Chef Antonio

[april]

I never seem to see any reviews about Chef Antonios, so here goes....it is fab! The staff are all lovely and Antonio always comes out and says hello to us and even sings for us---whether we like it or not!!! The fish is always beautiful and fresh and top notch. Try the whole plaice- dont have a starter! its huge. There's lots of other stuff on the menu too, chicken cordon bleu, steaks-the one with mushroom sauce is lovely, pasta, curry, lamb, pork. Plenty of choice and great for kids too with pingu ice creams etc.

[Barry]

Delayed response to your post, April, but agree entirely. It has become the restaurant we visit most, since it has the right combination of good quality at reasonable prices. It was also one of the few "good" places open when we were over in December, and was doing quite well for the time of year. So there are other people who agree with us!

[Sandy]

Well.... I had a downer on CEs. Last year we went there several times and were given very stale bread as soon as we sat down. We sent it back and it came back in the same condition. The waiter told us it was all cut up at 6pm and he was not able to give us any freshly cut bread. Probably a minor point but pretty sad given the high standards they would like to aspire to.

[Barry]

Not had this problem, Sandy, but we do tend to eat about 7 o'clock. Don't think I would mark a restaurant down too severely on the freshness of it's bread, if everything else was fine. You can always refuse the couvert. We will still be back there at the end of this month, providing they are open!

[april]

the thing about bread wherever you go on holiday is, its never the same as it is in britain-probably cos lots of us use that white processed stuff for convenience--if you make bread at home it always comes out heavier--well mine does! And really anywhere you go in portugal the bread is very similar! have you tried the bread in Greece -you could kill the waiter at 50 paces.

[Barry]

Agree with you there, April. Now that we are more frequent visitors, the one thing we have yet to find is bread that is anything near what we are used to in the UK - except the frozen stuff in Inter Marche. We have found rolls which are baked on the premises in Bom Dia, a small supermarket in CVO, and these are OK for a lunchtime sandwich. May just have to get used to the local varieties.

[shanagarry]

This has got to be the worst restaurant anywhere - it is devoid of atmosphere - the food is appaling and the service even worse.

I formed this opinion early last year and returned recently due to the 'pressure' from a friend who insisted that it could not be that bad - it was worse. The staff clearly wanted to close early and made it apparent by sitting around on the outside terrace.

We might as well of had our meal outside on the Estrado do Farol - at least there would have been some atmosphere there.

[Mike,Chislehurst]

Out of curiosity, what time did you turn up. I've always found the food and the staff very good indeed. But there again we are normally in by latest 8.15!

[shanagarry]

We got there at 8.45pm at their request - we would have preferred 8.00pm. We booked 3 days in advance.

[kteee]

We have only ever eaten there a couple of times - and have never really been that impressed.

[april]

we rarely get there before 9.30--you know how girls are, there's the hair, the make- up, then, what to to wear !

[e-llen]

Chef Antonio would certainly not be our restaurant of choice, have eaten there once or twice but meals mediocre. As for Portuguese bread it is delicious when fresh.

[Barry]

I guess all restaurants have their off days, but we had our first dissappointing meal there on our recent visit. The food was OK, but the service was inattentive. It was also the very cold week at the start of February, so the total atmosphere was far from warm. We were going to return with friends later in the visit but switched to Lanterna, where we received a very warm and friendly reception from Sol and his team. Our last meal was in L'Orange, where they know how to put good atmosphere and good food together.

[Robin74]

Having eaten there on a few occasions I do think that Chef Antonio deserves some credit.

I like the food very much. The atmosphere is not what you call romantic but with large groups the place will do! Like I said they serve good food!

TRy th eWiener Schnitzel with Stroganoff , it is superb!!!

Say hello to Paula the cook while you are there!

Rob

[dan&mary]

Visited Chef Antonio's once whilst in Carvoeiro - distinctly 2 star - but we didn't try the Portuguese dishes which looked fantastic. Overall though, we prefer quality over quantity.

D&M