Restaurante Cigarral Monte Rey — Restaurant in Toledo

I am telling you this now for your own good. Turn back. If you just parked and walked up the stairs, admired the view and looked inside and saw the equivalent of two Chinese bus tours with an average age of 50+, go back into your car, drive off, and treat yourself to something nice.

I was forced into a Chinese tour bus by my mother and this was the reserved spot for lunch on the way to Madrid. Do you remember that one family dinner or event that you were forced to go to where there wasn't even a single ounce of retribution to the time you've spent there? Well, being here brought back hot flashbacks of those memories.

Let's start with the food. The bread was old and dry. Trying to tear it in half was like cracking an old dirty brick. The fact that we had margarine instead of butter did not help. The seafood rice had no flavor outside of some mild saltiness, strangely undersalted. Even the shrimpheads didn't impart their usual umami into the broth of the rice soup. Order this only if you love empty clams and inedible tiny crab parts. The oxtail was overcooked. Feels like the red wine reduction was reduced too much. Very minute sweetness detected. At the very least, the potato crisps were fried well and the meat did slide off the bone fairly easily. Could've used some salt and pepper though. The dessert was some fruit on top of an ice cream/sorbet creation. Not as creamy as ice cream, but not icey enough to be sorbet. It was sweet, even a little too sweet. Not suited for Asian tastes at all, but maybe locals just really enjoy sugar.

The general restaurant could also use a giant fly zapper outside the door. Had flies flying around our table (next to the main entrance) for the entire duration that we were here. They were also a breed of flies that have long learned not to be afraid of humans, swatting them away does nothing. They only fly off if they expect any real incoming impact.

But there must be some good things right? Well, to be fair, the bathroom was clean and the waiters tried their best to handle the floor. I can't say that there wasn't some effort in place, but it doesn't have enough impact to justify the cons.

If you're hoping for some beautiful weekend lunch with a lovely view, well I can't say that you'll find it here. Maybe when tourism season is slow, but the presence of a tour bus should be the first red flag to send you off finding...

Service is absolutely unacceptable with a very rude waiter. Food quality & wine is mediocre at best. We were there with a tour group. All tour groups should boycott this restaurant. And all other customers should avoid this place as well

Below is the reply from the restaurant: it looks like they are blaming the customer instead & are saying the customer is wrong. There are 25 of us & everyone of us are saying that service is BAD & the waiter is rude & food is mediocre...if the restaurant do not accept customer feedback, that's your downfall. 25 of us will post our feedback...wait for it.

Dear Customer First of all, inform you that it cannot be true that your menu had a price of more than €100, it is false. We advise you to inform your agency first and verify what you have contracted with them. We assure you that it does not correspond at all to the service given in this restaurant. We take care of quality and price for our clients. We are also at your disposal if you would like to speak directly with us. 925226950 /...

Pre-booked lunch provided by Julia tours. The travel agent said there was a choice between "touristic" and a "typical" lunch. Unfortunately the agent booked the touristic. This consisted of cold, tasteless minestrone soup (there was another soup I originally chose but it was inedible and I sent it back. ) to their credit they gave me the minestrone instead and tried make amends. The main course appeared to be very well done flank steak and chips or paella. My wife and I chose the paella, which was passable, but uninspired. Dessert was a sorbet with fruit. Again, nothing you couldn't get in a cafeteria. The views were the best part...