Carvoeiro region Restaurants.

[silver fox]

I have been reading the posts for quite some time giving the opinions of people who have been to various establishments ,and how happy/unhappy they were with the experience.

I have been coming to this area for over twenty years, and have never had the excellent or fantastic food that some people say they have had .

What i have had on many occasions is reasonably good food or in some cases good food,but never has it reached top grade.

Generally the wine served is medium quality at exceptionally high prices, and how they get away with it beats me. One also notices that all the wine lists are roughly the same old ones

If one really wants to experience fine Portuguese food and wine then they will have to go either Porto or Lisbon. The Algarve is for tourists and the restaurants know that in general most of their clients are a "passing trade" who will never darken their door again.

[Lesley Jean]

I beg to differ on the last sentence as a lot of the restaurants rely on people going back again and again and on word of mouth. I agree that the food is not 'top notch' in cvo and you do have to go further afield for places that offer real 'Portuguese food' or wine that is of a higher quality, but surely that is what the Algarve is all about, tourists and the trade they create. If you want a gastronomic experience then go somewhere else, France, Italy, Porto etc the reviews on this site are for the tourist trade to find restaurants that suit their pockets and family.

Don't really understand why you felt you needed to post this

[laserblazer]

I agree with LJ. This is a CVO website, so we will be commenting on CVO restaurants. I would question why anyone with such high gastronomic standards would want to visit the area in the first place. For me, the atmosphere is more important than the food, so my choice in restaurants reflects this. Last Friday we had lunch at a little place in the middle of nowhere between Monchique and Santa Clara. We had a very tasty toasted sandwich and coffee and watched the other customers. Workmen, a Policeman, a couple of elderly, very well dressed ladies. Then an old farmer turned up in his three-wheeler parked up and then had to chase after the van as it rolled down the hill. You won't get entertainment like that in a ***** Porto restaurant.

[roy4eyes]

In my experience the good food in Lisboa/Porto is no better and the bad food no worse than in the Algarve.
All resorts tend to be more expensive and, if anything, the tourist areas of Lisboa such as Cascais and Estoril tend to be more expensive than here.
For the truly wealthy there are - I am told - Michelin rated restaurants in the 'Golden Triangle' serving food as good as any in the world witrh wine lists covering more than Monte Velho
For good cheap food you have to get away from the cities and tourist areas - and not that far e.g O Tasco at Senhora da Verde serves ensopado do coelho (rabbit stew) to die for at about 8.50 with good house wine at 4.50 a litre.
One thing I would agree on is the prevalence of vastly overpriced and very limited wine lists in this area. The north wins hands down in this area.

[BushBaby]

You sound rather snotty to me silver fox!
If as you say,you've been coming to the Algarve for 20 years,then Im surprised that you still keep going to the place if the food isn't up to your standards?
But what you have to remember is everyone has different tastes.Many Im sure,like myself have simple tastes in food and as for wine,if it tastes good to me then thats fine.
What you also have to remember too is that families come to the Carvoeiro region,couples with young children and are on a budget.
You sound like a wealthy man with finicky tastes.Give me simple grub any day washed down with a local wine or a spritzer.
Try focusing on the beautiful surroundings instead of whats going into your tum

[Lesley Jean]

The other thing is that when we are on holiday I do not want to be in the house/or outside for that matter, cooking, so to be able to find cheap places to eat with cheap wines gives me a far better holiday. We can eat out 5 nights a week and still be able to afford a good meal with good wine once or twice during our holiday.

[fmm]

Being in marketing, I am wined and dined in many good restaurants around the world and am "lucky" enough to have my family just down the road from the Fat Duck (which is 2nd in the top 50 restaurants in the world) and which we go to a couple of times a year. I've also made it several times to Le Garvoche, Nobu, The Waterside etc, again all of which appear in the top 50. I think that this means I have eaten supposedly decent food at decent restaurants.

As far as the Algarve is concerned, I have had some bland and poor food in some restaurants and some excellent food in others. Maximes consistently performs well, both in quality, choice and service. At the "local" end of the scale, the Marisqueira serves fresh fish from the grill that is always tasty and cooked to perfection.

As far as the wine is concerned, I was interested to hear today that specialists have worked out that you should never spend more than £6.99 on a bottle of wine as most people would be unable to taste the difference between a good bottle at that price and a very expensive bottle.

I have been in Lisbon several times and have only eaten at one restaurant that I would revisit - this was a fish restaurant and it was not of the same standard as Rui's in Silves. Never been in Porto and unlikely to go there to be honest.

I agree that there is sometimes a lack of imagination in the menus, but this does NOT stop the food from being top grade. If you want to eat cigar leaf icecream, nitro-green tea and lime mousse and salmon poached in liquorice gel, then simply don't come to the Algarve!

[SJ & RE]

totally agree

[Glasllwch]

Have to agree about Marisquera for the fish.

Despite having come to CVO for the last 7 years hadn't used it until my stay in May this year.

Well worth a visit.

[laserblazer]

Where is it?

[silver fox]

Well well well!
It appears that people do not read and digest what was origonally written, before launching into print.........

My comments were that i have never had the so called "fantastic/excellent food that some experience, but rather good or very good food. This is a fair comment and so far no one has contradicted this.
I never said that the overall food was poor/bad or anything else. What i said about the markup on wine cannot be contradicted.

The commentator who based his experience of food in Lisbon to one restaurant ,to give a comparason, clearly does not know what he is talking about..........

You are all quite right that one does not come to this area purley for the food, but for many other reasons, too numerous to mention.

Whil'st some of you to make personal attacks, i do not believe that this is the way to conduct any discussion..

[HampshireRich]

Well well well!
It appears that people do not read and digest what was origonally written, before launching into print.........

My comments were that i have never had the so called "fantastic/excellent food that some experience, but rather good or very good food. This is a fair comment and so far no one has contradicted this.


Whil'st some of you to make personal attacks, i do not believe that this is the way to conduct any discussion..

Don't take it to heart, Silver Fox - the restaurant theme quite often gets emotional - it's like you are attacking the family sometimes.

As far as your original post goes, there are a lot of "middle of the road" places (for want of a better term) and I have had some pretty average meals, but mostly value for money (even at O'Boteca - and that will get 'em going again). I have occassionally had some excellent meals - In Monte CVO, Tia Ilda, Mistral to name a few - but it's not guaranteed.

I think your comment about passing trade/darken doors is a bit harsh though. As for the wine, I always have a beer and the dearly beloved will either have a soft drink or a jug of Sangria, so can't comment on that.

Asever, on this topic, its each to his/her own.

[BushBaby]

Sorry silver fox I went a bit over the top on my post

[blue]

We have been to several restaurants in the Algarve & had excellent food, I don't know what the definition is of 'fantastic food', I personally don't like my food to be man handled into towers & weird & wonderful shapes by sweaty chefs & I prefer my art hung on a wall rather than arranged on a plate. We have been to supposedly fantastic restaurants in London & found them to be anything but, usually a great deal of style & hype over substance, still I guess it's subjective each to their own. Portuguese cuisine in general isn't my cup of tea, northern or southern but there are some restaurants in the Algarve serving excellent food & a lot serving good food, & the rest a mix of mediocre to awful, just like most other places in the world.

[fmm]

[quote="silver fox"]Well well well!


The commentator who based his experience of food in Lisbon to one restaurant ,to give a comparason, clearly does not know what he is talking about..........

quote]

If you are referring to my comment, then you are also guilty of not reading a post properly. I said the only restaurant in Lisbon that I would revisit, not that I have only been to one restaurant in Lisbon. I have been to about 20 or 30 over the past 8 years as have been there on business many times.