Pradillo – Zahara de Los Atunes

We were very excited for our greatly anticipated dining experience in this popular spot in Zahara de Los Atunes: we had our reservation in place for months in advance in the restaurant called “Pradillo”, famous for their fresh food (particularly for the local red tuna).
Upon arrival, we were given a table on their terrace: the décor was basic but nice, not the place to go down on one knee and propose to your girlfriend, but neither your average tapas place.
The first waiter brought us the menu and we chose our wine, a bottle of red wine (Quinta de Tarsus, Crianza 2011) which was, unfortunately, very average.

On the food side, things did not pick up either; as starter, we ordered a tuna and tomato salad for a good 10 euro. What we got on our dish, was a single tomato, sliced, with canned tuna in between the layers: basically a big tomato with some tuna inside of it, drizzled with some olive oil. For such a highly recommended and rated place, not to mention the price bit, we were expecting a bit more creativity; something that would have justified the price tag, not the average tuna and tomato that can be made by everyone, including a hangover bachelor.

We’ve then moved on the red tuna sashimi that was served with wasabi and two sets of chopsticks coming directly from the local delivery Asian restaurant, instead of something more sophisticated than a set of bamboo ones. The sashimi itself was very fresh, melting in the mouth with lots of flavour; however, as this was served as a Japanese dish, the fish cut was not done properly, as the tuna was cut in small square slices (nothing similar to the real sashimi) and with tube-squeezed wasabi and not the real deal. The picture might also not make full justice, but it is important to know that, for 25 euro, some could expect a bit more tuna, being a local product.

We then ordered choco frito, which is basically deep fried calamari. Again, the flavour was bland and the batter failed to give the proper crunchiness to the dish; the way it was presented was, once more, with no creativity whatsoever and accompanied just by a slice a lemon. We could have get the same dish, with half the money, in pretty much every tapas bar in Spain.

Given the very average experience until now, we went on ordering steamed mussels, hoping for that something that could have transformed the dining experience. The dish was presented on a big plate arranged as you would normally see oysters being served; in the centre that was another slice of lemon and nothing else. The mussels were fresh, but they failed to impress as they were lacking any “twist”, something that could have made them special and justify the price tag.

Throughout the dinner, each dish or drink was served by a different member of the staff: they never interacted with us, not even asking if the food was good, bad, horrible or awesome. Not a single dialog, small sentence, nada; quite strange for a country where you get asked questions even in the smallest and not pretentious place. Maybe the dish we ordered did not meet their final bill expectations, but we really felt far from welcome; in places like this, they should be trained to treat every customer in the same way.

As a final cherry on the cake moment, when we got the final bill (about 70 euro), the manager/owner of the place, did not take time to ask us a single question, nor to explain his sudden change of the POS machine. He was talking with other customers and members of the staff, completely ignoring us; he couldn’t even read the amount on the bill and had to ask someone else to read it for him.

As a result, not a single cent was left as a tip (and this was the first time in our life).
We still can’t believe how this place got so many positive reviews.

Food: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Value for Money: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Service: ★ ★ ★ ★

Final Verdict: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Categories: Restaurant review