La Tapería — Restaurant in Valencia

I would have given this restaurant 0 stars if it was possible.

My husband and I stopped here for lunch this afternoon. The place was busy but there were empty tables and seemingly plenty of staff. We waited more than 20 minutes for someone to ask us for even a drink order, so by then we knew our food choices too. I ordered the menu del día, my husband got a burger, requesting no mayonnaise (which the server repeated to be sure). The drinks arrived about 10 minutes later. My starter was a simple spinach side salad (no meat, just spinach, goat cheese, tomatoes, and pesto dressing). I waited about 30 minutes from the time of placing the order to getting the salad. By now, most of the diners around us who had come in and ordered after us, had gotten their food. After another 10 minutes, my husband’s burger arrived - covered in mayo! The server noticed and asked him if that was OK. He politely said, “No, I want it as I ordered it, without mayo.” The burger came back quickly minus the mayo. Another 10 minutes passed and I still had no main dish. I asked another server to see where my order was. He said he would, then completely ignored me, while serving other customers all around us. When my husband finished his meal and I still had none, I went to the hostess and told her we would like to leave, but we would pay for our drinks and my husband’s meal. As she turned to go tell the manager, my meal arrived. I told them to take it away, I was not going to pay for it. We were offered a “1/2 menu” price for my meal, taking only €4.10 off my €18 meal. I did not get my meal or the dessert. Then the manager came out and said she would just charge me for a meal sized salad. The meal size of the salad I ordered was €10.50, but she charged me for a chicken Caesar salad, at €11.90. What a scam! I have never had such bad service AND such poor customer service by a manager. I understand time moves slower in Spain, but to wait an hour and 10 minutes for my meal when my husband was finished with his is totally unacceptable. Do yourself a favor and go to any of the other wonderful restaurants...

La Tepería scores high on vibes, but low on pretty much everything else. The location is a winner—right on the beach boulevard with that sunny, salty-air, “life’s good” feel. It’s the kind of spot that makes you want to sit down and order something cold.

Unfortunately, the staff didn’t get the memo. Service ranges from uninterested to “actively pretending you don’t exist.” You’ll spot a group of them in the corner, deep in some world-class chitchat while customers do the polite “excuse me” dance in vain. Pro tip: if you want a drink, just walk up to the bar—you’ll get served faster and with slightly less emotional damage.

As for the food… let’s just say it tastes like it had a long, frosty journey from the freezer before meeting the microwave. Bland, forgettable, and definitely not what you'd expect from a beachside Spanish spot. If you’re here for tapas, your taste buds might feel a little betrayed.

In short: nice place to sit if you only want a drink and a view. Maybe stop by for a beer, but don’t expect smiles or good food. This is more beachside scenery than actual...

The best spot for lunch on the beach! In my opinion, this was hands down the best place to eat lunch by the beach. We spent a week trying out almost every restaurant in the area, and this is the only one we went back to — I just wish we had discovered it earlier! For just €20, you get a full menu that leaves you more than satisfied — and the food is absolutely delicious. Each menu includes a starter, a main dish, bread, and either a dessert or coffee. I kept forgetting to take photos because I was always too hungry when the food arrived! But I did manage to snap a picture of one of the desserts — they may not be huge in size, but they’re really tasty. The staff are super friendly and easygoing, which makes the whole experience even better. Definitely recommend it with...