Late Saturday evening, a bit off-season in October. Originally, me and my GF were heading to a different place but were charmed by lively outdoor seating and sounds of flamenco guitar coming from EL GALLO RONCO (Raucous Rooster). The place was quite packed but we managed to secure a table which was promptly cleaned for us.
The menu -both in Spanish and English (always a plus!)- offered a reasonable selection of drinks, main courses and tapas, basically, smaller versions of larger dishes. We ended up ordering two and two cañas (small beer, 22cl, for €1.5 each) and five tapas (€2-3 a portion) over the course of our stay. Food was, well, pleasant though nothing to write home about: 1.) sour anchovies in vinegar, 2.) sirloin in wine stew w/ fried potatoes (good but such a small portion needs sauce with a bit more punch), 3.) squid salad w/ chopped onions and tomatoes in vinegar (good for dunking the bread in), 4.) grilled peppers sprinkled w/ sea salt (simple and great!) and 5.) shrimp omelette which we never had a fortune to try as we were served the sirloin (or something similar looking) once again. After being notified, the waiter took the dish with a typical Mediterranean cool and (few minutes later) brought us what ended up to be a slice of egg and potato omelette. Whatever - we were full enough to ignore it and carry on.
Sadly, as is often the case, the bill turned out to be a problem. We had to ask for it twice -first in Spanish ("La cuenta, por favor."), then in English- and still ended up waiting fifteen or so minutes. Now, it is basic good manners to leave your customers alone to check the receipt and prepare the money - surely after you keep them waiting so long! Our waiter, however, kept standing next to us and after seeing there was something wrong (and he was right!) he came to us, crossed one line off the bill and rewrote it. We were confused yet suddenly he was in the rush to get the transaction done. Total price (including the crossed out dish) was €22.30. We gave him fifty and got the change back just for that. Hence, we ended up paying for six tapas nonetheless: one of them probably the other sirloin we have returned and some tortilla - I guess that was the egg and potato omelette? We will never know.
Please, understand: we are far from being snobbish or ungrateful. Both me and my GF had just quit the job in hospitality and this is supposed to be our month-long recovery holiday. Yet somehow, as tourists, we do not feel welcome anywhere here on the Spanish soil. EL GALLO RONCO is far from the worst place where you can end up - it has good vibe, fair prices and live flamenco shows three times a week so your experience might be very different. But we could not help but felt a bit like a joke again - a necessary annoyance from abroad that can always afford to wait and pay premiums just for the privilege of being here. But I digress - there is nothing worse than a quick judgment and closed mind. Still, in the next three weeks to come, I guess we will stay more on the beautiful beaches - and our own kitchen. read more