EL PONIENTE Kitahama

I went there with my girlfriend, as we had heard it was a good Spanish restaurant. As someone who studied in Valencia, Spain (the home of paella), I think that I know a bit about paella. When my paella arrived, it had obviously been pre-made, cooked in a convection oven, and then reheated. When I a...sked the manager why there was no soccarat, he looked at me like I was from Mars! He had no idea what socarrat was! (For the uninitiated, it is the semi-burnt, crunchy layer of rice at the bottom of a properly cooked paella.) For a restaurant that claims to serve authentic Spanish food to not even know the basic terminology for a paella, was shocking, to say the least. The manager got rather testy with me for suggesting that he did not really understand how to make a paella. When I went to pay the bill. they had significantly overcharged us. I always keep track of how much I am spending in a restaurant and when I went through what we had ordered/ate, it did not add up to what they were charging us. I challenged them and they recalculated the bill. I got the distinct impression that the overcharging was no accident. They wanted us to go away and not come back. Well they got their wish. The atmosphere of the restaurant: that is to say the hams hanging from the ceiling, the wine on the shelves and such, imitate a traditional Spanish bar. However their lack of attention to the food was very disappointing. They definitely copped the 'macho' attitude, but without backing it up with the food, it just comes across as arrogant pricks. Don't waste your time or money there.

Visited April 2016

Conveniently located in the heart of Osaka, the food is quite good. We had a paella, a cod and a beef dish. It's not really cheap as their service charge seems a lot if you consider you are in Japan (here service and tips are not usually charged). The bill was around $140 for two.

Visited December 2016