Restaurante Don Miguel — Restaurant in Ronda

AVOID THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!

In short: the staff were rude, the wait times were long, there was no clear layout and the bit of food that we ate was not so great food however we did not stay around to find out how our mains would have tasted like... Need I say more but if you have the time by all means you can read all about my long winded but detailed experience at Restaurante Don Miguel!

Note: This was around 4:45/4:50 and we wanted to see the sunset at around 6pm which is on the other side of the bridge. So we said why don't we get some food here as a lot of places were closing around 5ish and afterwards we can make our way over to see the sunset at 6. I have to say that this was hands down the worst dining experiences that I have ever been in. The service was terrible from the moment we got there and looking back we should have walked away! Red flag no. 1: When we arrived we stood near a stand that had menus on it thinking that one of the many waitresses that passed by would stop and ask if we needed a seat. Red flag no. 2: Eventually a waitress did stop and said that there was space and just simply walked away... From what I could see she walked over to a table to serve them a bill to which I thought "that was a bit weird/rude to just walk away but surely she will bring us to a seat on her way back"... As she walked back she walked passed us again as if we were not her next potential customers! By this time we got the gist that we needed to get a table ourselves to which we did overlooking the Ronda Bridge and noticed better seating on a lower level of the restaurant. We went down and after an appropriate amount of time a waiter came over and informed us that it is only the upper level that food is served. This was totally fine as I am not a Spanish speaker and probably did not seen the signs stating this. (Note: I am giving this restaurant more credit than they deserve by assuming that there are signs notifying their customers that the upper level is for eating and the lower level is for drinks). Red flag no. 3: Eventually we get a table and once again numerous waitresses walk passed. We should have walked away due to being ignored by the many staff walking by. Eventually a waitress brings out menus and some bread. After 10ish minutes the waitress come back and take our order. Red flag no. 4: We decided to order 1 starter and 2 mains. After a relatively appropriate amount of time the starter comes out (Croquettes), we eat it and think its ok, nothing special but nothing bad at the same time. So then the waiting begins... You would expect that your finished plate may remain on the table for 5 or maybe even 10 minutes at max before it is taken away and then the mains would arrive 5 to 10 minutes afterwards. Well, we waited a total of 35 minutes once we were done eating and still no one came to clear the table even as many staff walked passed handing out bills to other tables, seating new customers, taking new orders and in one case serving out food to a new table of four that came in after us... At the end of the 35 minutes of waiting we decided to leave with our uncleared table as the sun was beginning to set... Now I am not the type of person to leave without paying so we went inside of the restaurant and asked for the bill to pay. We tried to just ask for the check based on the starter and our drinks. The waitress who took our order infromed the cashier that we also ordered 2 mains to which they argued that we needed to pay and even though we had been waiting for so long I was willing to pay and just leave... My partner asked if they could just give us our mains in a to go box but I don't think they understood to which I said to my partner "who knows how much longer this could take so lets just go"... In all I paid €49 for a beer, a water and a €10 starter... There was no sight of our 2 mains coming and considering it was 5:50 at this stage I wasn't willing to hang around to find out either...

Just simply avoid...

RUDE, AGGRESSIVE, ANGRY staff. Like everyone else, drawn in by the views. They sat my wife and I, and our 3 children in a very windy and shady area. When I asked if we can move into the sun, as one of the tables in the sun was paying, we were rudely told no and, if you want to take it further, go seek the manager. As I searched out the manager to try to explain my situation as the kids were very cold, 3 other tables were allowed to move to tables exposed to the sun. However, I was told no, and when I objected politely, saying that I seem to be punished for asking whilst others just simply moved, the staff got extremely rude, started pretending they didn't speak English despite speaking with me just moments ago, and the few sympathetic waiters were told to stop speaking to us, as a "bad cop" waiter was sent in to tell us off, saying because we had already ordered, other new parties had priority on sun exposed tables. When we asked for our check, they refused to allow us to leave paying only for drinks, despite the food not having arrived. They began to ignore us, except to fling the food onto the table when we had to stay, almost upending a plate, and refusing to speak to us, as we were held captive in the cold. Upon paying, the few sympathetic waiters sneaked in a few apologies. One of the tables who had moved themselves into the sun also sent over some sympathetic words. The manager and the "bad cop" waiter he sent over sneered in silence. Food was moderately passable. Bathrooms were some of the dirtiest we've ever seen, with a leaking toilet leaving standing water into the dining area. They know you will be lured in by the views, but the aggression and disrespect we received here was the worst we've ever experienced in a dining establishment....

The waiter (who claimed to be the manager, so I would not expect the other waiters to be any more polite) was so rude we left before eating.

We drank from a bottle of water that we brought in with us (we did order other drinks). (Note that Spanish law requires restaurants to provide water from the faucet upon request - this is what we were drinking.) I've found that depending on where you are in the world this is either par for the course or frowned on - and in 9 months in Spain we've never had someone even ask us not to do so.

The manager exploded! No polite request, no simple explanation of restaurant policy - just over-the-top angry shouting with big gestures.

Three separate times (as he continued and continued) I asked him in a calm and courteous manner to just be polite. I was not asking him to change his stance; I was only asking for some normal human decency in the way he was interacting. Each time he LOUDLY indicated where the door was. All this was AFTER we had agreed not to drink anymore from our bottle (we had already put it AWAY as soon as he shouted the first time).

This miserable experience colored our whole trip to Ronda.

Not worth your time unless you enjoy being yelled at.

We went around the corner to Las Maravillas and had a wonderful experience with great food and waiters that restored my faith...