Restaurante Apicius — Restaurant in Valencia

Update:”Your reply only reinforces the concerns raised in my original review.

Referring to a vague clause in the late same day of the reservation email stating that the restaurant “reserves the right to request a deposit” is not a substitute for informing the customer clearly and explicitly BEFORE the reservation is confirmed. As per Spain’s General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users (RD 1/2007), any charge or condition that affects the consumer must be disclosed in advance and require explicit consent. This was not the case. Learn basic consumer laws, and add the information to your website appropriately so this doesn’t happens again. It’s not that difficult.

The fact that you contacted us via WhatsApp from an unverified number, outside of business hours, and again at 8:00 AM on a Sunday, is highly unprofessional. We were simply responding to the only method you proposed at the time.

Saying you “accepted us without a deposit because you didn’t want to ruin our Mother’s Day” does not change the fact that the approach was flawed and procedurally questionable. While we acknowledge the kind gesture, it does not negate the irregularities in the booking process.

As for your claim that our food review was intended to damage your reputation — we respectfully disagree. We paid for a special Mother’s Day tasting menu, and felt the quality did not match its price point. Our assessment was honest and specific. Enjoyment of food is subjective, and a negative opinion does not equate to malice. Also we have never state a bad treatment from you, but highlight the great one from the waitress, sorry your conscience weights on you.

Finally, suggesting “just choose another restaurant” if they disagree with your terms assumes they were fully informed of those terms which, was not the case.

We wish you well in your business, but we stand by our review as a truthful and accurate account of our experience.”

From the beginning we made a reservation for 3 people at this restaurant for mother’s day and, after receiving the confirmation by email, we were contacted via WhatsApp from an unknown number asking for a €25 deposit per person via Bizum to “secure the table.” At no point during the reservation process(neither on the website nor in the confirmation email) was this charge mentioned, nor were any terms clarified (whether it would be deducted, refundable, or forfeited upon cancellation).

Most concerningly, the contact came through an informal channel, with no official identification, and outside business hours. In fact, the person, who later identified herself as a co-owner, messaged again at 8:00 AM on a Sunday an entirely inappropriate time for such communication. This reinforced the lack of professionalism and basic protocol.

When we expressed our surprise and pointed out that we had confirmed through official channels with no mention of a deposit, she replied with an email stating they “reserve the right to request one.” However, such a vague clause does not justify the absence of clear, prior, and binding information during the booking process, as required by Spain’s General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users (Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007). Under this law, any extra charge must be clearly disclosed before the contract is made, and requires the consumer’s explicit consent.

Despite all this, we showed up to our reservation without paying the deposit, also not everyone has Bizum, and no alternative was offered.

As for the food: the menu linked to mother’s day was overpriced, flat, under-portioned, bland, and poorly executed. Perhaps the other tasting menus are stronger, which could explain the high rating and the michelin star.

The service from the waitress not the coowner was polite and attentive. But we won’t be returning.

This experience was riddled with unclear practices and lacked the minimum transparency and customer protection one should expect. A serious warning for anyone who values professionalism, fair treatment, and legality when booking...

Disappointing food and terrible value. The food served bears absolutely no relation to the photographs/descriptions and everything seems designed for the convenience of the staff rather than giving the guests a good experience.

We had booked well in advance for New Year’s day, but a few days before we were sent a message saying they wanted payment (via bank transfer only!) and sending a special six course set menu. It was difficult to change at that point so we stuck with it. On arrival, the menu placed on the table was very different and the six courses were in fact four if you exclude a minute amuse-bouche that looked like something laid on the pavement by a very small dog (apparently ‘chilindrón) and a cubic centimetre of turrón at the end, both of which were very poor.

The ‘chilindrón’ had obviously been made well in advance and taken out of the fridge shortly before service, killing the texture and flavour. The next course - ‘cappuccino of pumpkin with mushrooms and citrus fruit’ was missing the mushrooms and while the ‘cappuccino’ was actually very good it had been poured over icy cold thickish slices of orange which chilled the whole dish and rather ruined the foam. Next was artichokes, prawn, truffle and almonds which had a dribble of lukewarm foam over raw prawns and some dried up Chinese truffle so again a poorly conceived dish, badly executed. Course three was a roasted onion covered with the thinnest imaginable slice of ‘sobrasada’ a majorcan sausage (the same as in the chilindrón) with anchovy although the last ingredient was missing. The ‘main’ course was ‘arroz pescador’ that was OK, but nothing special and was extremely light on fish. The pudding was pumpkin again - a roasted slice thereof - but unfortunately it was not quite cooked and rather fibrous although the sorbet, parfait and soil served with it were the highlights of the whole menu.

This was supposed to be a ‘festive’ menu yet it was incredibly mean-spirited - every restaurant we went to in the area, even the most humble places brought snacks of some sort with drinks; here nothing. Also, every set menu at better places in Spain offers extras to showcase the chef’s skills; at Apicius nothing. The whole menu was very badly conceived and done on the cheap with two of four courses having duplicated main ingredients, onions being super cheap, as is of course rice. It was a very poor overall experience (including bad service with the two waitresses being insufficient to serve everyone) and one just felt like one had been ripped off. We did comment to the head waitress who replied:- “that’s your opinion and it doesn’t interest me, so I won’t comment”. The chef shrugged his shoulders and smiled. Well, that was a first in the ‘hospitality' industry for us; quite incredible! Fortunately there are plenty of good restaurants in Valencia, even if this isn’t...

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