Venta Maricruz - Casares

It was a farce from beginning to end the end being blatant discrimination towards foreigners (and two thirds of our party were Spanish! The menu is limited. I asked if they had any grilled fish options. Waitress We have pesquaito (little fish Getting blood from a stone is easier than trying to get an explanation of what that is. Me What fish is it? Waitress Its not fish, its pesquaito M Ok, what fish is pesquaito? W its a menu. M ok, what does it consist of? W first course is (mumbled something , second course is anchovies in vinegar.!! Paella Mixta should be seafood and meat. Well, we searched but couldn 't sea any meat unless it was hidden under the one piece of seafood, a small piece of octopus. And the rice bullets. I ordered Salmon Tuna was served, with an we are out of salmon . I was not informed before the dish was bought out or asked if this was an acceptable alternative. It was one of the frozen pieces currently on sale in local supermarkets. It was still cold in the middle. Also arrived long after my companions dishes and with stone cold chips. Each time we ordered drinks, the empty ones were not automatically cleared. Three times I specifically asked the waitress to clear the table. Three times she walked away from the table empty handed. A bunch of used serviettes and place mats blew off a vacated table. I collected them together with my feet and squashed them, to stop them blowing away into the countryside. I lost count of the amount of times the waitress walked right past them. I would say not ignoring them but totally oblivious to their existance. The paella was left half eaten. The tuna was mostly feed to our dog, who had sat quietly under the table for the entire meal, whilst the terrace was full of diners. Upon clearing our plates there was no enquiry as to whether we enjoyed the food or not, and no offer of desert or coffee. (we had to call their attention to get the plates cleared We enquired about deserts and elected the offer of profiteroles (do please be sure to look at the photos and a coconut covered soft biscuit stingily filled with strawberry jam. We were also offered the option of Gachas a traditional Casares desert . No. No it is not. It is an Andalucian dessert. I guess it was in the same adopted category as the Gazpacho Casareño on the menu. Upon enquiring we were informed it is a HOT tomato soup with boiled egg in it! When we were the ony remaining table on the terrace, a couple arrived with two grandchildren and chose to sit at the table right next to ours. They, all of them, spoke so loudly we couldn`t hear ourselves think. Then they began to complain about our dog (still lying quietly under the table , saying it was scaring the children. Yes, we objected to these out and out lies, pointing out they could have sat absolutely anywhere else. To which the cook (not chef under any pretence appeared from the kitchen and began to verbally attack us, making judgements on something she knew zero about, and suppporting this family, obviously locals. I could not recommend this place for any element of the hostelry business, because they failed miserably in every aspect. Even the lighting in the toilet was about as minimal as you can get and still call it light! Diners had to put up their own sunshades, as it was impossible to get the attention of staff

Absolutely lovely food! All natural and home made. Great service and food! Lovely meat, wine and sweets. Surrounded by amazing nature. Highly recommended for anybody visiting Casares, Gaucin, etc....

After seeing a few adverts in the local papers for this venta in Casares and the content of the adverts described it as welcoming with a nice terrace over looking the white village it was a great disappointment to turn up and then walk out with in moments. This is on a bend on your left as you leave the village on the way to Gaucin. The sign says menu del dia 8 euros. We arrived at the weekend NOT expecting a meal deal, but expected to find something close to what the adverts described. The dining room was empty apart from one couple, the TV in the corner was blarring out the spainish TV soap opera of the day something for the staff to watch as they had no customers to look after) We wondered why on such a nice sunny day the couple of diners were not enjoying the advertised terrace view. It did not take us long to work out why they were inside. The terrace was a Mess. Stacks of chairs and tables at one end, the two tables that were out were dirty, plastic, and in no way laid for a lunch service. The so called chill out area of a tired, grubby sitting area next to the stacked chairs and tables gave me the chills just looking at it. So for the first time in a very very long time we turned on our heals and left. We drove a little way back towards the village and went to the Terrace restaurant, high up some stairs on the left. Their terrace was rustic but everything that Maricruz could be with not a lot more than a very little effort. Shame on you the owners..... how you expect to build your business..... and consider the advertising a waste of money if what you advertise is NOT what you deliver.

Great, good food and good deal, very good price too, a failure?have a little to get the dishes, but all great, the super country snacks awesome

We found this place by accident as it is off the main tourist route. If you are planning to have a starter only order one plate of croquettes for two people, because it's very large portion! The other half said the swordfish main was one of the nicest he'd had. The terrace was a little scruffy, but the food and view made up for that.