El Faro

Maybe we caught them on a particularly busy day with heavier traffic, but it was still a bad experience. The food was cold and had a plasticky feel, and there were very few options. The bathrooms were either out of order or extremely filthy. My sister and I both left hungry.

A real treat on the way to Seville, with friendly service and lovely cool air conditioning. We started with a huge mango, pineapple, and avocado salad with walnuts and ropes with goats cheese, definitely one to share. The salminitas may be the best I’ve tasted, with a delicious crust that wasn’t greasy. We finished with coffee and lemon mousse. What a hidden treasure. Highly recommended.

Since the new owners took over, this was my first time back for a meal. The atmosphere was fine, and the food quality and presentation were acceptable, but the dishes needed to be hot. We had to send them back twice before getting a hot meal. A disappointing visit.

For EUR 44, this was probably the worst meal I’ve had in Spain. The chicken churrasco was charred on one side, and the Rabo del Toro was overfried, with hardly any meat left on the bones. Our solomillo añejo came bloody even though we asked for it well done. On the second try it was burned and still very red inside. Looks like Alvaro "the cook" only has two settings, "quemado" or "crudo." Maybe that’s the idea behind calling a restaurant "the Lighthouse" (el faro) when it’s 50 km from the sea, in the middle of the mountains.