We’d seen the social media images for Los Elementos Torre Pacheco and tried to book their menu del dia last week, which sadly was fully booked. With nothing to do on the Saturday morning of the 16th of September, we decided to make the 45-minute drive down and try out one of their unlimited breakfasts, which at 8.95 sounded like a bargain.
We pre-booked our table, got the confirmation, and hopped into the car for a leisurely drive down. It’s easy to find, and we arrived 5 minutes early, so parked up and had a browse at the estate agent’s window a couple of doors down.
There were plenty of people already enjoying their breakfasts and sat outdoors, a few more people were milling around near the door, which was a type of queue we thought as we approached. As we later overheard, it was diners turning up without a booking, hoping for a table.
We were warmly greeted, gave our names, and advised we could have any table outdoors or inside, so we opted for the interior. We chose table 14, as this was the first empty one we saw. Seated quickly and then left.
Left sitting there a bit longer. And a bit longer still.
Then, after almost 10 minutes, we were brought a plate each by one of the female staff members, who then told a young lad who was working there to bring us some cutlery. This he did, but with no napkins, just a knife and fork, we also took the opportunity to order drinks, a cafe con leche and an orange juice. Not a huge issue about the napkins, as after a couple of minutes of realising we weren’t getting napkins, Soph went and got a couple for us.
So we sat and waited patiently for another 10 minutes, and the lady brought out a cafe con leche but no orange juice. This was quickly rectified a couple of minutes later when the bottle of orange juice arrived, but this was accompanied by a hot glass that had probably just come out of a glass washer.
What We Had
We both had the breakfast, a serve-yourself selection of English breakfast dishes. There was a good variety of choices, including:
- Sausages
- Bacon
- Scrambled and fried eggs
- Mushrooms
- Tomatoes, both tinned and fresh
- Baked Beans
- Black pudding
- Haggis
- Hash brown
- Fried potatoes
I had a couple of cups of coffee; Soph had the orange juice.
What We Liked
The coffee was really nice, and the breakfast food was tasty, plentiful, and offered good value for money. The guys in the kitchen were friendly and polite.
What Could Be Improved at Los Elementos Torre Pacheco
The service. The 3 staff providing customer service seemed, at times, like headless chickens. Drinks were slow coming; people seated were sat waiting for plates and cutlery.
Part of this seemed to be because there wasn’t a procedure in place for seating guests. This meant the following happened –
- Taken to the table by staff member 1
- Ten minutes later, plates were delivered by staff member 1, who asked staff member 2 to bring cutlery.
- Staff member 2 brings cutlery but no napkins
- Soph goes to find napkins.
- After an additional wait, a drink order was taken by staff member 2
- One drink arrives with staff member 2
- After chasing the second drink, it arrives with staff member 1
And, we saw this being repeated time after time with different groups of customers and saw people wandering around looking for plates and cutlery. Likewise, we saw tables being partially cleared and then left as the member of staff was distracted by another competing demand. Tables with bottles of cleaning fluid and cloths are never a good look in the middle of a restaurant.
Perhaps when a customer is taken to their table, the server takes with them the plates and cutlery wrapped in a napkin and, at the same time, quickly asks if this is their first time. If this is the case, a very quick run-through of how the service works and takes the drink order there and then. This means one fluid action with one member of staff and doesn’t take several different actions by the team. As the old adage goes, work smarter, not harder!
Additionally, there were no tongs for the bread, which you toast yourself, and as we were sat right in front of this area, we saw people picking up slices of bread, then changing their minds and putting them back down on the breadboard. The toasters are domestic ones, it might be worth getting bigger/better ones as most people seemed to put their bread in twice to get it coloured and these toasters were slow.
There were also 4 glass domes with cakes under them, with prices on top of 3 of these. A couple of times, we heard people asking their friend/partner if these were part of the offering. I saw one guy take a piece of Rocky Road back to his table to eat.
We have to say that the staff were working hard, it was clear that they were stressed about not providing topnotch service for their customers. Sadly, the relaxing breakfast we were looking forward to was difficult to achieve when staff were running around and were very evidently stressed. When we paid the team member did say, and without comment from us, that he hoped we would give them a second opportunity to show the level of service they aim to provide.
How Much Did It Cost?
At a total of €23.00, this is good value for money, without a doubt. The bill was incorrect the first time as it missed off one of the drinks, so we did point that out to ensure we paid the correct amount.
Would We Return To Los Elementos Torre Pacheco
We would if we were in the area for a menu del dia or an evening meal because we want to experience the real Los Elementos experience. We feel sure that our experience this morning was not a true reflection of the restaurant.
How To Find Los Elementos Torre Pacheco
Coming down the AP7, Take exit 790 toward Torre Pacheo/Los Alcazares/La Manga. Continue on RM-F30. Drive to Pino Carrasco, and you will see the strip of bars and restaurants. Located just south of The Mar Menor Golf Resort at the West end of the restaurants, bars, and shops on the Boulevard
There is ample parking in the parking spaces on Calle Lilo, which is just off the RM-F30 in front of the restaurant.
They are about 5 minutes from the AP7 junction 790.
Their address: : El Boulevard, Pino Carrasco, 4, 30700 Torre-Pacheco, Murcia, Spain
