MANDALA RESTAURANTE Y CAFETERÍA — Restaurant in Salamanca

I went to the restaurant after reading some recommendations here on Google Maps, however my experience was one of the worst I could have had. First, they told me that the place only served lunch after 1 pm. I arrived with 2 other people around 12:30 pm and they offered us a table in the café area with the promise that we would be moved to another more appropriate area for lunch, which was fully occupied at that time. At 1 pm they said that we would stay at the small table because the other area was still occupied. So far, so good. We received the menu and, after looking at the options, we decided to order 2 menus of the day, each for almost €20. We weren't that hungry and 4 dishes (2 from each menu), plus bread, drink and dessert would have been more than enough for us. We were surprised when the employee came to set up our table with 2 placemats and 2 pieces of cutlery, there were 3 of us! I asked her if she could provide another piece of cutlery so we could share the dishes and she said NO!! The place settings and cutlery were provided according to the quantity ordered on the menu. I have never experienced anything like this in any country I have visited. Luckily, one of the dishes came with a spoon and I started eating with it. To top it off, my daughter asked if they could kindly put her cell phone on charge while we were eating, to which the waitress agreed with an ok. Imagine our surprise when, after paying the bill, she returned the cell phone exactly as it was given to her without any...

Went with friends and enjoyed the tapas/pinchos. The bill had pinchos, but the waitress said tapas. Such is the case in Salamanca. Compared to most places I've been in Salamanca, the tapas (1.10€ with a drink, 1.40€ without) selection is actually nice with a mix of typical tapas food and more creative selections like the vegetarian sandwhich (avocado, veggies, cheese on dark multigrain bread with seeds). They have a good selection of drinks (imported and domestic beers, teas, infusions, and lots of different coffee and chocolate options). Drinks run from 1.80€ (tap beer) to around 3€ for specialty drinks. My friends really enjoyed the hot chocolate with orange cinnamon. It's not the cheapest place in town, but it is popular with university and young professional crowd. Service was good. Place was clean. Music was decent. Bathroom didn't smell, but had a lot of TP on the floor. Near the historical sites in...

Un buen sitio para comer como si estuvieras en tu casa. El ambiente es agradable y el trato del servicio es muy bueno. En lo que a primeros respecta recomiendo tanto la ensaladilla de pulpo como la pasta boloñesa. Un día probé la sopa de marisco y estaba muy rica; el único pero que le pongo es que estaban las cáscaras del marisco troceadas en la sopa para darle sabor, así que había que comerla con cuidado de no tragártelas. Otro día probé los garbanzos (caldosos) con langostinos y boletus y me gustaron mucho. Los pimientos rellenos están tambien bien, aunque les sobran los frutos secos y algunos días la salsa de Pedro Ximenez queda algo dulce de más. Aunque la pasta no sea la de un sitio especializado, la cargan bien de carne y no creo que ningún niño le ponga pegas. Tanto la ensaladilla de pulpo como los pimientos rellenos son propuestas curiosas que, si bien quizás no alcancen la perfección, consiguen sorprender. De segundo el hojaldre de pollo está también bien (aunque aviso que es más bien una empanada de pollo y verduras), pero recomiendo principalmente las carrilleras (están riquísimas). Sobre los postres del menú debo decir que no me han emocionado. Tanto el hojaldre como el tiramisú y la tarta de oreo están bien pero no consiguen destacar.

Conclusión: aunque no sea el menú más barato de Salamanca, la relación calidad-precio es buena y es una de mis principales opciones al pensar donde ir a comer como en casa (sin demasiada elegancia). El sitio es agradable y se come muy bien, aunque en mi experiencia no merece la pena pedir los...