[Tourist trap] Why you should never eat at El Terminal, Ronda

The cafe-restaurant El Terminal sits in a prominent position at the head of one of Ronda’s largest squares. Sitting in the winter sun, people-watching, having a drink and a bite to eat… It has the potential to be a great spot. It doesn’t, however, advertise its name. I think we know why.

This place was a tourist trap of the worst sort: service was bad, even taking into account the normal Spanish approach, but the food was worse and came at a price no-one was expecting.

Prices on the menu were high: around €7 for a tortilla español or a pizza, in a country where you can get a three-course menu del dia for the same price. Sometimes the quality is worth the premium. In this case, it was the worst example of tortilla I’ve had in over a year of travelling Spain. Thin, flaccid, overdone, and lacking any of the big potato chunks or rich yellow colours of a real tortilla. The salad alongside it was OK, but not the uber-fresh produce you’d expect at the price.

But, although this poorly-made tapa disguised as a main dish was 3x more expensive than it should have been, it also had a €1 surcharge added to each drink, and IVA, the local tax, was not included in the menu’s prices, so that got added too.

We also had a glass of wine each. It was another example of under-deliver and overcharge: €4.23 per glass when all was said and done; and I wouldn’t give you €1 for a bottle of it. I’ve drunk a lot of Spain’s cheap wines, many are excellent, but whatever this place was serving was not a good example.

This restaurant has a great location, but don’t be tempted: it was amongst the worst food, and certainly the most extortionate pricing that I’ve seen in Spain.