Restaurante Donaldo's — Restaurant in Albufeira

I am writing an unusual review. But I mulled over this for 2-3 days & felt I should write. My husband (spanish) & I (Indian) had dinner at Donaldo’s 2 nights ago. We had the cataplana & the bacalao con crema. The food was delicious, the service by one server was questionable. There was a particular tall server (Indian) who brought us our menus, at least I thought so. But he offered the menu only to my husband, explained everything to him, joked with him, finally practically just flung another menu at me. He was even about to take the order solely from my husband when I interrupted & asked my husband this time in German why the server had totally ignored me, the server sensed something & left (we & the server had been speaking in spanish before that). Then we were served by a very pleasant Portuguese server. Finally the Indian server came at the end to pick our plates and the way he picked the plates from my side was extremely uncomfortable for me. He stood behind me & bent over me to pick the plates. I had to push my body back into the chair, which with a very pregnant body was tough, to avoid his hands touching my chest. I thought it to be a human error till he picked the plates very differently from my husband’s side. He stood on the side & not over him. There were a couple of other small incidents that night with this particular person that have forced me to write this here. It was a very disturbing experience for me. I am an Indian too, so it was also disappointing to be treated like that by another person from my country. I couldn’t muster up the words to report at the spot, but after a lot of thought am writing this here so the restaurant takes notice. The food was good, but I have had nightmares of this...

We ate at this restaurant this evening after reading some very promising reviews. I can only say that we were very disappointed! We spoke to George at front of house who was very enthusiastic about the ribs, but mid conversation, we were whisked into the restaurant by a waiter and there seemed to be some friction between the two of them. Not a great start. We have previously had some wonderful Portuguese sangria in other restaurants and decided to order it again. It arrived, much smaller than previous jugs and it was disappointingly bland and more expensive! I asked for a little more liquor to be added, but there wasn’t much improvement. I decided to try the ribs with chips and salad, but soon after my order, I was told that the ribs were finished. I then changed my order to black pork, chips and salad. It arrived without the salad and was quite dry and uninteresting. My wife ordered lamb chops with vegetables and potatoes and it was ok but quite basic and not Portuguese in flavour. It was like eating in a Bernie inn or basic uk steakhouse. The service was uninspiring and for 55 euros, not worth the money. I must emphasise that we really like good food and looking around the restaurant, other people seemed happy enough to eat there. I think that the clientele that the restaurant caters for would be very happy with the food, but for me, while in Portugal, I expect...

Where to start... If Google allowed it it would be 10 stars. To start with Jorge is the most welcoming and friendly host, you couldn't wish to meet a nicer person. The service is amazing, the waiters are absolutely brilliant and very attentive. You could not ask for more helpful and friendly staff. The owner is without a doubt brilliant, I have never been to a restaurant where the owner is so attentive and friendly it is an absolute credit to the establishment. We have been visiting Albufeira for 10 years and have missed this hidden gem. Since our first vist on Monday we have dined here 3 times and the quality and standard is amazing. As a steak lover I have had some good steaks but the rib eye from Donaldo's is the best I have ever eaten. Asked for it to be cooked medium and that is precisely how it was served. With out doubt 'THE BEST STEAK' I have ever had. Thoroughly enjoyed dining at Donaldo's and only sorry it has taken 10 years to try. Already looking forward to our return next year.

I wish you all the health and success and look forward to seeing you in 2023.

Kind...