La Forchetta — Restaurant in Faro

Update:Went back here with my boyfriend and enjoyed the risotto again. There was no Quattro stagioni on the menu, the favorite pizza of my boyfriend, and they especially made us one. Just as wonderful a restaurant as 6 months ago! Great service and great food. Thanks again!

August 2018: In 2 words: absolutely wonderful! The people running the restaurant are so friendly and welcoming and the restaurant is tip top. And most important: the food is to die for! Everything is made fresh and that makes for a real treat for your tastebuds 👍 We had the risotto with asparagus and the beef lasagna and loved them. When you are in Faro, this place is a absolute must-try.

Update: we were there on sunday and decided to go back again on monday to try a different dish. We both had homemade pasta with sauce and again the flavours and texture were terrific. Also they were very helpful, because of my allergies, and checked everything with the chef.

I noticed that there are some reviewers that gave only 1 star... I could not imagine why. The staff is extremely friendly and they give their undivided attention to all guests, so that is why sometimes you have to wait a while for their service. Every time they are at your table they make you feel special, which is admirable. We found it no problem to wait and just enjoyed the good atmosphere. As for people saying that the pasta portions are too small... well, I can only say that they are exactly right and combined with a starter (and/or dessert) you will be left feeling great and not overly stuffed, like at some of those horrible fastfood restaurants... And I guess, with being overweight as health risk number 1 these days, some people might not recognise what a normal healthy...

We were a bit dubious on choosing this restaurant as it’s clearly in the main touristy area which can signal some red flags but after having dinner in the restaurant next door the previous night which was great and after looking at reviews, we decided on it.

The service was initially great, the starter (tomato bruschetta) was excellent as was the red wine sangria. However, the mains and service that followed didn’t follow suit.

We ordered a standard spaghetti bolognese and my partner, spaghetti and meatballs. The pasta on both dishes was thin and overcooked - a bit mushy and the overall taste of the sauce was very bland. The minced meat was average, but not bad and I’m thankful I chose that dish over the meatballs. My partner described the meatballs as spongey, overcooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside and once I had tried them, I couldn’t disagree.

Following finishing our meals, we weren’t offered a dessert menu or another drink at all. We then asked for the bill and waited another fifteen minutes before we had to go inside to ask to pay. Granted, the restaurant had gotten more busy by this point, but on a Saturday night you’d expect the restaurant to be adequately staffed.

The manager asked how our meal was and I was not dishonest - yet the response was ‘oh I’m sorry’. The same thing happened when the waitress eventually came to our table with the bill - no attempts to rectify the situation.

In their defence, we didn’t send the meal back nor make a complaint during the meal, purely because we did not wish to cause a scene, but after the poor service that followed and very poor mains, we were very disappointed and...

Let me say first that I am a big fan of Italian food and I have eaten in many great and not so great Italian restaurants in Italy, France, Canada and Brazil, also had opportunities to try and make homemade Italian sauces, breads, pizza and doughs by chefs and homecooks. And here I come to La Forchetta… Service is excellent, ambience is cute and comfortable, clean. However the food (which is the reason you go there for) is mediocre and incredibly, incredibly overpriced. My husband had a “Portuguese pizza” - yummy but honestly this is the only place in the world where a Portuguese pizza actually means you are getting a cheese and onion pizza (!), an outrage to pay €11 for that. I had the pasta a La Forchetta, essentially fettucine with garlic shrimp (for €17.99). I asked them to swap the pesto sauce to tomato sauce as you can rarely go wrong with tomato sauce but I was wrong hahaha. Their sauce had a funny taste, seemed like the base is ketchup. Did not appreciate it at all. I would send it back but I was in a rush. Quite disappointed as I am used to getting a little bit more value for my money in Portugal, which is renowned for its outstanding food. I am still debating if I will be back to try the pizza myself… But at that...