ÀCosta by Olivier Algarve — Restaurant in Albufeira

One of the most significant discrepancies between quality of food and quality of service I have experienced.

Had fish of the day and it was outstanding and portions were good. I could give 5 stars, however the price was high so I've given 4. You need to brace yourself for a €60-€100 main meal without drink here and there is opacity over pricing for the "of the day" specials. For anyone looking for a special occasion meal who wants to know the hit to the wallet, I would not recommend this restaurant unless you are content to stick to the concise a la carte menu.

Now we turn to service. This could easily have been a 1, but it's saved by one of the servers who seemed like the assistant manager who clearly knew about fish and had the best English (he was thus in high demand).

Service was very friendly but inattentive. At check-in the attitude was excessively casual (opened mouthed chewing of gum included) and despite arriving early when the restaurant was empty (and it was at most 1/3rd full by the end of the night) we were given the worst table closest to the entrance. Upon request this was changed, but this kind of confused service continued. Wine was not refilled consistently despite frequent monitoring of tables and ample staff. The process of plating felt incoherent. When the bill was provided the server immediately hovered with the card machine waiting for payment; this was not appropriate particularly as we'd been told we could recharge to our hotel room. The service was more like what you'd expect from a friendly casual bar where bottles of wine don't exceed €50. This was encapsulated by the comical experience of being asked for the first time if everything was okay with the food when my wife had finished hers and I had almost entirely consumed mine.

Atmosphere was incongruous. Instead of leaning into the terrific beach side view and the decor we were subjected to techno club beats, which as well as being annoying was needlessly loud. There was an automated techno-DJ set on site for some reason - which is particularly commercially baffling as it wasted space for covers. This made more sense as the sun set but it was a baffling choice for pre-9pm in basically full sun.

On reflection the experience felt akin to a soft opening without the associated...

My wife and I dined here last night, and it was an unforgettable experience.

We were seated right on the cusp of indoors and outdoors, with a stunning view of the beach and ocean — and in our imagination, the distant coast of Morocco just beyond the horizon.

Our evening was made even more special by our server, a young man named Helder. If you visit, make a point of asking for him. He’s personable, full of life, and gave us fantastic recommendations throughout the night.

I started with the stuffed squid and followed with the red shrimp for my main — both dishes were exceptional. For dessert, Helder suggested something that brought baked Alaska to mind, but with a texture so light and airy, it felt like eating clouds.

Do yourself a favour and book a table here. Truly a tremendous...

Olivier da Costa is one of the most prestigious Portuguese Chefpreneurs, currently with restaurants on three continents and seven countries in total: Brazil, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand and Portugal. Produce from the ocean is one of the centre points of the varied menu, featuring fish and seafood combined with traditional recipes inspired by Portuguese roots An incredible location with a view of the Atlantic Ocean, excellent wines from the volcanic region of Madeira. We were completely satisfied with the...