Restaurante La + Fría El Palo

This popular restaurant is so good that we visited twice. Had the most wonderful whole sea bass (both times) cooked on a bamboo skewer. It comes with mixed salad. Drinks were nicely chilled (verdejo and draught beer). The service is very good. The atmosphere is very relaxed. Highly recommend and hope to go back soon.

I’ve been coming to Restaurante La + Fría El Palo for about a month now, usually once every weekend, sometimes twice. I always order the same: ensalada mixta, espeto de sardinas, a glass of water, an Americano, and tarta de zanahoria. Portions are generous, prices are fair, and the food tastes good.

The problem is the service.

I always sit in the same spot outside by the footpath, and it’s extremely difficult to get noticed. The staff are always in a rush, dropping things on the table without checking if anything is missing, and something is missing every single time. Usually it’s the salt, but today they also forgot the knife and fork and only gave me a spoon — which is only useful at the very end, not when the tomatoes arrive in giant quarters.

As always, when I waved the waiter down for salt, they said “yes” and never returned. I’m used to this pattern by now. There was one visit where I reminded them three times before eventually getting the things myself.

There was also a visit where one of the servers tried to posture when I asked for a simple glass of water, insisting I had to order bottled water — even though I’ve been served tap water many times before, and could clearly see other tables with it.

The timing of the coffee and cake is consistently wrong too. They always bring the coffee first, and once it sat so long waiting for the cake that it went cold. They replaced it, but that turned into three reminders before the replacement finally arrived — yet another example of how basic service breaks down here. Today I brought my own salt, but I still had to fetch my own cutlery. And I’ve written most of this while waiting just to be noticed so I could order my coffee and cake.

What makes it worse is that every time I raise any of these issues, I get the same apologies and the same acknowledgements that it’s unacceptable — yet nothing ever changes. They agree with me, but the behaviour stays exactly the same. It feels like being lied to straight to my face, every single time.

And the wasted time adds up. I lose around an hour or more every single visit purely because of delays, forgotten items, and empty promises that someone “will come right away” and never does. It’s reached the point where I’m seriously considering not returning at all.

Good food and fair prices, but the service is repeatedly careless and affects the entire experience. For me, this is now a 1-star experience overall.

P.S. I had already asked twice to pay, was told both times that someone would come, and after waiting more than 20 minutes I finally gave up and hunted someone down myself. They clearly knew exactly who I was, because they didn’t even ask where I’d been sitting.

The food is amazing here, well priced and delicious. Unfortunately the service is slow and orders are forgotten often.

Fantastic restaurant next to the beach! Their menu is largely seafood based but they have other options such as grilled chicken and vegetables, patatas bravas, and croquettes available too. Sunset is a great time to dine here so you can enjoy the views.

A well-located spot with sea views. The fish is good and reasonably priced. Their specialty is grilled sardines on skewers.