ATO Restaurante — Restaurant in Faro

What a great, amazing, incredible experience! We chose this restaurant because of its great rating: And it did not disappoint.

Here's what we ordered: Tuna Tartare Sweetpotato Gnocchi Grey Mullet Choux Pastry Roasted Pear

All of those dishes were made fresh, with the best ingredients which you could taste. I started off with the tuna tartare only and immediately after trying it ordered the gnocchi - because I knew they just HAD to be just as good (which they definitely were) We didn't plan on getting dessert, but were so amazed by the sophisticated taste palette of the dishes before, we ended up ordering both - one after another because it kept delivering. The portions aren't too big which is a blessing because you get to try so many things of their small but incredibly thoughtful menu. It really made our evening - and should we come back to Faro someday, this one will be a must visit. Didn't even have the time or patience to take pictures of the food after the first round, literally licked the plates clean in a nice restaurant in front of other guest - that's how good it was.

Bonus: The chef was incredibly nice. He works in an open kitchen, so you can see him do his magic. The service is a 10/10 as well - provided us with free tap water after saying we didn't want to get a bottle. Really appreciated that especially. It's all about the guest.

Thank you tons. It's been a highlight. An...

We ate here in June 2023: had prawn fritters as starters, croaker with roasted tomatoes and watercress and sea bream with roasted leeks as mains and roasted pear with fresh cheese as dessert. Based on our experience (and the vast majority of reviews on this place and its chef in particular) from the ingredients to the composition of the dishes to the consistency of the quality across the different courses to the service and the overall atmosphere of the place, it’s only a matter of time until this chef will get his first accolades for this restaurant. For this to happen the place does not even have to rely on the current (and hopefully lasting) trend of being seasonal and serving locally sourced ingredients. Despite the relaxed atmosphere and the open kitchen with minimal staffing, it’s a well-rounded experience usually appertain to Michelin decorated restos. The only area where the chef “compromises” is with the wine list. Wines are all Portuguese which means that it’s difficult to impossible to achieve the complexity and quality matching the dishes. This being said, it’s in line with the local sourcing maxim and thus only consistent. The prices are extremely modest compared to what one would pay for the same experience in Europe’s capitals. I truly hope that the place will remain the gem that it currently is without being overrun by foodies flying in just for the experience...

We booked this reastraunt in advance on a Friday night. I can only describe this as an experience of two halves.

Starters were excellent. We had the fish cheeks (more like fritters) and the local prawns. Both were very well cooked and the sauces were very nice. If I had to be super critical, the prawns may have been a tad overdone, and we had 1 decapitated prawn with no body.

The mains were a mixed bag. The local fish with watercress sauce was amongst the best I have ever had. An excellent dish. The skate wing was a very confusing dish - the sauce (capers and garlic) was very bland, and i didn't get the fried bread that came with it at all. It was a strange addition. I did mention this to the chef, but I felt brushed off.

The deserts were really poor. Cheesecake was flavourless, and the poached quince had far too much cinnemon. The second desert was a filled doughnut thing that was undercooked.

The service was very strange. I can only describe it as a caricature of what one would expect high-end service to be like. It was exceptionally slow - more than 2 hours for 8 tables - and the waitress spoke in a very strange way, explaining everything such as the fact she was now giving me a desert spoon? Yet didn't have time to pour me water even once 😞

For 110 euros for two, this meal was a kings ransom...