Aleta, I went to Dos Palillos two days ago and could not disagree with you more. Will post full reviews once I am home, but in case people ran across this post in midst of an imminent trip, wanted to report that this was one of the best, most challenging and educational meals I have had on my Barcelona/Madrid trip, which has included dining at the two star Michelin places (Le Club Allard, Ramon Freixas, Alkimia) as well as the more casual but good places with solid reps for solid food (Cerviceria Catalunya, Cal Pep, etc). Incredibly high quality ingredients, especially with rare/expensive seafood such as percebes, gambas rojas, sea anemone, razor clams, sea cucumbers, as well as all sorts of shell fish that I could not identify. All prepared expertly with the highest regard to the integrity of the ingredient. Not for the faint of heart. One member of the party that was a bit squeamish over raw shellfish could not eat the first 5-7 of the 18 or so courses. I loved it all, so I had no problem eating double portions. Again, I stess that this is not for the faint of heart. E.g., Chicken sashimi served with salt and fresh wasabi is one of their signature dishes. (It's good.) The laterally cut bone marrow with a generous shaving of dried tuna shavings (okaka) was sublime, especially when paired with a 30 anos sherry. The gambas rojas was deshelled, with the head intact, with only the head brushed with salt prepared over a grill so that the body was raw and the head deliciously grilled. Sucking the juice out of the head while eating the sweet raw body was a primal pleasure. An infinitely simple but elegant variation on the usual Spanish gambas rojas prep as well as Japanese amaebi. Bottom line: if you like seafood, are not squeamish, and open to a unique world-class dining experience, you MUST NOT miss the full tasting menu at Dos Palillos.

For the lawyer set, I wouldn't put it as a conservative/liberal split, it's more of a good/bad taste, snobbishness thing. As a lawyer at a big firm, most lawyers and clients I've encountered are mostly sophisticated city dwellers (and also overwhelmingly into food and fine wine/beer/cocktail enthusiasts), and would not negatively judge a person for ordering a solid drink like a negroni. The drink orders that might raise an eye brow would be those reflecting immature or bad taste -- Long Island Iced Tea, Irish Car Bomb, etc., anything that would be more appropriate in a frat party rather than a professional setting.