Restaurante O Farol — Restaurant in Albufeira

Went to the Restaurant yesterday after a day on the beach and wanted some good portuguese food and had high expectations.First we were denied a cosy table for two right at the beach and were moved in a noisy corner right in front of at the bar, which was a bit strange since most tables were free.2 seconds later a single portuguese man came and got the same table we were denied.Anyway we ordered Sangria and intended to have a good time,The Sangria was ok,but with far to much lemon and no orange so the acidity was sky high but was dealt wit by adding oranges after asking a different waiter.My wife ordered a pepper steak and i ordered the steak with mushroom sauce and specifically requested medium.After nearly 40 minutes of waiting the steaks arrived BUT was like hockey pucks,way,way ower well done and almost impossible to cut in to.The server got grumpy when we asked him ( werry nicely) to take the steaks back,not even an appologie was given for this mistake.So after another 40 min the steaks came back but this time it was way under.It was rear - and this time the waiter noticed and asked to take it back,which he did and when it came back less than 2 min later it was no better,still rear- so which grill this steaks was on,i don't know, so now we had given up and told the waiter to give us the bill which was far easier than continuing this slow suffering of carelessnes from the kitchen and waiter.This waiter clarely didn't care at all. I never go out to find errors or mistakes in the restaurants i visit because mistakes happen all the time but at least admit to the mistakes and appollogise to the customer,even if the mistake is done by the vaiter or the kitchen.After all the customer is the one that pays your salary, not the owner!! Nedless to say that we are not going back to this restaurant during our stay in...

Pros: • Location is right on the beach • Food was fresh

Cons: • The only reason we picked this place is because it had advertised grilled fish - while I appreciate we visited pff season and certain fish is not available (like sardines, we were told), the only fish they had was sea bass. Which leads me to its price: €50/kg. We paid €50 euro, off season for 2 fillets of sea bass. I eat a lot of fish, pretty much where I go and wherever possible to have fresh fish and coming from an European country with access to the Danube, having fresh fish is a must but €50 for 2 portions of sea bass is way too much! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it - it was fresh and well cooked, just what I wanted but the bill left us with a bad taste…

• No one touches my fish! Like mentioned above, I eat a lot of fish, meaning I know how to clean and eat it. And while I appreciate not everyone does, I noticed how the waitress cleaned the fillets off the bone for the people at the table next to us and when I mentioned I can do for ours, she insisted she did it. I did mention to her that I know how to do it and I would like to do, however she insisted she did and so I had no choice. I understand that it might have been easier to do so to clear the serving platter but I felt a bit forced like I had no other option but to do as she instructed…

All in all food was good but I found it overpriced and service was...

On this beach this is the only place located ON the beach. So there isn't much of a choice when you want to sit in the shade, but having a beach-feeling at the same time and some food'n drinks.

The first day we've ordered some sardines w/ potatoes and a plate of mussels. Both were good, fresh fish and seafood. Service was fine, a bit basic though. Had a pitcher of sangria with. We usually not drinking it....mostly lots of sirup and cheap wine. And this was no different, but we just wanted to drink it once on this trip.

Prices are not cheap, but I thought still ok, you pay for the prime location and that's fair enough. Our Bulldog was welcome as well here.

But there's a kiosk attached to this restaurant, which belongs to the same owner and kitchen. The menu is shorter, mostly fast food and beer. But if you want to just eat something small and still get the great location, you should take a seat there. Which is what we did the second day. Food was....well, fast food. A Burger and Fried Calamari. But prices are low, the beer was cold and our dog even here - at the beach - welcome!

A place we would come back....but to the...