Bubbles and Bites — Restaurant in Cascais

Quirky, cozy interior and fine food let down by the owner's dismissive attitude towards service quality and guest satisfaction.

10 minutes to present the food menu (and no wine list), then 60 minutes to serve two plates (tuna and veggies). Wouldn't be a problem if we were told in advance or given an update. If anyone spared us a smile and apologized for the delay, we would've ordered more starters and wine and enjoyed ourselves. But everyone working the tables seemed to assume we were doing okay grazing on bread and olives for over an hour.

When asked for a seafood recommendation, the lady waiting our table said that swordfish was great, but... it wasn't available. Later, the owner pointed out that they had great vegan options, including amazing beetroot ravioli that we came for, but... the ravioli weren't available. The hummus came in ~20g portions (the volume of butter you typically get with your bread). And the grilled veggies were basically a snack-sized side. Again, none of this would've been a problem if the staff set our expectations appropriately. There is little point in praising hypothetical dishes you won't serve.

To his credit, the owner came to check if everything was ok (after we asked for the bill). We politely responded that the food was fine, but the waiting time was too long and hummus portions could've been larger. He parried by saying that 1) he told "the girl" to inform about waiting times and it's her fault 2) hummus includes many ingredients, hence the tiny portion (right...) 3) they didn't expect ~50% attendance (at 20:00), etc etc. We didn't argue back. None of this made us feel any better. It almost seemed like we were at fault for showing up when they weren't prepared.

Finally, the lady running the kitchen showed up to apologize and explain. She came across as the the one who really cared and did her job well. If only her attitude was matched by the rest of the team, we would've had an great time, because the food was fine and the overall vibe of the place was very nice.

As a business owner myself, I totally understand staff training and supply issues. It's tough. But when you fail to deliver, you apologize and make amends. When your staff aren't performing, you step in and lead by example. A timely check-in, a smile, or a cheap drink on the house show that you care, make paying customers feel appreciated, and match the effort of...

We came here because we couldn’t figure out where we wanted to eat for dinner. All we really knew was that we wanted to eat dinner in Cascais, a town next to ours. We were navigating through the winding roads and the Google Map started taking us through a very hard-to-navigate area. We thought that it was just another one if Google’s useful shortcuts but then it said that we were arriving in 100 feet and that got us slightly worried that we had put in the wrong address. It told us that we arrived and we couldn’t see the restaurant. After looking around we found it (it was a little bit off the street). We had somewhat of a difficult time parking the car, but it was nothing to write a bad review about. We sat down and we were the only people in the restaurant. At the moment that I am writing this review it is very busy, so if you are one of the people that only goes to restaurants that are busy, you shouldn’t be worried. In fact, without a reservation, the only way to get in was to go early. Cutting right to the chase, I ordered the duck, which was one of the best meals that I have ever ordered in my life. We also ordered the “Pappardelle with Funghi and Truffle and with Parmesan Shavings”, “Drunken Lemon Chicken”, “Pumpkin Vegetable Soup with fresh Ginger”, “the Bread with Olive Tapenade”, and another sort of pasta dish that I can’t remember the name of. All of the dishes were absolutely to die for amazing. The “Drunken Lemon Chicken” was a creation of the Chef’s own making. It was cooked for hours in a wine and lemon sauce and the chicken was shredded. When I tried it, it wasn’t what I had expected; it was so much better. The duck however, was the best dish of the night. Then we ordered something called the “Chocolate Bomb” for dessert, which wasn’t on the menu, but was FANTASTIC. It was basically a slice of rich decadent cake that might as well have been fudge. It was amazing. Served with a strawberry it was a great end to the perfect dinner. This restaurant is a must. I would go out of my way to eat again. No matter what town you’re in. If you want good food, go here. (the picture is of the duck, but it doesn’t do it justice, you really have...

As a vegetarian I had to go for a basic salad as they didn't have many other options available. Not even the cocktail I wanted. Customer service was exceptionally slow due to the overly friendly owners who end up charging you for filtered water.

RESPONSE TO THE OWNER'S COMMENT BELOW: Thank you for getting back, hope I can clarify my points here.

If I complain about options, I obviously do that in relation to the information provided by the restaurant (your menu and my confirmation call given the night before, making sure your vegetarian options were available. Unfortunately, it was not exactly the case 24h later and I guess it can happen.)

I would never complain about you not making some personal cocktail recipe of mine. I obviously meant a cocktail listed on the menu that was not available.

I did ask for tap water and got a response "you don't want that filthy stuff, do you?", which obviously made me feel uncomfortable and I changed my choice.

The trainee waitress seemed lovely, customer-oriented and focused. You don't mind waiting for your water (even after having received the food), if you know that the staff remembers you, they're just busy or are learning the ropes. If that's not the case, like you say, I guess I have a problem :)

Good to hear you love your job and you're surviving...