Café de Oriente Palacio Real — Restaurant in Madrid

I recently had the misfortune of visiting a restaurant that not only provided terrible service but also displayed overt racism. My dining experience at this establishment was marred by discriminatory behavior, and I feel compelled to share my awful encounter.

Upon entering the restaurant, my group was met with indifference from the staff. It was evident that they didn't consider serving us a priority. We waited patiently for someone to acknowledge our presence, but to no avail. Finally, we flagged down a waiter and expressed our desire to place an order. Shockingly, the waiter had the audacity to tell us that he couldn't help and suggested we go elsewhere. The blatant disregard for our presence and refusal to serve us was disgraceful.

To add insult to injury, while we were trying to comprehend the unwarranted rejection, we noticed the people sitting next to us, who happened to be of a different race, being served without any issues (they even told us). It was disheartening to witness such open discrimination based on culture and race. The fact that the staff was actively serving others only reinforced the abhorrent nature of their behavior. It is completely unacceptable for a restaurant to promote and perpetuate such prejudice.

It is important to note that a business should never prioritize serving one customer over another based on race or cultural background. Every customer should be treated with respect, regardless of their ethnicity. Sadly, this establishment failed miserably in upholding this basic principle.

I believe it is crucial for the management of this restaurant to address and rectify the deeply ingrained discriminatory practices within their establishment. Racism has no place in any aspect of society, and it certainly has no place in a restaurant where people should come together to enjoy good food and hospitality.

I strongly advise against visiting this restaurant until they acknowledge their wrongdoing, take appropriate action to eliminate discrimination, and retrain their staff on equality and inclusivity. There are plenty of establishments that provide outstanding service and treat all patrons with dignity and respect. Let us support businesses that promote unity rather than division.

In conclusion, my experience at this racist restaurant was nothing short of abysmal. The staff's overt racism and their refusal to serve us, coupled with witnessing others being treated differently based on their race, left a lasting negative impression. Discrimination should never be tolerated, especially in an industry that is built on serving people from diverse...

We went for a short coffee break before our departure from Madrid so the memory is quite vivid. Coming from Vienna my first impression was if I am entering a Wiener Kaffehaus (traditional viennese coffeshop). As it appears the interior is in fact inspired by viennese coffeehouses. The only thing missing tough is a huge display case with cake and other sweets. But after ordering coffee and sweets from the menue this "critic" can be forgotten :-D My wife had the slighty warm cheesecake with fruitsauce and I tried the traditional torrija del Café de Oriente con tofe y helado (a kind of french toast infused and topped with rich and delicious toffee sauce). It was a delight.

It is a little bit more expensive but it's quite an exquisit location and interior.

The only thing I want to mention is that from my point of view the staff could be a little bit more courteous. But to be fair this is not an issue we experienced just in the Cafe de Oriente but in nearly every place we went (except some small tapas bars). So I guess it's more an cultural difference. In case of the Cafe de Oriente it was quite vivid to me because I know the feeling of a viennese coffeeshop and though the waiters in vienna are known to be rude (Wiener Charme) they are more around and ask more often if they can bring anything else.

All in all it was an amazing and delicious visit and I think I would visit the Cafe...

I would like to commend the staff: Maitre Daniel, Waitress Julie, and most of all, Manager Javier. We were a party of 15 that's traveled from all over the world for a work meeting. I had reached out to the restaurant weeks prior to make a reservation and was promptly responded to by Javier. The night before of our reservation, we had gone to a different restaurant and had experienced a very unfortunate and terrible service. I reached out to Javier that night in the hopes of making sure that our night with Cafe de Oriente will make up for the lackluster experience we had elsewhere. He replied right away and made sure that my executives will be greeted by him personally and absolutely be taken care of. When we got to Cafe de Oriente, Javier welcomed us with open arms and provided us a tour of the whole restaurant along with its history! He also reserved a private section for our group! Not only was everyone impressed by Javier's initial impression and the ambiance, but Maitre Daniel and Waitress Julie made sure that they were on top of everything - food, wine, service - everything was fantastic! We couldn't have asked for a better night to have ended our time in Madrid. I cannot express how grateful I am to the team for all the special touches and making it an experience to remember! Thank you, Javier,...