Chef Teresa — Restaurant in Prainha

PRAWN SCAM

It’s been over a year since I dined here, but it’s still weighing on me. Here’s what I wrote back then:

Let’s deal with the uncomfortable part of this review first—the elephant in the room—or rather, the giant plate of prawns on the table.

When my dinner party and I sat down to eat, a two-tiered platter of jumbo shrimp adorned our table. A dish we hadn’t asked for, but certainly impressive. When we asked what these were, Teresa told us they were number so and so on the menu, expensive (at about 39€), but sure, why not, we would try them. The dinner was ordered and the meal tasty, a highlight: the octopus and gambas rice.

Sadly, when we came to pay the bill, the prawns were 79€ (the cost of ALL FOUR mains we had combined). It felt like we had been taken advantage of, having not requested this dish in the first place, and being charged more than we were originally told. Not wanting to make waves, we paid and left, a bad taste in our mouths. It’s a shame because we enjoyed the food we actually ordered.

My advice: be wary of any platters awaiting you at Teresa’s. Simply say “no thanks” and take something more reasonable, and far...

Pro: Great food Cons: Beware of the dishonest trick they pull; when we sat down there was an unsolicited large dish of 10 prawns, meat and cheese cold cuts, and bread waiting for us which we never ordered. These amounted to €70+ worth of food which you need to uncomfortably ask the owner (waitress) to take back, which she reacted to in a very strange manner saying “the dishes are not free, I don’t work for free”. Very uncomfortable and confrontational start to what should be a nice meal. Whilst I understand in Portuguese restaurants it is common to have “couvert” waiting for you at the table, putting the single most expensive dish (prawns) on the table is frankly, dishonest.

The owner is also fairly odd and unfriendly. From the first interaction (front door is locked from the inside) to later on (sending back unsolicited food

Expensive for...

It's a nice enough place but small and, it appears, focused on and patronised by embassy staff. That means good quality food but unimaginative and perhaps a little pricey, served in a somewhat forbidding small room by an unwelcoming person who may herself be Cheff Teresa. She's obviously popular with some clients but we felt like we'd intruded on a private enclave. Very nice wine by the glass but God knows what, with hand over label (not the sort of waiter you want to ask anything). Periperi prawns were not spicy, garlic prawns light on garlic, but I can't complain about quality or quantity. If it had felt friendly and the menu hadn't been dog-eared and the card machine had been working ("comms problems" an unacceptable excuse even in Cabo Verde) I'd have...