O Recife - Churrasqueira — Restaurant in Faro

We decided to go to this restaurant after reading some of the reviews on here. The search revealed that this was the place to go for the Piri Piri experience. The location is just outside the main shopping areas and close proximity to a famous Catholic Church:Church of the Third Order of Our Lady of Monte do Carmo ( which is worth a visit- beautiful inside but macabre chapel with walls full of monks skulls and bones) Anyway we arrived to find lots of people waiting for take out but seating in the small square in front. The square has some decrepit and derelict buildings inhabited by pigeons and cats that visit the square too. As a result it deserves 1 star for location and ambiance. It was very hard to get the server’s attention at any point and all looked as if they simply did not want to be there. There is no menu as the only food served is Chicken with rice, fried potatoes(chips/French fries) and a salad with lettuce onion and tomato. That’s it. You can have the chicken either Piri Piri style or plain. None of this would be an issue if that’s what you came for, as we did. Truly authentic. Our inability to even get attention of the servers led to a wait of about 20 minutes to order, followed by about a further 40 minutes to get the food. Many tables that arrived after and at the same time as us had finished food and paid before we got ours. Again all would have be ok if the wait for the food was worth it. It was not. It was nothing special just basic chicken and chips with salad. My partners chicken reports a very slight hint of spice but 1/10 compared to Nandos Piri Piri. The food was preceded with olives, bread and a sardine pate (from a carton). The chicken was pathetic and the chips were undercooked and soggy. We went to a lot of effort to get to this highly recommended restaurant and were completely disappointed. However, if you are really after the true Portuguese experience of seared street food, then I guess this is the place for you. Don’t have high expectations and you probably won’t be as dissatisfied and disappointed as we were. The cost was €32 for the 2 meals and 2 glasses of sangria. I leave it to you to decide if that is worth it or not....

I have mixed feelings about this restaurant. After reading numerous positive reviews, I was excited to try what was claimed to be the best roasted chicken in town.

Let's start with the service. It wasn’t tourist-friendly—our waitress didn’t speak a word of English. We managed to place our order with the little Portuguese we knew. Unfortunately, we were disappointed with the chicken we received—it was old, dry, and stale, unlike anything we've had in a long time. The rice wasn't fresh either; it had a sticky texture, raising concerns about food hygiene since rice should be consumed within 24 hours of being made to avoid spoilage. When we complained to another server, he seemed indifferent. On top of that we were charged bread and olives even though we did not order them and it was not mentioned if they were to be charged or not.

On a positive note, the sangria was generously portioned and good, though I've had better in Faro. We visited for lunch, so perhaps it was an off time, and the chicken is fresher during busier evening hours. Just beware...

As we sat down our server asked us how we heard of the restaurant: by website, word of mouth or Google Maps? The answer was neither. How we found this restaurant was by smell. The amazing smell enslaved us two streets away. The menu was bare, but we soon realised why. Our meal, and everyone else's meal was the same, Chicken, Rice, Chips and salad. That's it, and that's all you really need. For those who like options, they do ask you if you want the chicken spicy or plain. We chose spicy, beacuse.... well why not?

O Recife have mastered the art of homecooked food. Something that the big chain, Nandos, lacks. I wouldn't be surprised if it were my mum cooking in the kitchen. It's no surprise that we've eaten here twice now (and counting).

Let the tantalising smell lead you to this small, quaint restaurant. Or for those who lack sense of direction, type ‘O Recife’ into Map...