This review is regarding the staff and not the dining experience.
My husband and I were on our honeymoon and walked through the Las Ramblas area this past Saturday hoping to find a place for a semi-quick lunch prior to heading to La Sagrada Familia. This place is buried behind the hectic and crowded La Boqueria, where we initially thought we would have lunch. Having made it through La Boqueria to the "end" or "back" area and deciding we did not want to have lunch at La Boqueria, we saw La Gardunya's door open, a bar, and some tables. We walked in and I realized we came in thru the back door, so I walked through the restaurant to the front where we thought we could see a menu, as I got to the front door, my husband had been stopped by a waitress and got my attention because he had asked to see a menu. We were shown the menu and realized the restaurant only had a prix fixe three-course lunch menu, which we did not have time for given our upcoming scheduled tour and politely passed.
As we walked out the front door, the waitress yelled at us from about 15 feet back inside the restaurant, "NEXT TIME TURN AROUND AND WALK BACK AROUND OKAY?!" We, at first, didn't understand what she meant; only after conferring did we realize she must've thought we were just passing through the restaurant instead of turning around and walking out to the other side of La Boqueria rather than being genuinely interested potential patrons looking for a place to eat amongst a crowded and crazy market area.
We found this to be incredibly disconcerting, rude, and unprofessional. Being in a high tourist and traffic area, I would expect the staff to be accommodating, especially given the unique location and multiple entrances. Part of a quality dining experience are quality staff, and that of La Gardunya clearly lack common manners. read more