Mãe Violante — Restaurant in Faro

Came here on holiday with some friends and almost immediately the vibe we got from the front of house was off. He informed us that they had bookings later so we had limited time there (we passed by later, they did NOT) and made us feel quite unwelcome. Also it felt like the staff were watching us a lot of the time, which felt weird. As for the food the "highly recommended" chorizo and bread was heavy and quite overwhelming as a starter and the bread was literally soaked with oil/fat. The tuna steak was decent, well cooked and had a nice texture. The octopus my friend had was rubbery and overcooked, and the potatoes were undercooked, another friend had squid and mashed potatoes, the potatoes were not mashed and undercooked, the squid was overcooked, it's ends were fully burnt and tasted like exhaust pipe fumes. Finally compared to other restaurants we've been to, this one felt overpriced for...

The food was Some of the best I’ve had in Portugal! Wow!! The flavors were absolutely divine! In this picture, you can see a white fish and rice sort of stew, which was garlic heavy & fresh. Incredibly flavorful and on the right, you’ll see the shrimp appetizer that my boyfriend and I ordered and it was so delicious! Make sure you ask for some bread so you can dip it in the sauce… Those are easily the best shrimp that I’ve ever had! Additionally, he ordered a seafood cooked in a red sauce and in a pot, I can’t remember what it’s called, but it was really tasty as well

At last, But not least Juliana our server was a breath of fresh air and very knowledgeable! I would absolutely Recommend this restaurant anybody looking for delicious l, authentic Portuguese cuisine seafood in Faro!...

Very underwhelming experience. The restauraunt seemed very nice and the staff was also quite polite at first. We had the Tuna Steak and a Fish Cataplana. The food, both the Tuna and the Cataplana, was very bland with barly any salt or spices. Tuna was almost well done, which is definitly not necessary if you have good quality fish. Would have expected a lot more from the reviews and how the restaurant and its staff presents themselves. I was under the impression that the staff was not very happy with us not consuming any starters or desserts. Also me telling the waiter that the food was "OK" seemed to have thrown him off quite a bit, since he didn't say thank you or goodbye when we left.

TLDR.: Just from the taste itself i would not recommend this restaurant or would...