l'Osteria — Restaurant in Faro

I don't think it would be fair to base this review solely on the regurgitation of the meal for the entirety of my hour drive home alone, but it does form a foundation.

From it's TripAdvisor ranking and snazzy facade one might be forgiven for thinking there is a higher quality to this restaurant than the reality. I think the pricing of the menu leads me to believe they feel the same. Don't get me wrong, the staff were lovely, welcoming, inviting and everything started and went well from the point of ambience and atmosphere.

However upon opening the menu it was clear that this was a pizza and pasta restaurant but with each of the aforementioned coming in around 15€ and a restaurant that serves pretty much only that, we were hopeful that the quality would be good, as both my partner and I are pizza and pasta fans.

Unfortunately we were slightly disappointed in the quality of both. I cannot say it was terrible, but at the same time I cannot say much good about it. The gnocchi with gorgonzola (hidden under a covering layer of solid ham - someone pass the chef a knife, and self control) lacked any actual gorgonzola and was overly creamy to disguise the budget cheese that had gone in there and I would be surprised if the cheese ever existed in solid cheese form, but on the subject of solid pieces of cheese, the parmesan on the pizza was sliced in pieces as large as the pizza segments themselves which completely overpowered the taste and eventually had to be put to the side and left.

We passed on desert and whilst I am not in the habit of being too mean in a review, if the restaurant read this and decide to cut down on the quantity of cream, cheese and layers of ham on most dishes, and add a touch more finesse, they will save both money and face in the eyes of restauranteurs who value the finer cuisine their aesthetic has you believe lies within.

ps. They want you to order wine by the bottle as there is no selection of winer by the glass and the house red we were given was...

Staff Awareness Needs Improvement

The food here may be outstanding, but some staff training is definitely needed. The staff weren’t outright rude, but I noticed a lack of basic cultural awareness when interacting with foreigners.

I was sitting on the terrace when I overheard some staff inside talking about me, saying things like “She’s probably Chinese,” just because I’m Asian. While this wasn’t necessarily racist or offensive, it made me wonder—if I were Black, would they have assumed I’m from Africa?

I came to this restaurant because I heard it has the best pasta in town. But before even tasting the food, I was already surprised by the staff’s attitude. I didn’t feel angry, but I did feel a bit shocked at their ignorance. A restaurant’s atmosphere includes not just its food and decor, but also the quality of its service.

Also, I have no problem speaking English. Yet one of the waiters just handed me the menu and walked away, while moments later, he sat down to explain the day’s specials to a white customer at the next table.

Being Asian doesn’t mean I can’t understand English or don’t care about your specials. I wanted to hear them too.

I plan to return soon, and I hope by then things will have improved after reading this review. If not, I’ll have no choice but to show this directly to the manager.

Please understand: being a waiter doesn’t mean your job is limited to just delivering food. Your careless and ignorant behavior could seriously harm this business, and I’d hate to see that happen.

And Pasta...

We were so lucky to get inside just about opening… it is just amazing place! Service fantastic, food super testy, stylish delivered, staff super professional and friendly! 👌🤩

We were about to depart with my wife home from our trip trough Portugal - and on our last day and romantic ❤️feeling we have asked for very special thing to be done for us - and I’Osteria leader/manager💪, with help from beautiful lady 👩‍🎤(unfortunately I do not remember her name, who was working there with super stylish tattoos, hair, make up and superior English - helped us and fulfillied this special request for romantic couple! 🙏❤️🤗

Guys you are the best!🍽🙌🙌🙌 Thank you so much for being such a wonderful people and hosting such an unbelievably great restaurant - which will be pulling us like a magnet each time we will be visiting Portugal !!🇵🇹❤️

Super recommender to everyone!

You guys will value this place 5seconds after you get inside - atmosphere, music, style, design, and last bit not least unforgettable menu and food quality - which I would measure as a top quality in the field!

I simply fall in love ❤️🔥😍with I’Osteria from the “first meeting” - and every person who will visit it will...