Restaurante Alma D'Sal — Restaurant in Óbidos

In the wake of my friend's review, I find myself compelled to share my own account of this very unusual experience.

Picture this: two fathers, accompanied by their daughters, poised to wrap up a splendid day with the serenity of a sunset, accompanied by refreshing drinks, snacks and warm coffee. A vision of bliss, one might say.

However, reality took an unexpected turn. Thrice we ventured into negotiation, met each time with bewildering resistance. Despite our polite demeanor, we were denied the simple pleasure of enjoying a cup of coffee.

Amid our attempts at negotiation, every proposal we put forth — be it the option to settle indoors, by the bar, or in any open space; a willingness to explore the menu extensively, indulging in drinks, dishes, soups — all to adhere to the 'only dinners here now' this rough lady's stipulation; the suggestion of a takeaway coffee for our convenience; our open-mindedness in generating solutions that could benefit all parties; and our wholehearted commitment to adhering to the establishment's policy through substantial spending — was met with a prompt and resounding refusal.

Regrettably, our appeals fell on deaf ears, leaving us dumbfounded and disheartened. Our pleas unfolded in the presence of other patrons, who empathized. 10 minutes of humiliation! The staff's dedication to customer satisfaction appears sorely lacking, casting a real big shadow on the establishment's future

Dear kindred souls, with curious and innocent young ones in tow, we embarked on a long odyssey to the nearest sunset oasis, solely due to one staff member's inexplicable obstinacy. The approaching sunset served as a poignant reminder of time lost, while our young daughters questioned why this place stood against us.

It's important to clarify one thing more. Many locales restrict simple coffee service when it is so-called "dinner hours". However, this incident deviated from the norm, as elucidated above. This narrative is presented not to deceive, but to provide an honest portrayal for the discerning eyes of management.

Beware, fellow seekers of serenity, lest your own encounter...

Would put 0 (zero) for customer service - only if Google had it. And would send crew to training ASAP

Almost ruined a perfect day, of 2 fathers with 2 daughters, ready to leave your place a generous amount - just to have a sunset with drinks and coffee.

Had 3 (three) attemts to negotiate. One by one. With lots of "please" and promises to spend €€€.

But - we as well needed a COFFEE. It's good to have a coffee after a very long day, right?

Well - it is a big taboo here. Probably administrator was somehow hit hard, so like Pavlov's dog, when the word "coffee" is spoken - she is ready to bark & bite.

We were ready, and we proposed to: ✔️ Sit outside, by the bar, anywhere (there were lots of free spaces) ✔️ Buy anything from menu: drinks, fishes, meals, soups, whatever - just to comply with "Coffee only with dinners" ✔️ Get a takeaway coffee ✔️ Proposed other win-win solutions ✔️ Spend any good amount

❌ We were triple refused bluntly, while we were speaking very friendly. ❌ In front of other customers (who were shaking heads in support, but could not do much here) ❌ You have got yourself a real tough anti customer oriented stuff. ❌ A straight pathway to getting the business down, dear Management, despite your DJ and wonderful views

Or maybe she is someone's daughter? Even worse then...

Respected people, nice looking children, we then had to drive 30 km (!) to next sunset bar (there are very few around on the beach) just because of 1 weird attitude girl. And the sunset was coming... And the 8 year old girls were: "What happened, why this lady was against us?"

NB There is tons of places in the world, who do not support sitting with just coffee, when it is a dinner time But this (re-read above) was 100% not the case here. Writing this - to avoid lying to Management

Here - the Kracken...

What a shame that a place with this amazing location and view is so pathetically amateur. The servers are like being at some kind of hippie Woodstock reunion, tattooed, pierced and completely casual, in a place with over the top prices. We had dinner with another couple and waited almost an hour for the food. We ordered entrees only, simple fish, grilled steak, vegetables and had no idea what they were doing. Finished a whole bottle of wine by the the food came and one of our group didn’t get his steak for a solid ten minutes while waited as the fish was getting cold. There is no elegance to the place other than the incredible location. No bread or olives to snack on for the long wait. I am sorry but I refuse to pay for bread and olives as they are very inexpensive items that should automatically appear on the table, especially when the entrees are over 30 euros! Seriously, give me a break that they are so stingy here that they charge you for mediocre bread. Having been in the food business for over 35 years, there is one thing I know well, give away inexpensive thing, such as what I mentioned above and your clients will be so much happier than sitting there with nothing in front of them for 45 minutes. The fish was well done as were the sides but the price tag didn’t match up to the experience and I would not recommend...