a couple of months ago. But my last visit for lunch on Saturday left me bitterly disappointed. 😞

I ordered Xiaolongbao, one of my favorite dishes, but when I bit into it, the pork was still raw! 🤢 I calmly alerted the waitress, speaking quietly to avoid alarming other diners. Surprisingly, not a single word of apology came from her. She took the dish away, along with my plate that had the bitten dumpling, but didn't bring me a new plate. After waiting a few minutes, I had to ask for one.

When the bill arrived, there was no concession for the bad dish and still no apology. I really wished I had taken a photo of the raw dumpling to share. 📸

It's such a shame because I really like their food when it's cooked properly. But the customer service was definitely lacking...

This little place came highly recommended, and it didn't disappoint. The first thing you notice is its funky decor and smartly-dressed staff. This place is quirky and very popular, so hard to get a table at peak times. I was lucky and went midweek at lunch, so was able to walk in. I ordered the Shenjiangbao dumplings and the Ma jiang ban mian noodles, and both were delicious. The freshly made dough and noodles gives this kitchen the edge of many other similar places. The only "but" would be that the dumplings were cold, and it would have been nice to have them just a little bit warmer (there's soup inside, so boiling hot is also not a good choice!) I would have loved to order a lot more from the menu, but two dishes were already pretty generous for one person! Definitely worth the visit, and I will be back to explore the rest...

One of the most mortifying dining experiences I’ve ever had. 😣

First, we found two dead flies when pouring the soy sauce at the table.

After putting the disgust aside, and continuing with our meal, I find myself chewing on steel wool! There was a a piece of metal sponge in the food.

I brought it to their attention and they were apologetic, offering to comp the meal.

We then ordered our final dish, hoping to end on a good note. When, upon leaving, we were chased by the waitress out of the restaurant and asked to pay for the dish we’d ordered after our comp conversation. And on top of that, the bill was incorrect! It was x2 as much as the one dish we were being asked to pay for!

Honestly, nothing is worth eating dead flies, chewing on metal or being chased out of a restaurant and asked to pay for a subpar experience. How...