Aqua Chill Seafood Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Faro

Revised review based on prompt response to the owner. Perhaps it was an off day. Updated the review to add a star because I do appreciate the response, so here’s the revised review with more clarity.

The place is pretty cute and the food was okay, but service is incredibly slow and some of our dishes never came out. We came in when it was very slow. Sat down and immediately ordered. Our total time in the restaurant was 1.5 hours according to the video recording, but when you are watching people come in after you and get their food first, it’s incredibly frustrating and feels longer. In the time that we waited, we received the appetizers (clams, bread and spread, chicken wings, ceviche, water, and ice teas). This came out within the first half hour so we added another order of chicken wings and an order of nuggets. We waited the 1.5 hours and after our entrees (octopus and grilled fish) never came, I went up to cancel the rest of the food so we could pay and go. I tried to cancel and stood there for awhile, with the staff telling me it was coming out. I could see that they were working on something else but I went back to check on my husband. When I got there, he said the kids are tired (my younger son was sleeping waiting for his chicken) and he was tired of waiting. I went back up to cancel and pay, and this time, I could see they were working on plating the octopus. Since it was ready, we took that dish, but that was my entree (hubby ordered the grilled fish) but since my husband only ordered an entree and no appetizers, I had him eat my meal. After the octopus came out, I paid for our meal while hubby ate super fast to get us out of there. We didn’t get the grilled fish, or the two additional items ordered.

As for the food, hit and miss. The octopus was delicious. One of the best preparations we ever had. The bread was fine, it came with butter, a tuna mayo dip and olives. The clams were good, but not the best. A small bowl (about 18 or so of small clams), which I thought was $16 on the menu, but perhaps I’m wrong or the menu I got was outdated (see pictures of the posted menu someone else used since I didn’t take a photo of it). I’ll give them the grace and say I may have misread it (if we got all our food we wouldn’t have cared about the prices at all! We travel to eat, but somehow when you don’t get what you expect and it takes so long to get food, you do sit there and roughly estimate where you’re at and if you should cut your losses). Anyway, the ceviche was just okay. Unevenly seasoned (some bites were great, other bites lacked acid or salt) but fine once I made sure my bites were all mixed up to even out the flavors. The chicken had the potential to be great. Some bites were nice and hot, other bites were very cold in the middle. We were hungry so we ate it anyway after I looked at the bones to make sure it was cooked all the way (and it was), which prompted my husband to ask the staff if it was reheated chicken. They didn’t say, but again, the potential was there and it was cooked through so even unevenly reheated, it’s not the end of the world. It was good enough for us to order another portion, but ask that it be cooked longer to address the uneven cook on it. And that’s literally everything we ate. The octopus was delicious, but basic bread, decent clams, okay ceviche and chicken with cold spots (not warm but straight up cold bites in the middle)—better food could be had elsewhere with faster, more attentive service. At a minimum, we would have liked to have ordered more to drink so we weren’t just sitting there hungry and thirsty.

Since we were in a schedule, we didn’t have the luxury of waiting forever for our meal to come out in its entirety. We also never had to wait so long between the appetizers and entrees.

Ultimately, we left hungry and disappointed that the food didn’t come out. And yes, there was a language barrier. I used google translate. It’s not their responsibility to know English which is why this is more of a footnote. The review is strictly on the food...

If you have the chance to visit Culatra Island, I highly recommend this cute restaurant!!! After a lovely stroll around the beaches of the island, my wife and I just coincidentally passing by the restaurant, our attention was drawn to this charming place. From the outside it looked so calm, clean and welcoming that we couldn't resist it. We took a table without any great expectations and ordered some dishes for lunch which were recommended by the waitress. I ordered the octopus and my wife ordered the calamari with curry sauce and rice. And here our surprise was great. I had never eaten octopus so well prepared before. So tender,juicy and yummy.... it was a feast for my senses! Same goes for my wife's portion. This place turned out to be the pearl of the island! Thank you to the entire restaurant team for making a worthy end to our wonderful day on the island! We will...

We had a pleasant lunch at Aqua Chill on a Saturday (surprisingly not crowded at all). The shaded terrace is nice and the area pretty quiet, perfect to relax.

With my friend we shared a broth made out of fish, mussels and clams (on the menu it is indicated for 2 people). The seafood was definitely fresh and the broth so good ! We were satisfied with the quantity but my friend doesn’t eat much, so maybe for big appetites you might want to order an additional meal.

Just a suggestion for the staff if they read this : we would have appreciated if a plate/bowl had been brought to the table so we can put the empty shells inside, instead of keeping all the trash in our own plates + disposable cleaning napkins for our fingers.

The staff is young but professional and helpful, one of the waitresses was also pretty funny !

Payments by card are not accepted but you can pay by...