LEÑA

A disappointing diner experience.

Overall the service was good; we had two waiters and they were polite and professional.
The food is not bad, but it is not great either, and it is very overpriced for what you get. We ordered a few starters to share and the cordon bleu. The starters were nice, presentation well-thought-out, however the flavours were rather underwhelming.

But the biggest let-down was the cordon bleu. The meat was raw inside, and the so-called brie cheese looked more like a cream cheese "coulant" with mild brie flavouring. I couldn't finish it as it was quite sickening. Also, priced at around €80 for two (€40 a plate), it is served with a single tiny spoonful of purée. A rather comical sight of a dish that almost hurt my eyes!

For dessert we shared the large peanut and lime cookie. It was very cold straight from the fridge, which completely masked the textures and the peanut flavour. I took it home and had it for breakfast the next day; at room temperature, it tasted significantly better. For a 28€ dessert, you expect a lot more care in how it's served.

The bill came out to around €280 for two, with a cocktail and a glass of wine each. But a beautiful atmosphere cannot make up for average, poorly executed food. Definitely not worth the price.

Probably so far our worst dinner of our trip, which is disappointing as we’ve dined in Lena Dubai and had a great evening.

We sat on the terrace which was lovely and we much preferred it to the restaurant.

Went to order and the waiter pushed to upsell twice. I understand it’s part of the role but there is a way to do so and when we say no.. we mean no.

We ordered the steak tartare which says on the menu made at the table.. it wasn’t. We also ordered chicken empanadas which were nice.

Main we ordered the Angus rib eye (medium), with mash potato and green beans. The beans were quite dry but the steak and mash were so greasy.

No one came over to see if everything was okay. We didn’t eat probably half of the steak. We were done then asked for the bill. Waiter asked if everything was good and we were very honest, then shocked by his attitude saying it was the steak and if we said something if would have done something about it. Not a way to speak to a customer especially one who wasn’t overly happy. Anyway he never returned.. someone else came with the bill which we felt like he was avoiding us. Not great.

€300 for dinner for 1 mocktail, 1 cocktail, 1 glass of red, 2 small bottles of water, 2 starters, 1 main and 2 starters. Very expensive for what it was, despite it being Marbella and in such a nice resort. Especially given the service was 👎🏽

We came for dinner at LENA and chose the terrace area, which is priced about 15% higher than the regular seating.

We were the first guests to arrive, yet we were seated at a table that was noticeably uneven and tilted. We asked the waiter if we could move to a nearby table, but were told they were all reserved. There were around eight empty tables at the time. We arrived at 7:00 PM, and the first guests for those “reserved” tables only started arriving closer to 8:00 PM—and in fact, only one of those tables seemed genuinely reserved. The rest of the guests who were seated there appeared to be walk-ins, which made the situation very obvious and confusing. It’s unclear why we were not allowed to move.

We ordered two steaks with the same level of doneness. Instead, we were served one medium and one well-done. On top of that, the meat had an unpleasant smell and a bitter taste. We informed the staff that we didn’t like the steaks and were willing to pay, but asked for them to be replaced with a ribeye for sharing, cooked medium-well.

What we received next was rare. When we pointed out again that the doneness was incorrect, the steak was taken away. After some time, they brought back what was clearly the same steak, just further cooked in the oven. It was obvious because the juices had already leaked onto the plate and baked onto it, and the texture of the meat hadn’t changed—just overheated.

We showed this to the waiter, who insisted it was a completely new steak. Later, another staff member came and admitted that they had simply re-cooked the original one.

Another sign of unprofessional service: we were served two hot appetizers first, and only after that a cold one. This is not the correct sequence, especially for a restaurant that positions itself as high-end and charges premium prices.

This is definitely the worst “steakhouse” I’ve ever been to. The quality of service is terrible.

If you hate your job this much, I would strongly recommend finding a place where you can actually be happier.

They also served us a pate appetizer shaped like an apple with bread — and the bread was literally soaked in oil.

We had Pedro as a server and we sat on the terrace overlooking the plaza. He was OUTSTANDING! I have a severe peanut and all nut allergy and he took such great care of me. When I eat at restaurants, especially overseas, someone understanding how severe my allergy is is a serious concern. He was incredible and I highly recommend him and this fantastic establishment. Worth every penny! Definitely sit overlooking the place.

I had a truly disappointing experience at Lena in Marbella. The food was absolutely not what I expected. The burrata salad, which should come with tomatoes, was served with roasted peppers and onions — a bizarre and unpleasant combination that completely ruined the dish. As for the ribeye, it was honestly one of the worst pieces of meat I’ve ever had: tough, flavorless, and downright unpleasant to eat.
To make things even worse, the dessert was just as bad — a rose dessert that tasted like stale sliced bread with vanilla ice cream. Completely uninspired and frankly unpleasant.
Overall, the salad, steak, and even the dessert were so bad that I left wondering how such a place could have any reputation at all. Definitely not worth the visit.