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| - I simply love tapas. I spent a year in Spain a couple of decades ago and fell in love with the food. Unfortunately, Julian Serrano and Jaleo, although both superb, are far beyond my budget. I was drawn to Marbella because their website is polished and very well done, and their menu prices quite reasonable.
Since I was starving when I arrived, I was happy to be seated immediately. Because I was so hungry, I ordered a lot of different items. And oh boy, they were all bad. 1) Patatas bravas: potatoes looked and tasted like they had been fried early that morning then reheated, and the sauce tasted like mayo from a jar mixed with spaghetti sauce from a jar. 2) Marbella french fries: with Reggiano and black truffle oil, they sound amazing. Unfortunately, they taste like crap. Mediocre fries, no taste of black truffle oil, and maybe three flecks of parmesan cheese, doubtful it was Reggiano. 3) Fried calamari: frozen food thrown into a deep fryer + sauce from some jar. 4) Paella de marisco: the Goya boxed paella tastes better, and I wish I were exaggerating. Fishy, greasy, not a hint of saffron - the dish is a total disaster. If this is authentic paella, then I'm the Prime Minister of Spain. 5) Cheese and chorizo appetizers: not good, but unlike everything else, not horrible. Because I was so hungry and this was the only half-palatable item on the menu, I ended up getting another order. 6) Gambas al ajillo: this dish is so simple that anybody can make it well. Except Marbella.
Despite my voracious sweet tooth, I didn't bother with dessert because I figured it would be as bad as the rest of the menu. Now I've learned my lesson. Either cough up the big bucks for quality, or buy a Spanish cookbook and learn to make tapas myself. But there's no way you'll get good tapas at Marbella.
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