Elliots....good or bad?

Jenny P
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Elliots Restaurant - Monte Carveoiro

Post by Jenny P »

I have been reading all the comments about this restaurant and have come to the conclusion it is not the same one my friends and I have been to. For a start, the owners are always there. Corky and Alex are always there and have two members of staff; Anna and Fernado and also Corky's mum, Carol who helps out in the kitchen. They used to own a restaurant in Thorpness, Suffolk but sold up and moved to Portugal in April 2007. Corky is a fantastic cook and the food is always second to none, especially his stuffed baby squid and pork strogonoff. You should also try his coconut battered prawns for a starter, they are fabulous. In fact every dish on their menu is well worth having. Both of them are fantastic hosts and make sure you have a good time. We have a holiday home in Suffolk and every weekend you would find all four of us at Alex and Corky's Bistro and we have known them for a good few years. Our photo even takes pride of place on the wall in their new restaurant. We have tried numerous restaurants in Carvoerio, from Happys - which is excellent value for money to Ele & Ela which we found to be overpriced for such a shabby looking restaurant and whilst the rack of lamb is nice, it was not exceptional for the price they charged.
All in all, Elliotts is one of the better restaurants to eat in, it may be slightly out of the way but it is well worth it when you get there.
We have just come back from Portugal, this being our 2nd time and would recommend that if you are going to Carvoeiro, try Elliotts, you will not be disappointed.

Jenny, Ronnie, John & Jayne
03/11/2008 :D
Barry
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Post by Barry »

We have never had a poor meal here, and last night was no exception. We couldn't have been made more welcome by Alex. The food was excellent, and they are currently offering 15% off all food and drink. They are concerned that the traffic changes in the village will make Monte Carvoeiro more difficult to access, but I hope that they and O Salmao continue to succeed. The Indian restaurant has already closed.
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Post by EMM »

We had an excellent meal last night in Salmao.

They don,t pretend to be the cheapest but with the changing range of specials and little extras it makes a pleasant change from the majority who offer the same menu month in month out ( L orange and Maxims take note)
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Post by jimmyp »

Sad to hear the Taj Mahal has closed (the Indian not the temple!) Always had v good meals in there and very friendly service. I preferred it to O Castillo personally.

J
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Post by squidgybits »

which one in CVO is the Taj Mahal? I know there's the o'Indiano half way up the hill but never been the TM.
SB
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Post by jimmyp »

It was the one in the square - where Bubbi's used to be.
tone
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Re: Elliots....good or bad?

Post by tone »

we ate at Elliots last Saturday night.........we were the only table in there BUT we have to say the food was FANTASTIC, the service was exceptional......The lady who served us was very happy,a pleasure to talk to and tended to our every need.The chef even acknowledged us. After spending several years in Spain where food and service can be so up and down ,this establishment was a breathe of fresh air.
We would certainly recommend Elliots as worth a visit.

Tone :D
Barry
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Re: Elliots....good or bad?

Post by Barry »

The happy lady is Alex, and the chef is her husband, Corky. I guess she was happy to get SOME custom. They ran restaurants in the UK for 22 years before opening Elliots, so do have quite a lot of experience. Do hope they survive.
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Re: Elliots....good or bad?

Post by Cye »

Three of my family members and I spent 28 days in Carvoeiro. We ate out most every night. We only found Elliot’s during our last week. Well let me tell you that we loved it so much that in that week, we ate there 4 times for diner.

The service from Alex was exceptional; she made us laugh and spoiled us… Her husband made the best food for us, with attention to details. We had the Steak Portuguese style, the Frango na Pucara, Bacalauh con natas and the famous fish and chips. The also serve amazing desserts. All were wonderfully prepared and so tasty…we couldn’t decide the next day what to have. I even visited the kitchen; it was spotless and well organized and I also managed to leave with a special recipe…

These people work hard to make you feel special and it was hard for us to say goodbye. I hope that everyone who goes to Algarve get a chance to visit this wonderful couple.

Thank you Alex and Corky!
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Re: Elliots....good or bad?

Post by Barry »

Hi Cye, and welcome to the forum. Pleased that you enjoyed Elliotts, and hope that others will try it. Think the restaurants in MC square are vulnerable in the current recession. The good thing is that both Elliotts and O'Salmao are family run and both families are very hard working and will not give up easily.
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Re: Elliots....good or bad?

Post by Bruce Wallis »

I'm really confused about Elliots. Some people say how good it is, others that it is terrible.
Some that it is owned by a couple that ran a restaurant on the Suffolk coast, others that it is owned by a Portuguese couple who are a bit hit and miss.

We went to try it for ourselves last June, and it was closed!!

So what is the story on Elliots?? Because of the Suffolk connection I want it to be good :D

We went to O'Salmao with e-richard, roy4eyes and their wives and had a very nice evening. I particularly liked the lady proprietor. A delightful mix of Portugal and Glasgow!
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Re: Elliots....good or bad?

Post by EMM »

Its strange how we develop certain preferences, this time last year on one of first nights after moving into the villa we walked to Monte C intending to try Elliots, it looked far too busy so we tried Salmao, it was excellent,
We know we should try Elliots but it has odd closing days and its menu just does not do it for us.
We feel the same about L, Orange, Ela and Ela can also be far too crowded and as semi permanent residents we avoid the town in the summer as quality clearly suffers and standards fall when places get busy.

One of the real benefits of being regular visitors is that we have found is that we can buy fresh fish, vegetables, fruit , good meats etc, cook at home , re create many of the portuguese dishes for a fraction of restaurant prices.
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Re: Elliots....good or bad?

Post by Barry »

I can't find the thread, Bruce, but someone on forum did say some time ago they knew the Elliots UK restaurant very well. Think it was either Suffolk or Sussex. Alex is Portuguese and Corky English. They decided to try a restaurant in Portugal, because Alex obviously has family there. Her mother often helps in the kitchen, with desserts her speciality. Not sure if her daughter will eventually join her in the same way that Ana has at O Salmao, but talking to both families on very quiet evenings, the comment was the same. They may as well come to the restaurant in the hope of getting even a small amount of business, rather than staying at home. Wish them both well.
Bruce Wallis
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Re: Elliots....good or bad?

Post by Bruce Wallis »

I believe it was Thorpeness in Suffolk. An area we know well as my wife is from nearby Woodbridge.

The question is still begged....why the massively varying crits? I get the impression it depends very much on whether or not the proprietors are there at the time, and why the odd opening hours?
They dont seem to do themselves many favours, even a few negative crits can be very harmful to a restaurant in an area that there is so much choice.
Barry
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Re: Elliots....good or bad?

Post by Barry »

The restaurant does have one close down day per week, which they agree with O'Salmao, to ensure one of them is open. Not sure that they would go away and leave the restaurant to others. Cannot explain the odd negative experience, but it appears to happen to a number of restaurants, even L'Orange, :)
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