My second visit to El Cortador & I will definitely be back! The food is delicious, there is loads of choice & something to suit all budgets but what really makes this place is the staff. Attentive (but also leave you to it), knowledgeable, friendly...& polite the ambiance was relaxed & comfortable. We weren’t rushed & spent a good couple of hours enjoying our food & people watching. Plenty of seats (in the restaurant, on the balcony & in their beautiful hidden garden) but still maintains an intimate atmosphere. Thank you to the chef & the staff for making our visit so lovely.More

Came here at the invitation of friends. I was a bit nervous reading some of the reviews particularly the references to the standard of the food (ok for the locals but not authentic Spanish, reheated for service - well how do you think restaurants work?)...I’ve traveled extensively and Spanish tapas is one of my favourites and this didn’t let me down. Good service, good food and a great experience. We’ll be backMore

First time visiting El Cortador and will definitely be making a return visit very soon! Great food, and plenty of it, fabulous attentive service and a great atmosphere. Would recommend to anyone wanting delicious tapas at a reasonable price. The jug of Sangria went down...a treat too!More

We visited on the back of our daughter & husbands visit the evening before. We arrived around 2 in the afternoon and left around half four. We were looked after by the delightful Natalya. Natalya was very friendly, she new the menu inside out and...was able to recommend food for our palate great place, very reasonably priced. we will be back (as Arnie would say!!!)More

El cortador Tapas bar Sadly, kind of embrassing… We appreciate locals might not know what real Spanish food tastes like, but El Cortador left us really upset. Food was average, everything was microwaved as it was clearly prepared in advance and displayed in the front...fridge. Paella was mushy and tasted like stock, jamon was small pre cut bits, tortilla was microwaved too and lacked flavour, the cheese in the platter was nice. Only thing made fresh were the patatas bravas, but quite plain and bland. We did eat everything we ordered as we truly don’t like food waste but Spanish week at Lidl would have probably tasted better... Appalling to see the waitress sticking her hands in the food bowls on display, popping something in her mouth and sticking them again in the bowl. Service was overall kind but won’t recommend… Icing on the cake is the owner replying to our booking enquiry while we were dining, saying that there is no space for lunch and they can welcome us in the afternoon.. ( we were dining in the meantime as we booked at the door with the friendly waiter) and they sat a table in front of us shortly after replying to our enquiry. Confusing to see how they manage reservations… Seeing all the good reviews feels like lunch service is of lower quality than the dinner one? As the evening before the place was packed.More

Every dish we ordered was great. Particular mention needs to be given to one of the specials, the asparagus wrapped in ham. The prawns in the garlic prawns were fresh and perfectly cooked; the chicken skewers still moist; the tortilla a soft and melting thing;...and the chorizo (I know it sounds daft) very meaty and also very soft in texture. The staff are helpful and lovely. We had a delicious lunch and will definitely be back.More

We turned up early evening with no booking which wasn’t a problem. The service was very friendly and the food was wonderful. I particular enjoyed the padron peppers, the gambas and the chorizo bean stew. We had 8 plates between 3 of us and a...bottle of white Rioja. Very reasonable priced.More

My wife and I celebrated our Wedding Anniversary at El Cortador and we were not disappointed. We had calamares, patatsa bravas, chorizo in red wine and mushrooms in garlic. The calamares were very tender and cooked in a light batter. The sauce with the patatas...bravas is just the right temperature (the heat slowly creeps up on you)!! Everything else was nicely cooked. It was washed down with a very nice chilled house rose. All the staff were very helpful and friendly. I was an Anniversary to remember.More

Another delicious, convivial meal in Folkestone's friendly tapas bar. Thank you Sarah for your 100-watt smile and enthusiastic, professional attention. We had a lovely evening and you were a big part of it.

Very friendly. Had not booked - dropped in and every effort was made to accommodate us. A very good tapas.

We had a lovely visit to mark a birthday. The welcome was extremely friendly and the staff are always happy to help with any recommendations. We probably ordered too much but wanted to try it all! Delicious and well presented. Thank you for looking after...us so well. Everything was spot on. Definitely coming back soon.More

As a lover of Folkestone, third year running, an abundance of quality restaurants from around the world. First choice ,first visit, El Cortador. So impressed, the following two years this was the place to eat. However, have now called time on this establishment, due to...a disappointing evening. I must make it clear this is no reflection on the lovely interior, and the excellent service. My most recent visit, menu looked very inviting, as it always had. Straight to the point. Meat platter, included slices of Manchego cheese. It is supposed to be a sharing platter, so why only three pieces? The slices were so thin, and so small it was rather lost on the plate, 3mm at the most, and no more than two inches long, bearing in mind it was cut to a point. The meat balls. Four meatballs identical in size, with a very thin sauce which tasted very manufactured. Have worked in retailing for many years, and were very similar to the texture and taste of tinned. My opinion, and I will stand corrected if I am wrong, but that is how it seemed to me. The bread, very thinly cut, and resembled a small baton from a supermarket. Absolutely nothing special. Interestingly, towards the end of the meal I ordered another portion, the same, tasteless, and £4 in money. In addition I ordered two glasses of house wine £7.50 each. On top of that, a 10% service charge is added. No choice. So, after two very enjoyable experiences at this restaurant, this was far below my expectations and the standard I had had before. To sum it up, do I sense cut backs in quality due to the increase in food prices. Different cooks? I left disappointed. Such a shame. Time to move on.More