El Pirata Of Mayfair - Tapas Bar Español — Restaurant in London

No idea why this place gets good reviews. The food is poor quality and flavourless. I started with a Cosmopolitan cocktail which took 15 mins to arrive to my seat at the bar. But it was good.

I noted the tasting menu had chicken included. I am a bit fussy about the chicken I eat. Free range or forget it. Organic as well if possible. It took about 10 minutes to find out if the chicken was free range or not. I got the feeling I was bothering the staff with the request for this information. The reply came back from the impatient head waiter, that the chicken was 'normal' chicken. When I tried to get some clarification on this, I was assured it was 'free range'. We went ahead and chose the tasting menu. (min 2 persons at £25 each.)

The cold hams and chorizo arrived first. I left the pork to my companion to eat. I ordered an additional Tricolore salad. The tomatoes tasted of nothing and the mozzerella cheese was basic and a bit tough. The advocado was not ripe and rather 'al dente'.

The mix of seafood that came with the initial salad was unappealing visually and put me off even trying it.

The calamari and monk fish medallions were wrapped in a soggy tempura/batter. The fish tasted bitter and we thought it might not be fresh, so we left it.

The beef medallions were tough and tasted like cheap cuts. They were covered in a sort of gravy / source that congealed as it cooled. Severely disappointing.

The lamb cutlets were ok apart from having the thick ligament still attached. I skipped the spicy chicken.

In all, our waitress was not polite or impolite. Sort of robotic. The head waiter was a bit stressed. When we declined deserts, we asked for the bill. After 15 or so minutes it did not arrive, so we started up the stairs (we were sat downstairs in a booth) with the intention of paying upstairs. We were met half way up the stairs by a waiter as he was decending. I asked if we could pay. He literally ordered us back to our table to wait for the bill. We had to be a bit insistant to over rule his repeated request to go back down to our tables to wait. We just went up stairs and he was not happy that we disobeyed him. We waited at the bar to pay. The bill and card machine came and, I paid and thanked him. I received no verbal response or politeness at all.

Disappointing food. Disappointing service. In fact, probably the worst Tapas I have ever experienced. The whole experienced reminded me of eating in a run down 1970's Chinese restaurant.

I don't want to sound snobby, but I suspect the good reviews on here are mainly written by people that eat at the lower end of quality restaurants. (students, and people concerned with saving a pound or two) I see no other reason for such positive reviews. The food is really disappointing and not up to todays standards and expectations. The service was barely acceptable. Change the chef and change the head wait staff, then I will visit again.

My advice: Stay clear, unless you want to enjoy...

My husband and I dined here with our one year old daughter during our stay in London. We booked in advance advising that we would be dining with a one year old and that we woul appreciate a table with room for a high chair. When we arrived we were advised that the restaurant did not provide high chairs. This was our first grievance as we would have appreciated a phone call in advance to advise us of this (they had our contact details from the reservation). We however accepted this for what it was and felt between us, we could manage.

After ordering, our first plates came out quickly and most were okay (I wouldn't go as far as to say the best like their website claims) the calamari however, one of the most classic things to find on a tapas menu, was very overcooked, with a rubbery texture. We fed this back to the staff who offered to replace the dish with more calamari but they suggested it would be the same quality, we did not want this and so as a gesture of goodwill, they advised that they would not change us for this.

At the end of the meal I used the restaurant facilities which were dated and grubby. There was a brown slime developing on the soap dispenser as an example. I looked out for some changing facilities as my daughter needed a fresh nappy and a clothes change as she had spilled some water on herself during the meal. I asked the staff who advised that they did not have any. I asked what was I supposed to do? I couldn't take my daughter in to the street in wet clothes in 3 degree temperatures also with a soiled nappy?! The staff shrugged, offering no support or provisions at all other than to suggest we use the toilet floor. Now, they may be happy to roll around half naked on a cold, dirty, urine soaked floor but I refused to put my daughter in such a disgusting position. We left the facility after payment and found a local coffee shop in which to change her instead, but I was left feeling disgusted by the service, food, lack of provisions and cleanliness of the facilities. I would not recommend this restaurant to anybody, wether you have children dining...

Disappointing Experience with Discrimination and Poor Service

I had an incredibly disappointing experience at this restaurant. My friend and I were seated at an outdoor table, ready to enjoy our meal. While I was in the restroom, my friend was quietly on a phone call when a couple (Two men) seated behind us rudely complained that she was disturbing their "enjoyment." Despite her politeness, they continued to be inconsiderate.

When our food arrived, this couple finished their meal and, being familiar with the manager, received special attention. One of them, dressed in a pink shirt and bald, confronted us accusingly, claiming we were selfishly taking photos and disrupting their time. We were only taking pictures of ourselves, enjoying our moment, and certainly not of them. Their outburst was clearly discriminatory and seemed targeted at us, two women of a different ethnicity, especially when others around were also talking and making noise without any issue from them.

Additionally, the restaurant’s location next to the street meant that a garbage truck and a street sweeper passed by multiple times, spreading foul odors and dust onto our food. Despite this, the restaurant staff, including the manager, did nothing to address the situation when we complained. We were eventually moved indoors where a loud party was going on, further ruining our dining experience as party-goers continuously bumped into our chairs and shouted loudly. Again, the restaurant staff did nothing to manage the noise or ensure a pleasant dining atmosphere.

To top it all off, when we voiced our concerns to the staff, they failed to offer even a basic apology. The service was incredibly poor, and the discriminatory behavior we experienced was unacceptable. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a respectful and enjoyable...