It’s a Saturday and for once we could attend a hog roast and music event at El Rancho San Isidro. As soon as this was announced, Soph booked us in, and to be honest, it was something I was looking forward to.
A couple of months back, I was in a group of 10 guys who ate at El Rancho San Isidro, for their Friday night steak deal and we all really enjoyed the steak. When this event was posted on social media, I said to Soph, book us in, it’s a Saturday and we can give this a whirl.
** PLEASE NOTE : Hogs In The Costa ( run by Sean Bell, of Bells Butchers ) did not do this hog roast nor were they involved in this event **, I need to make this clear.
This is what they promoted the event as: ‘We are celebrating summer with another fantastic Hog Roast event! Live music being provided by the talented Roberto with something for everyone. The unbeatable price of only €9.99 includes the hog roast, a choice of fresh salads and bread! The music starts at 2pm and food is served at 3pm.’
We arrived and were shown to our table, then payment was requested there and then for the food. A little unexpected, but Soph paid. While she was doing this, I went to the bar to order drinks. There were two staff behind the bar, one was sorting a card payment for a customer, the other just stood there, looking at me. The first server finished serving the guy, whose card didn’t work, so they both just stood there, despite we stood waiting at the bar. Then after another 2 minutes I was told to move to the end of the bar, a whole 2 paces away, so I could be served!
Obviously had there been a sign saying “order & pay here” at one end of the bar, and at the other a sign saying ” collect your drinks here “, then this would have made life easier and more understandable. Anyway, he guy came back to pay with a fresh card, so he got served again, so I just walked away to the table. I said to Soph, ” please go and try to order, as I am losing the will to live here “, so she did.
She got us 2 drinks each, to save the stress of trying to order again, later on. She paid by card, was given a receipt for 7.40 but the amount taken was 11.
Entertainment
The singer was the highlight of the day at El Rancho San Isidro, he had a good voice, nice selection of tracks and as a stand in, was very good. A round of applause for Raymond Chuchuk, who was entertaining us.
Food
As we had arrived with fairly high expectations, to say we were disappointed was an understatement. Poor service can be partially excused if you get great food, sadly this wasn’t the case.
The cheapest, bread bun, with a decent amount of roasted pork. There were a couple of pieces of skin on the plate, this though wasn’t crispy at all. So instead of it being nice and crisp, like crackling, this was soft, chewy and we both left ours.
The choice of salads, ( as we mentioned above in the advert ) was nothing of the sort. It was a bit of chopped lettuce and some coleslaw. There was no apple sauce available, they said it hadn’t arrived. Surely such a basic condiment could be prepared onsite?
What We Liked
The entertainment. Sadly this was the best aspect of this visit to El Rancho San Isidro today. Drinks are quite a reasonable price here.
What Could Be Improved
The service was shocking really. A lack of organisation, a lack of common sense too. We saw a woman go to the bar, order 4 drinks and she was the only customer at the bar, yet at this time there were 3 staff behind the bar. The woman paid for her drinks, the proceeded to make 2 trips to her table, to take the refreshments and then the glasses, while 3 bar staff basically stood and watched her do this.
What was wrong with putting the drinks etc on a tray and taking them to the table? Before anyone thinks to suggest, ‘ maybe they don’t do table service’, yes they do as the guy who was trying to pay for his drinks as I was being ignored at the bar, had their drinks taken to them on a tray.
What It Cost
The meal tickets were €9.99 each. Drinks, we were charged €11 for a couple of Coke Zeros ( which were the bottles ) and I had 2 Estrella Galicia tanques. So, at a guess, this was 3.50€ for each beer and 2.00€ for each of the soft drinks OR 3.00€ for each beer and 2.50€ for each of the Coke Zeros.
Would We Return To El Rancho San Isidro
Sadly after the visit today, this would be a no. As I said at the start, I’d been with 9 other guys, on a Friday night and had a good night, with really nice steak and good service. This is one of the reasons we went back today, but unfortunately, this is now a one step forward and two steps back.
It was at times cringeworthy watching the people trying to get served at the bar. If someone had told me this was an opening day event, first day of trading and the staff were brand new, I’d have understood. BUT, this was not the case. I heard a person asking about tonic, the reply was she didn’t know if they stocked it. I heard another customer asking about agua con gas, again to be told she didn’t know where it was.
The food today was mediocre. I personally don’t class some cut up lettuce as a salad option either. Options for salads should be Ensalada Mixta; Murcian Salad; Ceaser Salad; Waldorf Salad; Italian Chopped Salad; Caprese, etc, etc, for example. The number of people who went to the counter at the end of the bar to ask for condiments and sauces added weight to what people thought of the food.
I’d love El Rancho San Isidro to take part in the tapas route here next year, as they didn’t partake in this years event, which was great fun. This would give people chance to see what they can produce and showcase their skills in the kitchen.
How To Get To El Rancho In San Isidro
Find us in San Isidro, only 20 mins from La Marina and Quesada, close to the AP7 and A7 motorway.
They can be found on Google Maps, to make it easier. If you remember the Bell House and Bells Butchers, then you’ll know how to get there.
Address: C. Huertos Familiares, 1a, 03349 S. Isidro, Alicante
Phone: 613 49 34 89
Final Thoughts
They need a manager here who has experience in front of house. While we were sitting nursing our drinks, waiting for the replacement entertainment to set up his kit, they should have been offering as a starter, toasted bread, alioli and tomato, for example. Even for just 2.50€, I know we’d have ordered some, just to nibble on. On the tables, there should have been / could have been a dessert menu, as some people have a sweet tooth and would have probably splurged a further 5€ on a small dessert or coffee and cake to finish.
I want bars and restaurants to succeed, especially these out the of way ones. This isn’t the type of place you walk into, as you’re strolling by, as it’s on the industrial estate, not a high street.
Sadly, today, expectations were not met and fell way short; the advertised entertainment not being available, though, was the least of the issues for us. Looking at expressions of some of the other customers and catching tiny snippets of others’ conversations, I know we were not the only ones who were quite unimpressed.
I also think, the fact we paid more just for one of these baps than we did for a couple of drinks, a toasted teacake and a lovely black pudding and bacon roll this morning, kind of compounded things, sadly.
