Restaurante El Giraldillo — Restaurant in Seville

My wife and I came here for lunch a few minutes before 2 pm on December 15. There were tables outside, but we preferred to seat inside. The waiter took us towards the back of the restaurant. We ordered 1 bottle of water, and 1 cup of manzanilla wine. For food we ordered 1 racion of croquetas de rabo de toro, 1 ensalada mixta, 2 portions of adobitos sevillanos, 1 tapa of aceitunas sevillanas, 2 pan con aceite oliva. We ordered 1 more bottle of water and a second cup of Manzanilla wine later during the meal. The 2nd water was brought about 10 minutes later, but the manzanilla wine was not. Our waiter was somewhat helping us and another Spanish couple that arrived about 15 minutes after us. They were sitting at a table next to us. There was another waiter, a younger Spaniard, but he was exclusively helping the 4 tables with customers that were outside. The guest at the table next to us complained about his having been handed the menu and the waiter not having returned to take his order. Meanwhile I had to get the attention of our waiter because it had been about 20 minutes and the wine had not arrived. Getting his attention was not easy because he spent most of his time outside the restaurant. He asked me, "THEY have not brought you the cup of wine?". I responded, "No, YOU have not brought me the cup of wine because you are the only one tending to us!" I told him not to bother bringing it because by then I had finished my meal. The check showed the additional cup of wine, but it was backed out of the total. This waiter must have been new or lost, and he was definitely not a Spaniard. During our meal we saw, what were probably the owners (a man and a woman) of the restaurant passing by our table once. They later sat at a table inside but at the front of the restaurant. I suppose that they were busy counting the money or reviewing the sales for the previous day because they did not pay attention to the fact that our waiter hardly came inside towards the back where he sat us and the other couple. The total meal for both amounted to 72 euros. In summary, the service was terrible and the food just ok! We visit Sevilla every now and then, but we will not be back in this...

We regret having dined yesterday (Christmas Eve) at El Giraldillo. My wife and I booked and paid in advance and had high expectations for our dinner, the biggest in our long awaited holiday; not only because the restaurant has so many good reviews online but also due to the high price of the dinner (80 euros per person). It was a set menu night including 1 cold starter, 1 crab bisqué (soup), 1 sorbet, 1 beef (main), and 1 dessert. The water, sodas, wine, and cava were included in the price.

The starters were fancy-looking, but the cold one was too weird and didn't taste much; the potatoes with pork were good but cold and too small. The soup was super salty and I have never ate pieces of shells in my life before (it seems that the shellfish was blended altogether - but what do I know?). The sorbet was good to clean the palate but not really my thing. The beef was really well cooked, with all the juices inside and we'll seasoned, great quality meat, but that was the only good side of the food. Even the side (a pumpkin tart) was also too salty. The desert was ok, but not something that I would order for myself in an a la carte menu.

Of the drinks offered, I had the cava and the red wine. Both of them were good, but the wine was only a conversation wine, with no body and no presence to keep up with the main course. I ordered another wine with more body but the second was almost the same as the first (I didn't get to choose), unfortunately.

The second good point (other than the meat) was the staff. Super friendly and ready to assist.

Then again, for 80 euros/person I expected nothing but the best. Especially with the restricted choices of wine they had. I know Christmas is more expensive (in all aspects of maintaining a restaurant open) and having a drinks included menu should be more onerous... but even then unjustifiable in my opinion. Therefore, unless they are totally different on a day to day basis, I wouldn't recommend dining here.

My suggestions to next Christmas (for the restaurant) would be to stick to tradition and offer an pairing drinks menu. I am sure it would be more appreciated than...

Terrible service and not good food. Unfortunately we chose to eat here after a fantastic trip to La Giralda. It looked like the least bush restaurant on the street and we have a small baby so thought it would be best to choose somewhere less busy.

This was a mistake. Despite being pretty much empty, the service was extremely slow. The waiter was impatient and seemed to be rushing around. He spilled drink on my camera. He served us the wrong started (which if you have allergies could be even worse). It took over an hour for our food to arrive which I found surprising as they did not seem busy. The table next to us ordered paella and it arrived at the same time as ours (which on the menu asks to allow extra wait time) despite then arriving after us.

The food was average. I ordered pasta which was over cooked and tasteless. Virtually all of the food was cold when it arrived but I was so hungry by this point I didn’t sent it back. My baby was so overtired he refused to eat and pasta is usually his favourite.

When I shared my concerns with the waiter, he was very rude and told me I was wrong. He made no effort to improve our experience, when I asked to speak to the manager he did nothing. Eventually after waiting around for the bill, I asked to pay immediately so we could leave. He did not make any compensations or allow me to speak to the manager.

Awful experience, would not recommend to any families especially those with...