Aarde — Restaurant in Madrid

This review is from someone thats lives in Madrid and has worked in the restaurant industry as cook, front of house and owner, for context. Overview food was either over salted or over cooked, got charged (was corrected with hesitance) and service well wow how poor, first time I have someone raise their voice, almost wanting to go into a screaming match with us at a very chill lunch.

Location: located in La Puerta de Alcala, you already know it will be overpriced, you accept it before going in.

Food rundown: steak tartare was good/normal; paella extremely salty couldn’t finish it; steak we ordered medium rare and it arrived well cooked, we made a comment about it and they denied it was overcooked; risotto tasted really good, however it was not really a risotto is was more like a pasta, and mushy.

Service: even though Europe is known to not have the best service, Spain included, its the first time I have someone raise their voice at us and be arrogant because of how we wanted to split the bill. First we noticed the prices were higher than on the menu, we were told 10% extra in terrace and that is a standard practice in Madrid (its not I live here). Next we noticed we were charged 2 extra glasses of wine, they had to go a debate between themselves and then removed them. Next, turns out taxes were not included in the menu prices (usual for America, but not a standard practice in Europe). Our server got bother by us because we wanted to split the bill differently, not divided by 4, since 1 person really didn’t consume. She stopped us and took it open herself to tell us that we shouldn’t do it that way that we had to split equally. I stopped her to say hey, we know we want it this way because of how 1 person consumed very differently and to respect that, but she insisted and kept talking over me. Its not her place to tell us how to split the bill. In the end we still needed to pay 7 euros each for taxes because as I said, not included, we were confused and she got aggressive with her tone and volume saying we cant leave without paying. Of course we were not going to leave without paying, we just wanted to know why we were missing this amount since in Madrid taxes are already included so it didn’t make sense. As we were paying, passing our cards 8 times, she just kept saying that we didn’t know how things worked, thats its always 10% more outside and taxes on the side, and how we should split the bill equally and that they are not thieves (we never implied, just asked questions). After paying we saw her talking to various of her colleagues and pointing at us. Plain rude. Oh and yes the bill was over €100 pp.

As I said, I live in Madrid and have worked in the industry for 8 years now. Ive never experienced such bad service and...

Haircutting salon for tourists! Very pleasant and well-maintained ambiance, unfortunately, that's all I can say, everything else is a big disappointment. Starting from the staff who can't even say the most basic things in English, to the food that came out like on a conveyor belt. My tip for all of you who visit this place is to pay attention to how long you have your reservation. It happened to us that after we finished the dinner, which wasn't cheap at all, we asked if we could move to the bar. The waitress told us that she has a table for us and that we can move. After moving, we ordered cocktails and a bottle of prosecco, and just a few minutes after our order, a waiter came to charge us and told us we have to leave because he needs the table. Visibly shocked and surprised, waiters who wanted to kick us out kept changing, so in the end, I asked for the manager and told him that we would leave but we wouldn't pay our bill. Even more unprofessionalism from his side. His comment was, "That he understands me and that he's sorry we can have a drink and stay a bit longer!" That made me even more angry because we spent over 300€ minimum in an hour and a half. I'm disgusted by the unprofessionalism and ignorance in this business. So, my advice: You go to this place just to take pictures and to be seen, everything else is just a waste of money!

Advice for the venue: Work on your staff and their English language and kindness. It's shameful to have staff who can't speak. Because we are not tourists for haircutting, and we don't have to know Spanish, and that's exactly what...

Warning for non-Spanish speakers: I’m writing this because it’s the second time the same thing has happened. While waiting in line for a table, it’s important to note that people arriving were letting their friends cut the line. All Spanish-speaking customers in front of us were seated at nice tables outside. When it was our turn, we started speaking in English and were told to wait a minute. Then, a colleague was called over. The lady who came directed us inside and said there were no tables available outside. Okay. We went inside, but were offered the worst possible table in a completely closed-off area. We asked for a slightly brighter spot, and again were told to wait a minute. Even though there were four empty tables in the other section, we were told there were no available tables. Since this was the second time this happened, we left without sitting down. I also need to mention that the service follows the same pattern. You’re made to wait unnecessarily. I recommend choosing a more...