Gran Café Santander — Restaurant in Madrid

⭐☆☆☆☆ We visited Santander in Madrid today, and I can confidently say it was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had. The bar staff were shockingly rude, dismissive, and acted as if serving customers was beneath them. We didn’t receive what we ordered, and when I voiced my dissatisfaction, the young man behind the bar gave me a hollow “ok” and walked away. No apology, no correction—just pure contempt.

The tortilla de patata, which they seem to think is their crown jewel, was a disgrace. Runny, undercooked, and potentially hazardous—I’ve felt sick ever since eating it and genuinely fear I may have gotten food poisoning. It’s unacceptable.

While posting this review, I read dozens of others echoing the same complaints: appalling service, arrogant staff, and a complete lack of care. This isn’t a one-off—it’s a pattern. I don’t understand how this place is still in business. You cannot treat paying customers like they’re a nuisance and expect to survive.

Santander doesn’t deserve your time, your money, or your stomach. I’ll never return, and I strongly urge anyone reading this to...

I’m really upset by how this restaurant treated our group of friends. We made a reservation by phone and were never clearly warned that we had only 1.5 hours to eat—especially in a private room, that seemed absurd. We had just received most of our appetisers when the waiter suddenly announced we had to leave in 5 minutes (we didn't even recieve all appetisers). We ended up rushing to finish the starters, and there was no time for a main course. They finally said after a lenghty discussion we could have had a drink on the terrace, but it was freezing, and the whole situation felt like a joke. Worst of all, the manager was extremely rude and made no effort to understand our concerns. I will not...

There's a serious disconnect between the front service and kitchen. I would not recommend this place if you're hungry and in a rush. The ambiance is nice but if you're wanting a punctual and full service, avoid. Tonight the sea food linguine I ordered after fried calamari took so long, I nearly fell asleep waiting. I left, paid 25 euro for one beer and some calamari. The linguine turned up as I left. The proper thing to do was to offer me the food and apologise for the wait, but the server had no clue how to handle it. Sad. I live across the road and would be an absolute regular, but everytime I go for coffee, dinner, or whatever they seem to be intent on ruining...