Central Station — Restaurant in Albufeira

We were pulled off the street by a staff member promising a VIP area. That turned out to mean a table out of the way, away from the main bar, and more or less out of sight. The drinks were offered quickly, which seemed promising, but when they arrived a few of them tasted like they’d been watered down along the way. It then took quite a while for anyone to come back to take our food order , so much for the VIP treatment. When the food finally did turn up, some of it was incorrect, and what did arrive was largely forgettable. The nachos in particular were a low point: barely warm. We decided not to make a fuss as the football was on, and we were just trying to enjoy the evening. But getting someone’s attention for another round of drinks became its own sort of challenge. After a fair bit of waiting, one of our group quietly mentioned to the manager that service had been quite slow and asked if we could order. The manager came over, threw the bill on the table and shouted at us to eff off or he’d call the police. We were taken aback as the tone of the request was calm and polite. We immediately said we’d pay, to make it clear we weren’t trying to get out of anything. But when he returned with the card machine, the shouting continued, this time with a threat to give us “a few minutes before the police are called”. Not wanting a scene, we paid and left. As we walked out, he squared up to us at the door and sarcastically wished us success in life. A strange end to the evening. In fairness, they may have been understaffed, and there was clearly a language barrier, but there is no excuse for that level of aggression. Only after leaving did we look at the reviews and realise many others have had similar experiences. A shame we didn’t check first.

If you’ve already been, unlucky. If you’re reading this beforehand, you’ve...

Avoid this restaurant literally like a plague!!!!! Booked a table for 14. After a round of drinks used the toilets that were filthy and had no soap/handwash in both gents and ladies 😔. Brought this to the immediate attention of the staff and a cold gentleman who looked like part of management who did not seem bothered.we had to use our own hand sanitizer to eat the starters . After a few more rounds of drinks while waiting for the mains went to the gents….no soap….no handwash. I raised the issue again with the same manager who said they were so so busy to attend to the toilets and if we were not happy we should leave!!!! By this time other guests were queuing to report the same the same unbothered man. Infact he had the guts to come to our table and shout the same instructions that we should leave his restaurant as “he had never seen people like use”!!!!!!! Just because we reminded him about a simple legal requirement that any establishment that serves food for human consumption must have the appropriate hygiene conditions and asking for handwash in filthy toilets was not a lot to ask for. We obliged and left the his restaurant after he embarrassed us infront of a packed restaurant. By this time the children in our group were in tears as they had never such an aggressive approach in any restaurant. We walked next door to Restaurante Pampas where we were happily recieved confirming we were not aliens as he suggested. We had a fantastic main meals, yummy desserts and top notch level of service and surprise! surprise! the toilets were clean and most importantly had sufficient handwash. So, there you are, only go to this restaurant if you want to leave with food...

Central station. I do not know where to start, when we arrived on Monday we were enticed by the happy hour… similarly to other bars in the area, although unlike other bars in the area, the staff here are absolutely fantastic, we felt like family from day one and I feel privileged to have been a ‘local’ for the week, João. The best waiter I have met, he is accommodating, friendly and nothing is ever too much, Lara, the kindest person in this bar, her excitement and energy towards work is totally unmatched, her laugh brought so much joy and happiness to our table, Christian, a perfect waiter, always smiling and having a good time, Antonio! On the karaoke, in one word? Absolutely incredible, he knows how to get the job done and get people happy and dancing, Andrea, the bartender he makes the best Long Island tea in all of albufeira and believe me I’ve tried enough of them. Bhim, he invited us in and made us feel welcome, the next day he did the same, and then we came in by choice again and again, he is welcoming and kind. To everyone who didn’t get a mention in this, you all did fantastic and no one made us feel unwelcome or a burden, to everyone at Central Station. Thankyou. to anyone who has not been to central station. GO!!! Have a good time, and definitely have a Long...