La Gloria de Montera — Restaurant in Madrid

This restaurant pertains to the Andilana chain of restaurants and hotels. One of seven in Madrid. Went for lunch with a reservation and was accommodated half an hour before our reserved time in a small alcove off the main restaurant, not my choice but better than waiting for a table. Given menus and decided not to order the set weekend menu but from the main menu, which featured a photo of a dry rice dish with lamb as shown in the attached photo. We were told not available when I reprimanded the waitress for not advising us when giving us the menus her answer was there isn't any Octupus either.... Starter to share fried baby squid no side dish of ali-oli had to order it. My partner ordered an entrecote steak, which was chewy, with cold chips. Mine was a beef hamburger done medium that came in a brioche bun with a smearing of mayonnaise,a thin slice of cheese, and a small rasher of bacon nothing else. No tomato or onion and had to order ketchup, which they charged 1.50 euros. The burger at 14.00 euros with cold chips was an excuse for lunch, which had become very disappointing. The wine was the only good thing at a reasonable price because the rest was a disaster. Having eaten the day before in one of the seven restaurants in Madrid and previously in Barcelona, it's obvious the same standards are not. applicable to all the restaurants...

White tablecloths, linen napkins, and elegantly dressed waiting staff imply good service at a price. The restaurant actually represents very good value for money with a good and well priced wine list, and moderately priced plates. The dishes we ate: grilled fresh asparagus, and a grilled goats cheese salad were well presented and fine, although we would have preferred a more mature cheese. The paella was atrocious - the octopus was as tough as boot leather as was the meat (probably chopped lamb ribs). When this was discussed with the front of house staff they responded impeccably, immediately apologising and offering to replace the dish. Two things. Firstly the chefs should have enough pride in their cooking not to serve sub standard food, and second as tourists we should not order dishes that are not native to the region. We happened to want a starch dish to balance our meal. We should not have ordered paella as it seems to me this is only offered because tourists regard it as the quintessential "Spanish" dish. It would be much better to be offered dishes reflecting the traditions and produce of the region. Otherwise one inevitably is presented with food adapted to the expected clientele for sound economic reasons. Recommended, but order the paella at...

There are “starred” items on the limited menu indicating “favorites.” 2 of those items were not available when ordered. When I asked the wait staff for other recommendations, I should have known better when the face puckered with a lukewarm response “recommending” anything else on the menu. The response and nonverbal was not recommending anything else or reassuring at all. Unfortunately, I ordered the salmon which was tasteless, topped with COLD tasteless onions, and 3 lines of what I think may have been green puréed asparagus or avocado - it was also cold and tasteless so I couldn’t tell what it was. In over 50 years of dining out all over the world, this was the first dish I returned because I could not eat it. The response was unacceptable, questioning what was wrong with the dish. The risotto which I thought might be safe to order, I could only eat a few bites. This was the worst experience and a huge...