Restaurante Azahar — Restaurant in Ronda

A MEMORABLE EVENING FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS I searched long and hard for a restaurant in Ronda to take my father to for his 80th birthday. The reason I chose Azahar was because the reviews were good and the restaurant had taken the time to respond to the reviews. When I made contact to ask if they could accommodate our reservation and make the evening a little bit special for us, I had a very positive response from Maria Garcia who obviously does the marketing. It is just a shame she doesn't meet and greet and serve the food as well. She certainly did over promise and they certainly did under deliver. This was the promise: "This is a wonderful table by he window with views. If you prefer, first, have your favorite drink on the terrace or having a walk around our gardens, your table will be waiting for you if you decide this plan before your dinner.".

When we arrived, there was no special table, no one was aware it was a special birthday meal, we had to wait for our drinks and our menus, the waiter that served the (expensive) champagne, spilled it on the table cloth each time he poured it and then there was the food..

We ordered a sharing platter of croquettes for two and there were three of each type (9 in total) - surely it wouldn't be difficult to serve two or four of each croquette? Not a big issue just not logical. The fried fish came with four different types but no explanation of what was what. The waitress or woman in charge of the restaurant, who was getting grumpier by the minute, took down the wrong order and one meal had to be replaced however, the biggest issue was with my father's meal - he ordered steak and wanted it cooked medium to well done. He was told it came with a lump on Himalayan pink salt so that the steak could be cooked as much or as little as he wanted. Unfortunately it was windy and the candle keeping the stone warm went out - by this time the vegetables were cold. We gave up and asked for the steak to be cooked in the kitchen - medium to well done. When it came out, it was still showing blood. The waitress said that in Spain they like their steaks rare and that was why. We sent it back to the kitchen again and unbelievably, it was still pink (as per the photo) when it was returned. I actually took the waitress to one side and said how disappointed we were with all the problems there had been especially as it was a birthday celebration. That obviously went in one ear and out of the other as nothing improved. We didn't stay for dessert and asked for the bill. When she handed me the bill, she said Happy Birthday to my father - a totally insincere gesture. We weren't offered a drink on the house, a bowl of ice cream with a candle in, a discount of the steak which was not eaten or even an apology - after all the effort I put in to make it special, I was so miserable that it had been a complete disaster and would urge Maria Garcia to liaise with the restaurant when...

We reserved and we were greeted on time. We were one of the first to be seated for the evening meal. All was well until we placed our drink order, one wine had to be asked for again, one water never arrived. Then we ordered the main course and were told it would be 20-30 minutes so we should order an appetizer, which we did. Cheese and cold meat which arrived about 15 minutes later. The main course did arrive about 40 minutes. The Ox tail was well received, the salad was ok the pork and steak were okay (gamey flavor). We seldom were checked in with, while some tables were overlooked and some were well served. Overall the food was not memorable, the location is stunning at sunset, the service is very disorganized for a top tier restaurant. Everyone was friendly and there seemed to be plenty of staff. At the end we were asked about our meal and then realized we had not received one of the desserts. At that point we just wanted to leave to get a bottle of water and rehydrate from the overly salty meal. Get a drink and sit...

Overall, Azahar is a decent restaurant.

We tried an array of different dishes, and all ingredients were absolutely fresh and the dishes themselves were reasonably tasty, albeit quite simple. Not quite at a level of Michelin establishments, but still good.

Service is okay: the staff is courteous, but we would have preferred a little more guidance on the wine rather than just “we have sweet or sour wines”. It is definitely on the pricey side, and I am not sure whether the pricing reflects the overall quality and the experience. Yes, the view is nice, but given the simplicity of the menu and compared to other restaurants in the area, it does seem a bit overpriced.

Also, when sitting outside on the terrace, be prepared to be surrounded by wasps. The staff tries to deal with the problem by lighting some smoke candles, but this makes your clothes smell of bonfire. We recommend staying inside to avoid both the wasps...