Salmon Guru - A CONTRACORRIENTE — Restaurant in Madrid

I was super excited to try this bar! And just as quickly let down. It was not worth the money or the wait. Drinks and food were mid, but the experience was seriously spoiled by the terrible service I received. I was sat at the communal table. When our server finally came, he gave waters to everyone but me. Then, he returned and took everyone's order except mine. When he finally did come to me, he apologized, but then the service remained abysmal. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt because it was busy. But when I was ready to pay, I asked him for my check and a solid 15 minutes went by while he: refilled everyone’s waters but mine, took orders from patrons that had just been sat, and even took the time to take a photo for some ladies at the table. I sat there and watched him give everyone else great service, while deliberately not doing the same for me. I finally had to get up and go to the bar to request my check so I could pay. He claimed someone else was supposed to bring it, despite him personally bringing the check to everyone else at the table that was sat when I was.

The only glaring difference between me and everyone else at the table was that I'm black and American. So, it seems the service level was due to one or both of those things. Either way, the drinks and food did not make up for the service or long wait time, so it's worth avoiding this...

We recently visited Salmon Guru with high expectations, given its excellent reputation and creative drinks — and while the cocktails were indeed very good, unfortunately, the overall experience was disappointing due to the service.

From the moment we arrived, the host seemed overwhelmed and, frankly, quite unfriendly. Despite tables becoming available, he told us he couldn’t give us an estimate or time overview, and when we asked politely for clarification, he became defensive and argumentative. Shortly after, several guests who had already paid did leave, which made the situation feel even more confusing.

Once we were finally seated, the attitude remained cold and rude. We mentioned that a chair was sticky and asked for something to clean it. The waitress responded by tossing dry napkins at us — which weren’t helpful and felt dismissive. Throughout the visit, the service felt more hostile than hospitable, which really took away from the experience.

It’s a shame, because the drinks were genuinely well-crafted and unique, living up to the bar’s reputation. But the atmosphere created by the staff made it hard to enjoy. We hope this was just an off night, but unfortunately, it left a...

We came here as a fairly large group after contacting them in advance to check if this was ok. We were told over email it was but on turning up were told no. Our group was split up which is absolutely fine however the bar staff were extremely hostile towards us. The server was lovely (blonde hair) but as we left the bar staff decided to tell us in Spanish to F off. Which is just rude and uncalled for. Quite unwelcoming for us as a group visiting Madrid for the first time.

In response to the reply- I had no issue with our group to be split up . We were enjoying our time there and made no issue of this. Whether it was email or Instagram does not make a difference to the hostile way you decided to treat us on leaving. I can’t understand what we did , our group is age 30-55 and not exactly a rowdy bunch. I need not lie about what your staff said and we understand enough Spanish to know what they said. We are all professional women who most certainly wouldn’t leave reviews which were not authentic. I suggest for anyone who wants a welcoming place should try other places like circolo popolare or brutal bar. Here they were excellent, knowledgeable...