"Wow, what an absolutely sub par lunch at La Cosmo today
I had a 1:30 reservation(my first mistake?), staff was scrambling to get the joint open on time, had to wait about 5-10 minutes to get in.
Took ages just to get a beer, took even longer to place my order. The service was a shit show. One line cook was popping food from finished plates into his mouth, in an open kitchen I worked the line for 30+ years, in some open kitchens and that is a definite no no.
I started with the Gilda- tuna/roasted tomato/pepper/anchovy. Tasty âŹ7
Then the Ensalada Merluza- just another Russian salad with some almost negligible fish- bottom of the list for salad russa that Iâve had so far. Ordered a half portion, but I guess they brought me the full portion âŹ14
Then the boneless chicken wings, which I also ordered a half portion of, that sat on the counter under the blaring A/C for some time. When it was finally brought to me I told them that Iâd ordered the half portion, instead of frying up a fresh batch, they just re-plated it in front of me. They were barely warm and no better then what I can get from my supermarkets frozen food section
And they had the ballz to charge me âŹ1.80 for a measly crust of bread that they were supposed to replenish endlessly
Skipped dessert cause I just wanted to get tf outta there. âŹ40 for a dismal lunch
Not sure if it was bad timing or what, but thereâs no excuse for a place of this âcaliber â
2/10 would def not recommend YMMV and thanks for listening to my rant "
I just copied and pasted from my original trip report from last year(September). Every restaurant can have a bad day, but I expected more from a Michelin recommended establishment and a Michelin starred chef. Again YMMV.
Okay, thanks for sharing. I will be sure to report back. As it stands the weather forecast for Malaga is truly shocking so we may be staying put in our hotel
So
A midway point report.
Seville was disappointing in the main.
We started with Casa Robles at 5.30 on 1 January. We were the first people in the dining room as you would expect. We were then followed by various other English couples as you would also expect. The problem was the food. In particular my partnerâs fish was cold. It took a few bites but when she got to the middle it was not up to temperature so we told them, they took it away and guess whatâŚbrought the same piece back ! Oh dear. They had also absolutely blasted it so it ( hake ) had lost its texture. They gave us some sautĂŠed vegetables ( cost 7 euro ) as an apology as against the hake ( cost 25 euros ). Was left with the distinct feeling we would not have been treated this way if we were not Spanish.
Night two Desacato. Nice modern room. Again given a crap table - right by the service area and the path to the toilet. Again seated next to English speakers. Hmmmm.
What we had was well cooked, if unmemorable. Odd service though in that of six snacks two were unavailable and the same of the six starters. That left us without a starter we fancied and they very clearly wanted us to go snack- starter- main. To the extent that they asked us twice did we not want a starter.
We said we didnât and then had the joy of seeing the two North Americans sat next to us get an amuse bouche which we were not given. Albeit theirs were delivered as follows - snacks arrive, then bread, then the complimentary snack. We got bread then our snacks but no complimentary. Why ? Because we didnât order a starter ? Well, best not to have a third of what you offer unavailable then !
Snacks were best thing we ate. Kind of an eel lollipop/ skewer for me and a prawn tartlet over the way. Eel was smoky and punchy and the tart was crisp light and delicious. For mains we had fish ( canât specify as our server couldnât name it in English and our Spanish is shamefully poor) and I had entrecĂ´te as didnât fancy anything else. The beef wasnât the best - quite fatty. Fish was fine if lacking in any real verve or interest. Sides were green beans with garlic and some chips. Both passable but, yâknow, green beans and chips. On the fish they had four things in their online menu - none of them were available they told us. At this point I ask myself - is this just a bad day in the kitchen ? A quiet time early in the new year ? But the place was pretty busy so why would that be the case ?
I also question their claims of innovation when offering green beans and chips as sidesâŚ.
And am left wondering if the â Brexitâ effect or just plain being English is coming into play here. Sit them at the back, and who cares what they get food or service wise ⌠But in a Michelin listed place? Really? Maybe I needed to wear my Scouse not English T-shirt
Anyway, we wouldnât go back.
Our Seville fails were capped off when we tried to get into Cervecaria Salmedina for a quick bite and couldnât get in without a reservation- absolutely gutted
Ironically best/ friendliest place we ate was a quick beer and a couple of tapas in Maestro Marcelino just off one of the main squares. Basic, but friendly.
So, farewell Seville. We may be back - but not for the food scene!
Iâm so sorry to hear your dining experiences were so suboptimal in Sevilla. @Harters seems to have dined out regularly in Spain since Brexit (Tenerife IIRC) and not had experiences like yours. Perhaps he might weigh in on whether thereâs a âBrexit effectâ. I do think speaking the local language helps a lot when dining out.
Making an effort to speak the local language, even if really badly, goes a long way. You can practice a few common dining phrases in advance. Itâs polite and enlightening, at least it is to me.
I had such a wildly different experience in Sevilla last year. I cannot imagine what went wrong here. You did dine very early but why should that have any effect? But II Ii I do not know those restaurants and I do speak Spanish but am obviouslyâI imagineâan American from US. I always make reservations if that is possible .
Why did you not book ahead if you were eager to try a place?
Not having all items available may speak to the fact that the ingredients were either not sold at that mornings market or were not up to the quality bar of the chef/buyer. Happens often with seafood if boats cannot go out due to poor weather. Not unusual and a good thing. They do not want to have substandard items on the days menu.
Some interesting perspectives here, including the suggestion that the bad service may have been my fault
Anyway, ICOI we have just had two nights in Cordoba and our dining experiences could not have been more different to that we experienced in Seville. Based on Maribelâs recommendations we ate at La Cuchara de San Lorenzo and at Regadera. Both were excellent in terms of quality of food, presentation, and the service was impeccable - and friendly! Both also accepted my apology for not speaking more Spanish ( I do have some manners and a few phrases - Iâm not a total philistine ).
Of the two Regadera was more innovative but I enjoyed San Lorenzo more. My brioche with mushrooms followed by squid followed by this heavenly pudding are up there with the best three courses Iâve eaten in the last year
The difference between the cooking - and hospitality - in these two places and Desacato ( if we are judging by a Michelin listing ) was like night and day.
So happy that you had a great dining experience in CĂłrdoba at two of my favorites. And your photos of these dining experiences make me want to go back tomorrow.
