Restaurante Salamanca

What I nearly ordered was the menú del día, until it became clear no such thing would be shown to the likes of me; only the full-price carta made an appearance, which set the tone for the afternoon. Bread nobody had requested arrived anyway and later surfaced on the bill, charged by the portion. The paella came slicked with grease, the seafood cooked somewhere well past rubbery, and when the change was set down on the table, a hand hovered above it while a tip was requested outright. It is the bill that stays with you, every line of it a small decision made against the customer. Barceloneta has straightforward seafood within a few minutes' walk of this seafront. On the evidence of one thoroughly instructive lunch, I shan't be finding out whether a second goes any better.