The Beach Basket — Restaurant in Albufeira

If I could give this restaurant 0 stars I would!

A Disappointing and Unwelcoming Experience.

My friends and I recently visited Beach Basket for what we hoped would be a relaxing evening of dinner and drinks, but unfortunately, our experience was anything but pleasant. After sitting down and ordering drinks, we quickly realised that the menu offered very little selection and nothing that appealed to our tastes. When the waiter came back to take our order, we politely informed him that we would only be having drinks as we weren't interested in the food options.

To our shock, the waiter stormed off, clearly upset, and informed us, "It's a restaurant," as if we were somehow unaware. What followed was even worse—he proceeded to talk to his colleagues about us, and we noticed the staff giving us dirty looks from across the room. The same waiter returned shortly after, persistently asking, "Food order?" despite our earlier explanation. When we reiterated that we were just having drinks, he once again walked away in a huff, leaving us feeling extremely uncomfortable and unwelcome.

The constant negative attention from the staff made it clear that we were no longer wanted there, which completely ruined what should have been an enjoyable night out. We felt pressured to leave as quickly as possible, and even as we finished our drinks, the staff continued to talk about us and glare in our direction.

This level of unprofessionalism and disrespect is absolutely unacceptable in any establishment, let alone one that is supposed to offer hospitality. I would strongly advise anyone considering a visit to Beach Basket to think twice. There are plenty of other places where customers are treated with the basic courtesy and respect...

Review of the the Beach Basket Restaurant in Albufeira Dining Date: February 15, 2018

This has been one of the best dining experiences of hundreds that we have enjoyed over our years, both at home in Canada and travelling extensively.

From the greeter, Susanna, through our waitstaff Rita and Romeo, and including the chef Antonio, who welcomed us into his kitchen at the end, all staff were genuinely gracious, attentive and very informative. In particular, Rita demonstrated her love and knowledge of Portuguese food, wine and culture.

We sat in the entry bar area for a few minutes while we awaited a window front table overlooking the beach and ocean. Rita gave us a detailed and informative overview of their many traditional meals. Our mouths were watering before we even sat down.

Once at the table Rita helped us finalize our food decisions and recommended wonderful wine pairings. Our meals included: caesar salad, seafood cataplana and sea bass. All were wonderfully presented and superbly fresh and flavorful. The desserts of tiramisu, profiteroles, peach compote, and cheese board, together with the promised port and coffees were also delightful.

We were then invited into the kitchen to meet and were able to thank directly the chef, Antonio. This experience capped off a tremendous evening and was a wonderful way for us to say bon voyage to our two friends who were flying back to Canada the next day. These friends truly envy us, knowing that we will be dining again at the Beach Basket before we too will sadly...

Me and my friend have just arrived to Albufeira and we came across this restaurant with an amazing view.

We ordered the food, which was decent, and then we decided to get the desserts. I ordered a chocolate fondant, and my friend got a crème brûlée. My dessert was a bit stiff but I didn’t mind it, however the sugar on top of the crème brûlée was hard and just sank to the bottom without cracking. The dessert itself was freezing cold, even though the pot was warm. We had the impression that it was microwaved and just not up to standard in general.

My friend had complained about it to the waiter politely, and unfortunately the waiter did not apologise for the frustration with the dessert nor did he communicate anything further. When we have asked for the bill, the waiter was just not talking to us at all and rolling his eyes.

I came up to a different server after covering the bill to explain that we would appreciate it if the server wasn’t so rude to us and simply try to resolve the situation. The server said that they made the dessert up to standard and that’s why they “defend” their point in such way, which is, in our opinion, quite rude.

Me and my friend were trying to resolve the miscommunication in a nicest way possible as it is our first day of our stay here, but the waiters were not as accommodating as we would expect them to be.

My friend and I are both working in customer service/hospitality, so we were taken back that our first restaurant experience here...