St. James Juan Bravo — Restaurant in Madrid

Very disappointed. Surprisingly not novel.

We were recommended this place by a friend that held this restaurant in high regards, saying he had some best paella here. While the service was expedient, the staff were very friendly and accommodating, the food- especially at the price point, was very very disappointing.

We ordered the St. James paella, and were really looking forward to it after being reassured by the waiter that this was the best paella dish in the house. The menu promised lobster, prawns, cuttlefish, and more. We were given crab crackers and tools, which only heightened our expectation that a good deal of fresh seafood was on its way with this paella. What we really received was very normal paella was three overcooked, mushy prawns on a side plate.

While the other two dishes we ordered tasty fairly good, the confit artichokes stuffed with spider crab and the grilled razor clams, the fact that the paella was so substandard was the biggest turn-off for us.

The final straw for us was seeing the bill breakdown at the end of the meal. The St. James paella was €38, and only after seeing the bill did we find out that it was €38 per person’s portion. €76 for a plate each of oily flavored rice and 3 prawns. What were seafood tools for? Looking pretty? In the context of the price, my disappointment for our experience skyrocketed.

I have a hard time coming up with better descriptions of our experience besides the word disappointment, but it truly is the best word for it. The expectation subversion was so extreme that it really brought down our day. For a fine dining restaurant, for the price point, we expected excellent food not just excellent service. Overcooked and mushy prawns should not...

I leave note 1 for the horrible service I had, I am from Brazil and went on a trip to Madrid, I made the reservation at the restaurant which has a very high price due to the good recommendations I had, the food was excellent, however, the service was terrible , I had not yet decided to eat or drink my wine but the attendants, mainly a lady who seemed to be the head of the attendants, hurried us to ask for the bill right away, two or three attendants were left looking at us with crossed arms causing a discomfort and not letting us enjoy the moment and the meal, lastly the lady I mentioned came to the table to ask if we wanted anything more and returned entering the kitchen and shouting "LA CUENTA".

Dejo la nota 1 por el horrible servicio que tuve, soy de Brasil y me fui de viaje a Madrid, hice la reserva en el restaurante que tiene un precio muy alto debido a las buenas recomendaciones que tuve, la comida fue excelente, sin embargo, el servicio fue terrible , Aún no había decidido comer o beber mi vino, pero los asistentes, principalmente una señora que parecía ser la jefa de los asistentes, nos apuraron a pedir la factura de inmediato, dos o tres asistentes se quedaron mirándonos con los brazos cruzados causando molestias. y sin dejarnos disfrutar el momento y la comida, finalmente la señora que mencioné se acercó a la mesa para preguntarnos si queríamos algo más y regresó entrando a la cocina y gritando...

We had one of the worst dining experiences ever. Compared to the Spanish restaurant at El Corte Inglés, where you can enjoy far better taste and quality at 65% less cost, this place was a massive disappointment. The minute-size lobster paella was especially bad—tiny lobsters with barely any meat, mediocre shrimps that tasted fishy and weren’t fresh, and bland, undercooked rice. Even the bread was served cold, and to make matters worse, we were charged €4 for butter when we asked for it.

The ambiance didn’t help either. The low ceiling made the restaurant very noisy, and the bright lighting combined with the lack of background music made for an uncomfortable atmosphere. Additionally, none of the waiters spoke English, making it difficult to communicate, and the service overall was below average. After paying €160 for inedible food and poor service, we left feeling thoroughly disappointed. Even with a steep discount, I wouldn’t return. Absolutely not...