Restaurante Palacio Espanol

Since 2009 this has been our favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires, but apart from the architecture it has deteriorated very badly. The food is now indifferent, the menu has been drastically shortened and the prices are excessive for the standard of food . . . a Spanish restaurant that does not offer sangria! All this seems to be nothing when faced with such unacceptable waiters. Not helpful, surly and incommunicative, they show a calculated indifference that can only come from the contempt of their customers and a determination that their guests should have a pathetic evening over everything else. It was just our ability to find some pleasure to observe the pantomime that is caused by the activities of the secret staff who anointed our evening and, sadly, after fourteen years of eating at the Palacio, we will not be back.

I had fish both times and it was excellent. Service is First Class. Free glass sherry, good wine list. I'll be back.

Very formal, classic traditional restaurant. Many older, local customers with lunch. A good place for seafood Paella.

We make it a point in Palacio Espanol on every trip we make to Buenos Aires. The place is simply beautiful, the waiters are always friendly, helpful and attentive. The food is delicious; great appetizers, many possibilities for the main course, and Dessert is always special. Many loving memories of meetings, lunch and dinner with friends in a very special environment.

We were referred to this restaurant by our hotel concierge (the hotel has a 4.5 star Trip Advisor rating). We had some dietary restrictions, spoke no Spanish; the concierge called the restaurant, explained our dietary needs, and made reservations for us; he said there would be someone at the restaurant who spoke English; the entire conversation took place in Spanish. The free hotel shuttle took us to the restaurant, which was less than a 10 minute walk from the hotel. We had reservation for 8 PM, the restaurant opened about 10 minutes late, and we were the only ones in the large restaurant; we were neither surprised nor upset. The restaurant did not have our reservations nor did they have an English speaker. The host was pleasant enough and did eventually bring us a menu; we recognized paella, ordered it, feeling comfortable that it met our dietary restrictions. We had time to look around before the paella arrived. We saw another couple from our hotel but had the impression that most of the customers were locals and/or regulars. By this time, 9 PM or so, there was a nice crowd in the place, families, businessmen, one large group of over 20. I think the restaurant may have some kind of arrangement with the hotel next door, which may have had it’s own entrance; we saw people who looked like tourists, spoke English, and who were given a separate menu (different from ours). I would not have bothered to write this negative review had not we found upon returning home that we were double charged for the meal. We felt the rest of the experience was pleasant enough; the paella mediocre and bland but palatable. We seriously doubt that this outrageous overcharge was on the original receipt that was signed in the restaurant. We are very experienced travelers, have been warned about some of the restaurant tactics in BA and always check our receipts carefully. We also have notified our hotel, in writing, of this overcharge.