Avoid El Pasage Restaurant, Santiago de Compostela
 

Avoid this restaurant. We went there for a glass of wine. The waiter put out the bottle and told us that we would be charged by the amount that we drank. We had one glass and he charged us for double portions. When my husband questioned the bill, the waiter said that this wasn't a bar and that he did us a favor by serving us at all. The bill was adjusted, but we all had a very bad experience.

Some people are very easily displeased.

I would not go to a restaurant for a glass of wine or a coffee; that's what bars and cafés are for.

If you poured a large glassful then you would be charged double portions. A standard bottle holds six restaurant servings.

A few years ago when we were in Tuscany my husband and I were disappointed when we had lunch at a couple of restaurants.
We only wanted one course as this was lunch and we didn't feel comfortable with the wait staff who were not very happy that this is all we wanted to order.
And I also remember that we were not looked upon with favour for not ordering wine. So I kind of know how you felt.

Was the wine good?
Like us you did not understand that certain establishments expect certain things.

I say live and learn.

Yes, restaurants are not bars and there are no shortage of bars in Spain or in Santiago. And bars in Spain are not like bars in the US, there can be family affairs where there are people of all ages gathering.

If this is your first European experience then you should know that many (if not all) European countries expect people to eat in restaurants and go to bars/cafes if they only want drinks.

I would not consider a cultural misunderstanding to be a "bad experience" nor would I tell people to avoid a restaurant for this reason.

It would seem that some people have no idea about, or little interest in, cultural norms when traveling.

I hate to say it - but if you walked into a restaurant in NY, sat at a table and just ordered a drink they wouldn't be happy either. Restaurants are for eating. If you are only having a drink do a bar or a cafe. And how much wine did you drink. If the filled the glasses to the top - that's not a normal serving.

Different cultures - different attitudes. You need to learn these things before you go. If not, figure it out when it happens - but don;t blame other people because you had thee misperceptions.

Actually, when we approached the cafe, my husband asked the waiter if it was alright if we just had a drink, and he invited us to sit down. He poured a normal sized glass of wine for us and we did not take any more wine ourselves.

"We had one glass and he charged us for double portions."
I am a bit lost here. Do you mean that you were originally given a bill for double the number of glasses that you had consumed?

"The bill was adjusted"
Does that mean that the second bill was for the correct number of glasses?

Yes, that's right. The second bill was for one glass each.

How much was the wine? In Portugal the wine was dirt cheap. I'm wondering about prices in Spain.

It was about 6-7 euros a glass, but when we ate in a restaurant and had a good Rioja reserve, the price was between 23 and 25 euros. Some other wines were available at 15 euros.

A glass of wine in the typical wine bar/tavern in Santiago would be in the €1.65 to €3.50 range, depending on the quality you request, tinto (red or white table wine), crianza or reserva. A young Rioja would be the most common wine poured. €6 to €7 a glass seems a bit much, even for Madrid or Barcelona unless you ordered something expensive. In Navarra we typically pay €1.20 to €1.95 (Ribera del Duero Crianza).

Thanks Robert. Your prices are more in my budget. I can't go to Spain and not drink the wine!

Why in Galicia did you drink Rioja, have you not tasted any wines from Galicia?
6- 7€ per glass you was really ripped off.
Wine when poured into a glass is not measured, so one glass may be fuller than another.

"The second bill was for one glass each."
And you are telling people to avoid that restaurant? Really?

I'm sure we've all had traveling moments like this where we just didn't know the local customs and it appeared we got ripped off, whether we did or not. BUT...

The bill was adjusted and you still made a special point to warn people away from visiting this restaurant??? And you didn't even EAT there? You just used it as a bar?

This was a "very bad experience" for you? I take it you don't get out a whole lot. I've had worse experiences a block from my house here in DC.

You folks are right!
I'm quite contrite --
It wasn't such a terrible plight.

:)