Lamiak Cava Baja — Restaurant in Madrid

I give 3 stars after weighing the + and - aspects. The Plus aspects. *We really liked the food. We ordered 8 pinxtos (a mix of carne, veg and pescado). They were all delicious. My recommendations: carrilera de ternera (beef) estofada al vino tinto; *carpacho de pulpo (octopus); queso de cabra, tomate y cebolla caramelizada; alcachofa confitada; lasagne. The sauce that came with the octopus was so tasty, smooth and creamy. Mmmh! Loved it! *The wine I ordered was really nice (Copaboca Rueda Verdejo). *Prices are great for Madrid city centre. *I liked the fact that the pinxtos were clearly priced and they were all €3.60 ‐ €3.70. (In many places fish tapas are more expensive than meat tapas). Because they all cost the same, it's easier to keep track of the bill. *It was packed with Spanish people, which is a good sign!

The Minus sides. We had to wait quite a while after we ordered, about 30 minutes. We arrived between 9pm and 9.30pm and it was decently busy but by the time we ordered it got even busier and there were only 2 staff (a man and a girl with curly hair). So better try and eat before 9.30pm (which is the time Spanish people go out for dinner). The real negative side for me was the manners of the girl with curly hair at the bar. When my partner and I arrived, we temporarily sat at one of the barrels but we weren't sure if we could stay because it was a table for 4-5 people. The girl came to us and said something in Spanish. I asked if she spoke English. She said she didn't, with a tone as if it wasn't her problem (only mine). She didn't seem to care whether we'd be able to communicate or not. I can speak Spanish so I switched to Spanish, but I wondered what happens if a customer can't speak Spanish at all? Would she send someone else? Would she ignore them and leave? I asked her if it was ok for us to stay at that table, and she said: "You're already sitting, aren't you?". I felt her response was a bit rude and unnecessary. I explained the reason for my question, i.e. it wasn't a table for 2. She said it was ok, we could stay. Her manners were not welcoming. It felt as if she didn't care that we were there. The man was more professional. The place was very busy but he was keeping an eye on all the tables. He wasn't chatty or anything like that. He didn't ask us if everything was ok when he cleared. He was just busy. Take orders and go, clear and go. But it's ok in the end. Better than the girl with curly hair. The main reason I'm not giving more than 3 stars is because of the girls' attitude. When we arrived it wasn't that busy and the way she spoke to us wasn't welcoming. A smile goes a long way. If you want 5 stars ....SMILE...

Extremely shocked to the treatment we received coming to this establishment as the majority of reviews were very positive.

To begin with, the barman was more interested in getting his face drawn by another customer then attending us. Second, when I asked for a typical cańa, he questioned me, as if it was too small a drink. I acquiesced and got a double. We ordered two other large drinks and waited for a tapa which never came. The barman never once even looked in our direction again.

We noticed that every other customer, before, and after us, was given a typical tapa with their drinks. After 10 mins, I politely asked another barwoman if there was something special we needed to order to receive a tapa and she said, “oh, you weren’t given anything?” As I looked down at our drinks, she too noticed that we had none and immediately served us our tapas, saying jokingly “oh, the barman was too busy talking to the other customers.”

Feeling completely neglected, because the very nice bar woman, who was amazing with all the other customers went on break, we decided to finish our drinks, cut our losses and go elsewhere, and we asked for the bill. Not a single “thank you” or “have a good night” came from the barman’s lips.

Response from the owner 2 hours ago Hello Robert! We regret that you had this impression about our service and, of course, we apologize for our colleague's oversight in not serving you an appetizer. We hope you will visit us again and we will try to make the experience live up to your expectations. Best regards,

Response from Robert The poor customer service that was given by your barman was not our impression, it was a statement of fact. If you believe that we are complaining because we weren't served an appetizer by your male colleague then you are sorely mistaken. I could care less whether we received an appetizer. It was the fact that your barman spent more time looking at drawings of himself, , than serving us with the same courtesy and professionalism that he showed the other patrons. The failure to give us an appetizer was simply another example of the lack of consideration shown, and how rude your barman was, towards us.

Our expectations are simple, to be treated the same as any other customer who frequents your establishment.

The fact that it took you two weeks to respond to my review is yet another example of what to expect from your...

We came here to try to have a good time, but immediately upon coming up to the bar, the bartender starts whispering something to the other bartender, who then starts snickering. (At this point, I have no idea what we could’ve done to offend them). If you’re going to work in the food industry, expect foreigners to come to your establishment. I don’t understand why anyone would sign up to do this kind of work if they’re not fit to deal with different kinds of cultures and language barriers. They took forever to put our orders in (I’ve worked in food service before and know better). Their excuse was, “it’s so busy.” But as a restaurant in this area, I’d expect you to be well-prepared for crowds of people coming into your establishment. They took forever to get us our check after we asked for it. Believe me, all of this was intentional. My question to the owner is— why would you hire people like this to be part of your staff? The world is changing and if you want to make it in this industry, open your eyes and hire people who actually know how to work in the service industry and know how to be around other cultures. Being nice is free and I don’t get why a business wouldn’t know...