Adega TiCosta Restaurante Tradicional Português — Restaurant in Albufeira

They make you queue outside to trick you into thinking this place is in demand even when there are plenty of tables, but don't be fooled. It was the worst restaurant we've eaten at the entire time we've been in Portugal, and to top it off the hostess is extremely snooty. The steak was anaemic and chewy, fries were oily, and the vegetables for both of us was some of the most unseasoned, bland food ever to see a plate. Please save your money, go anywhere else. This is a cook, not a chef. If you didn't show us, we would have said this food was microwaved.

EDIT: Just because your host has a hard job doesn't mean she has to be rude to strangers. Secondly, the swordfish was also awful. Third, we turned up and absolutely nowhere are there instructions on how to get a table, so we waited as we understandably assumed it was a queue. Then, the host was calling out names, so we went to ask if it was reservations or walk up. She under no uncertain terms told us there were absolutely NO reservations, but gave us no more information, so we waited some more. HALF an hour goes by and she continues to call out names. We then had to go back inside to ask if we would could be seated this evening, yet this rude lady actually walked away as I was talking to her. The man behind the bar seemed embarrassed for me and went to fetch her. It was at this point I finally got the blood out of the stone to be told your system - which was NO reservations, just to give your name in and wait. And we were absolutely NOT given a wait time. And lastly, your food tastes like a 4 year old made it. If that was traditional Portugese food, the country would have...

We were so disappointed in our experience at this restaurant especially as it had been recommended to us by someone whose opinion we valued. It could be that we were unlucky in our choices of food or that they were feeling the pressures of being extremely busy (we had to queue for a table - which we thought was a good sign?); either way the food we had wasn’t up to the mark. It was 9pm when we got seated, limited starter choice so we ended up with a vegetable soup (very average and lacked seasoning), and a bruschetta on bread that was so hard to cut through that I ended up eating the tomato &onion topping separately (but again this lacked flavour - very little basil and no oil in the mixture so it lacked flavour). Nevermind we thought - it’s late and they’re busy we’ll look forward instead to sharing one of the house specialty traditional Portuguese stews made to a family recipe for 2 people, but even this disappointed - although plentiful, the meat was tough and the gravy didn’t have the flavour that you’d expect from ingredients that had simmered together for a while - we asked for bread to dip into the juices when the meal arrived but none came. We didn’t want dessert . At the risk of sounding negative, I believe in writing honest reviews or else what is the point? Other reviews have been excellent so let’s hope that our experience was a one off. However, if the staff are reading this, it’s worth taking note not to compromise quality of service/food, in favour of squeezing as many people in...

It is for sure a tourist restaurant, because the menu is offered in 5 languages ;) Yet it is good food. We loved the choco fritos and the squid they are making.

The only thing I am not so happy about: We called 10 mins before we got there and asked if there was space. She said "right now not", but when you are here I am sure there is a table. In the end it took approx. 40 min (!) until we were seated (it took about 10 mins extra cause we didnt want to sit outside, as our son had a little bit of a fever). And I would have been fine with it if they had told us before that it will be that long, but all of you with children know waiting 45 mins with a 1,5 year old toddler isnt that great. Also then food took a long time, so in the end we spend over 2 hours at the restaurant.

So dear "Adega TiCosta"-Team: Keep up the good work, but please let people with toddlers know about the wait time for the seating and the...