O Stop

[Bruce Wallis]

Unless restaurants are advertising "wild fish", and charging a premium.......does any of this matter??

[EMM]

Surely it matters more if it is the other way round.
I know most of the time what I am buying,how many other do or is it that the price counts more than the quality.
I have seen descriptions such as " Rock Bass or Golden Bass " neither of which is actually a species of fish so what was it that the customer was being served ??

[widge]

I think that you're wrong about that too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_bass

[EMM]

Hardly Rock bass is a fresh water fish from the southern states of America, Carvoeiro is in the Algarve and the fish we eat farmed or wild comes from saltwater .

[steve]

I have heard of wine snobs nut a fish snob must be a first. The record has got stuck in the groove. I am not too bothered where the fish comes from. If it tastes OK and the price is reasonable it will do me.

[EMM]

I have heard of wine snobs nut a fish snob must be a first. The record has got stuck in the groove. I am not too bothered where the fish comes from. If it tastes OK and the price is reasonable it will do me.

Not a fish snob I just want to know where my food comes from.
If you are not interested and get the sh****s or start growing breasts you have only got your self to blame.

[HampshireRich]

Just come back from a glorious week of sunshine in Malta where I had 2 fish dinners. Both restaurants said their produce was all local and fresh (and cheaper than CVO). However, the fish, octopus, squid, prawns, muscles etc were already dead so I couldn't ask them where they came from. However, they tasted superb, as have all fish dishes I've had in CVO as well and I really don't care where the fish comes from.

Mind you, will be using a D-Cup soon!

[steve]

Luckily I have always been a breast man but I must confess that I could do without the shits. Hopefully they will post less in future.

[EMM]

Well my plans sholuld I win the lottery of opening a Rick Stein Franchise fish restaurant in Carvoeiro have been shelved.
Clearly there is no market for good high quality fresh food as any old stuff will do providing its cheap enough.
I feel sorry for those restauranters who do try as they have over estimated the tastes of many in Carvoeiro

[e-richard]

I think you have missed the point EMM. There are many on here who appreciate good food, are prepared to pay an appropriate price and are happy to tell us when they find it.

As you rightly point out, your venture would probably fail, but I suspect that is because:
Knowledge of the food's origin does not make it taste better

[HampshireRich]

Well my plans sholuld I win the lottery of opening a Rick Stein Franchise fish restaurant in Carvoeiro have been shelved.
Clearly there is no market for good high quality fresh food as any old stuff will do providing its cheap enough.
I feel sorry for those restauranters who do try as they have over estimated the tastes of many in Carvoeiro

I think what you have done is over-estimated your own self-importance and opinions - what a load of tosh you have been posting! - the quality of food to you seems to be in direct relation to how much over-priced it is! - by your comments above, if 1 restaurant charges 20euros for a meal and another charges 30euros for the exact same meal, the more expensive one will be the best. The restaurants in CVO who serve the best food at the best price are the ones that do best - not the ones who over-charge under the pretence of "locally caught fish".

[EMM]

My arguement is simply this in a country where most of the fish such as Bass or Bream is farmed and when sold in supermarkets has to be identified as such why do restaurants not identify it and by by implication "some " suggest that it is fresh and local.
Prawns and shellfish should also be identified as frozen or chilled, believe or not in a local market I asked where the giant red prawns they were selling came from, anyone want to take a guess " west africa ". Their origin was not marked.
Because they do not, we the customers have no idea what we are getting .
One poster commented that they thought Rei da Praias was over priced, if you do not know that restaurant A serves locally caught " wild fish " and place B farmed from who knows where how can you really compare the two. Many will just look at the price and make their selection that way.

If the customer is indifferent and is only compares price then restaurants have to reduce quality and cut standards to satisfy that market as their margins get tighter every day.
I do believe you get what you pay for and I also believe that many restaurant owners would like to serve better fresher food but the market does not want to pay for it. Speak to any decent chef and they will tell you that the most important thing is the quality and freshness of the ingredients. Comparing your 20 and 30 euro bills one place may use bulk pre prepared frozen veg and sauces, the other does its own prep from local fresh seasonal produce. It is up to the restaurants to market them selves so that we know what they are serving.
Next weekend I will be cooking bass or bream which will probably be farmed but it will be the best I can find and certainly not be from Greece ( too far away ) or from Spain if we can help it.
I am sure if I opened a "Weatherspoons " in the Algarve with its pre packaged portion controlled value meals I would do very well.
But as I once overheard in a well known fast food place in the states that I was taken to " if god had meant us to eat this ***** he would not have given us taste buds "

The views of those in the restaurant business locally are conspicuous by their abscence. !! Lets hear from them.

[widge]

Well my plans sholuld I win the lottery of opening a Rick Stein Franchise fish restaurant in Carvoeiro have been shelved.
Clearly there is no market for good high quality fresh food as any old stuff will do providing its cheap enough.
I feel sorry for those restauranters who do try as they have over estimated the tastes of many in Carvoeiro

Dear EMM I hope you do win the lottery but I can assure you that Rick Stein would not franchise to you however rich you might be.

I have spent my entire career in the hotel & catering business & understand your well intentioned comments regarding wild, farmed, organic, sustainable fish. However,not everybody can discern between these choices & I include restaurateurs - particularly here in Portugal - where foreign nationals seem to dominate the trade.

So, for the sake of sensible reviews, please refrain from focussing on this aspect of eating out & just tell us when you have a good eating out experience.

[Bruce Wallis]

I am sorry to say EMM, that whilst you have a point, you destroy it by your almost blindly obsessive pursuance of that point.

Your point is well made and flogged to death. Can we drop it now please??

[tricky]

Okay, lets drop it. But can I say.. I LOVE FISH! don't care where it is caught, if its farmed or wild, give me a glass of white wine, some fish and any restaurant in Carvoeiro and I'm a happy girl

(although have to say the black bass of Vila Nova is my favourite)