Escuela Hosteleria Benhavis - Benahavis

My husband and I visited here for the first time today. The dining room was well laid out and the food very good. There is no menu but we enjoyed all the courses. We were presented with some homemade vegetable crisps and a couple of bread sticks and a basket of warm bead with olive oil. The first course was an orange flavoured cold soup with a piece of white fish in it, delicious. This was followed by two small spring rolls. Next was a vegetable rice dish, all perfectly cooked. The main course was tender duck on a bed of puréed vegetable. I’m not a dessert fan but my husband enjoyed it and it looked lovely. We then had coffee and this was served with yet another dessert!! Water, red and white wine and a dessert wine were all included in the set price of €30. Excellent value. Our only criticism is that the waiting staff we a bit robotic, no smiles or interaction. They are young and learning their craft and I have written to the school to mention it. Benahavis looks a very pretty area as well.

This is a restaurant that is run by students who are being trained in Hospitality and get to practice what they have learned. The food itself was nice, there was only one dish that we had that was bland in taste and that was the duck spring rolls, the rest was very nice indeed. However, the other thing that disappointed us was the attitude of one of the staff who was abrupt with us as maybe our experience was an exception rather than the rule.

We dined earlier this week and the food was very good. Unfortunately it was let down by one of the servers who had a very poor attitude. I was surprised that there was no supervision of the servers as they would have benefited from that and we could have enjoyed the experience. There was also no vehicle for feedback.

If you are in Benahavis at the right time of year, love food and to be pleasantly surprised, the Escuela Hosteleria Benahavis is wonderful. It is a school for aspiring wait staff and chefs. They are only open for lunch and only during school months. Book in advance as they are often full. The chefs are in their 2nd year before they serve you . They decide the menu ... not every table is the same. You can let them know if you are allergic to anything and otherwise you wait to be surprised! For euro 29 per person it includes 5 courses and wine selected for the dishes. We’ve now been there twice and both times the food was outstanding. Depending on when you go, your servers may still be a bit nervous encourage them with a smile, it does wonders for their confidence. We will go back.

We enjoyed our lunchtime visit very much a table for two, for a 5 course tasting menu with wine included, all for 29 euros each. The food was interesting and delicious in a relaxed environment. Would recommend this highly.