Altura Steakhouse&Bar — Restaurant in Aljezur

Well, we have been living in Portugal since sometime and we have eaten out in and around this area quite often. This is really one of the more expensive places though, which clearly creates some expectations. Therefore we were quite dissapointed with the waiting time for the service. We could have lived with that, however my partner took the weekend special which was a burger. But they served it without sauce!! A €15.50 burger in Portugal is already a bit steep, but everyone knows that a burger is "all about the sauce" how could you make it your special and not put sauce?! On top of this when we ordered some sauce to add it ourselves, we had to pay nearly €2 extra, and I am pretty sure it wasn't homemade. Just to be clear, this burger wasn't good enough to be standing without sauce.. When we told the waitress, she told us the burger was mostly ordered by children, but neither my kids would have been happy with a dry burger without taste and it wasn't priced or indicated as a child dish. The lamb was fine, but not as medium-rare as ordered and not too special. We were sitting at the terrace, but that had a straight "view" on the parking. So overall, not worth the money. There are better...

We were driving looking out for somewhere to eat and we happened across this place and the lighting and decor in daylight at 3pm In afternoon on a Thursday low peak drew us in. The decor was lovely: rustic Portuguese feel yet also with modern taste. The lady who greeted us was very professional and kind. We sat by the warm fire inside as it was cold outside and there were only 2 other tables.. but we could see they were getting ready for a busy night- but that didn’t stop the lady giving us space yet also attention. We had the prawn salad and tuna tartare and loved them both. We were so happy we will be sending friends and family here. The menu has fish seafood options as well as 2 veggie options in addition to the meat they serve. They also had a lovely selection of wines to drink there or purchase and as part of the decor. We found this this place really stood out for friendly and professional service which we found was not so easy to come by- maybe because not peak season? Def go...

Unfortunately, not as good as we expected, based on the reviews we read beforehand. The meat was good enough, but not spectacular - and too expensive for its quality. Our waiter was not as professional as you may expect. When our side of 'sweet potato fries' arrived, it turned out to be sweet potato crisps, not fries. When we told the waiter, he (in a cocky way) told us 'that's the way potato chips are in the whole of Portugal', which is simply untrue. The steak tartare looked more like a stack of minced meat and tasted off - we returned it, got no comment at all, and had to ask for a discount ourselves - again, not professional.

So, a bit of a disappointment, especially since Portuguese food is generally so good, and very affordable. This was the most expensive we've eaten in a month, and certainly not good...