And the service is even worse. Slapped on our table by the surly waiter, the menu states that La Bola does not accept credit or debit cards--discovered by us after the waiter had opened a bottle of house wine, and dropped onto our table a stale bun and two airplane-style foil-covered plastic containers of butter, thereby committing us to staying. ...

We had heard good reports about this restaurant before we got to Madrid and made a booking a couple of days earlier. True enough the restaurant proved to be a real gem.

We arrived and they showed us to our table, which happened to be at the front of the restaurant in a little bar area and in sight of the kitchen. As it happens the restaurant ...