Federal — Restaurant in Sitges

Our post-wedding breakfast was cancelled the night before.

We needed a location for a family breakfast the morning after our wedding for 20 people We asked if we could make a booking since we would be a larger group and wanted to sit together.

After many follow ups by phone, the manager finally returned our call to say they could only offer us two tables of 10 and a set menu (note this restaurant is large and probably can accommodate well over 100). With so much to do, we decided to go with this even though the set menu seemed extremely overpriced: a hot and cold beverage and a choice of small dish (think avacado on toast) for 29 euros per person. He also asked if possible if we could say what our choices would be beforehand. This wasn't possible for us since we already had so much to coordinate.

The day of our wedding we ended up going there to eat and were confused to see that the prices on the normal menu only came to around 20 euros so we wrote to the manager and asked if we were missing something or there was a reason he'd quoted a 30% premium on their normal prices. He responded that the extra cost was to let us sit together (so a 200 euro surcharge on top of what would be a 400 euro bill). This was around 6pm on the day of our wedding and he also now said we HAD to give all our orders at the latest the next morning. However we were already at our wedding and didn’t see that email, nor the email at 8pm telling us that he was cancelling our booking since we didn't send our orders through to him. . We saw all this at 8:30am the day after our wedding and had to scramble to find a last minute option for our family breakfast at 11am.

Luckily we found Café Montroig who could give us a table all together at short notice and the bill for all of us was only 200 euros and we all ate very well.

The owners of Federal are clearly without any honour and should hang their heads in shame.

Also, not for nothing, the food we ate there the day earlier was pretty basic and the coffee was extremely sour......

Having found them online looking for breakfast in Sitges I had a fabulous brunch at what I discovered is a very popular cafe. It was super busy when I arrived but I was lucky enough to find the last table inside. A QR code on the table leads you to the menu online or if you want a physical menu then they are at the free water station opposite the barista. A had a little wait to get my order taken but I settled down with a glass of the free water and the waitress came soon enough. With it being so busy the staff were working flat out, and hey you're on holiday so what's the rush? The waitress was so friendly, and took my order advising there was approx. a 25 min wait for food. My iced latte arrived after approx. 5 mins and I enjoyed reading the news before my food arrived. It's no big deal to have to wait when you see somewhere so busy, enjoy your holiday and relax. The wait was so worth it when my brunch arrived. Highly recommend the advocado toast and there are various add-ons to make it your own. I had poached eggs and halloumi, the perfect choice for me. When you are done you just pay at the counter and away you go. Having seen other reviews I always think it's unfair when you see a place is busy, and the staff are constantly on the go, that you can't tolerate a bit of a wait. Sure there is some great tech out there that would make this cafe be more efficient, like ordering by app or online from the table, which we have a lot now in the UK thanks to innovation during the pandemic. But just enjoy the company you are with (or the news in my case) and your order will arrive for you to enjoy. If a place is busy, you can always ask what the wait time is if it's not offered. My waitress did exactly the right thing upfront which set my expectations and gave me the choice to stay or go. Thanks for a great experience Federal, I'll be...

I was surprised to see this place sitting at just 3.8 stars. The Federal Café in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter is one of my go-to spots, always a reliable mix of great food, good coffee and a relaxed atmosphere. So I came to the Sitges location curious to see if the rating reflected something genuine or if it was just a few off experiences.

From what I saw, it deserves a much higher score. The menu is more extensive than I remember, with plenty of brunch staples, healthy plates and a few indulgent options as well. I had a flat white which was absolutely perfect, rich and smooth with exactly the right balance. The food was just as good, with generous portions, fair pricing and clearly high quality ingredients.

The service was quick, friendly and relaxed without ever feeling inattentive. One thing I have always appreciated about Federal is that you do not need to flag down a server to pay. You simply head to the till when you are finished. It makes the whole experience feel easy and unhurried.

The layout of the café is great too. You can sit in a relaxed lounge chair, at a proper dining table, out on the terrace or even at a designated work table if you have a laptop in tow. There is plenty of space and you can choose the vibe that suits your visit.

Overall, I was really impressed. I am not sure what went wrong for others, but if this was a typical visit, then the Sitges branch deserves far more credit than it is currently getting. I would...