Bistro Mediterranean Tapas Bar — Restaurant in East Haven

Customer service alert!!! I have been going here somewhat regularly and although the food and drinks are good, there have been a lot of customer service failures. Other than the arrogant and dismissive waiters, the most important customer service failure is, the discrepancy on the bills/checks. Ironically, every time I go here, the bill comes in way higher than what I except and mathematically. I always expect that I/we should be paying less than what my check indicates. Therefore, when you are a customer at this establishment, YOU MUST READ AND LOOKOVER YOUR CHECK/BILL, before handing over your card or cash!!!. It wasn't until recently that I realized why my bill was ALWAYS higher than expected and again, it has happened to me more than ONCE! It has also happened to more 1 person in my group/party ... when using separate checks!?!? When I finally decided to pay better attention to my bill, I realized that there was an extra drink on my tab AND ANOTHER UNKNOWN CHARGE??? This also happened to other people that night at the same table. CHECK YOUR TAB BEFORE YOU PAY! Further, when questioning these most recent tabs, the staff was SO rude and arrogant. They refused to accept our explanation(s) regarding the order/tab as wrong...almost to the point of making us feel "guilty" for questioning it. So, unless we walked out and refused to pay, which would be a crime, we were basically forced to pay a tab that was "padded." I know and sadly understand that bars and restaurants are struggling as a result of COVID-19 but rather than "pad" the check...Raise the prices on your menu...then the customer clearly knows what to expect...they can even choose not to go there. BUT DON'T humiliate loyal clientele with a bad check and then insult them by convincing them they ate or drank more than they did....

I have been to this restaurant multiple times and have finally decided to write a review.

The food is outstanding (I am getting very close to sampling the entire menu).

The atmosphere is a truly incredible mix of fine dining without being pretentious.

Every person who works there is friendly and upbeat.

I never feel rushed at this restaurant. I never feel taken advantage of at this restaurant. I always feel like I get my moneys worth at this restaurant.

There is an adorable outside seating area against Main Street that is out of view from the road (behind a moderate height brick wall). The bar is welcoming and the main dining area is luxurious as well.

I cannot say enough vibrant things about this place. Give it a shot. This is truly a gem in East Haven.

(Also, get the ham and cheese croquettes. In all honesty I get at least 2 orders of them each...

The Good: Restaurant is clean and presentable. Nice selection of “Spanish” dishes.

The Bad: Calamares a la plancha looked good but was awful. The squid was like rubber and the dish lacked flavor. Had to send it back. Gambas al Ajillo is not traditional and nothing like what you get in Spain. Why not just prepare it the way it’s supposed to be prepared. (Olive oil, garlic, paprika, salt, shrimp). Simple! Seafood Paella was ok but dish was over cooked. (So much so that the muscles were crunchy on the inside). Looked like it sat under a heat lamp for too long. Service - we hardly saw our server. Restaurant has two tables occupied and our server was nowhere to be found. Food took a very long time to be delivered despite the fact that the restaurant was empty.

Overall, sorry but I would not recommend this restaurant. Disappointing given...