Restaurante O Chalavar — Restaurant in Faro

This was one of the best restaurants I've ever been to, I can't write a review that does it justice.

This felt like the kind of place Rick Stein and Antony Bourdain would go to. Really really authentic Portuguese restaurant.

We went because it was recommended by a Portuguese guy, the waiter was friendly and had quite basic English which I took to be a great sign because it meant this wasn't a tourist trap! We asked for the menu and the waiter said there is no menu, and pointed to the fish counter, you just go and choose what you want! So we did!

Beautiful oysters, lightly cooked, beautiful salad, and then they brought the mains of cuttlefish and golden bream for me with just a few potatoes. It looked so simple. It was delicious, it tasted like how the food looks in food tv series. It was then I realised that they weren't cooking on an oven, but over charcoal, and I realised this when i took my first bite. It was perfectly salty but with the perfect charcoal flavour. Normally I'm not a fan of barbecue because it either tastes slightly chemically to me, or just plain burnt. But this was smoky in all the right ways.

Normally I find white fish underwhelming, just a vehicle for something else, the thing you chew along with the actual flavour of lemon or vegetables or whatever. This was so tasty. I've never tasted something that tasted exactly how beach barbecue looks on tv. You know when you see Rick Stein grilling fish on a beach somewhere? This tasted like that.

And the potatoes were so salty and delicious. It was just simple food but really good quality. Not the frankenburger rubbish served to tourists on the strip.

Washed down with a carafe of wine.

Then a glass of white port which was delicious and light.

And the whole thing for both of us was $29!!! I feel like I scammed them!!!

I would go back to Faro just for this restaurant. Except I wouldn't dare, in case it wasn't as good as I...

Great tasting food and good prices. But unfortunately, my friend got sick and threw up in the restaurant as we finished the first of the two dishes we ordered. We tried to leave respectfully by talking to the server in the hallway and not in front of the rest of the guests. We even left them 5 Euros as we quickly exited the restaurant to get meds. However, we were called back by the server to pay for the first dish that we ate (my friend only had a bite from the second dish, which was largely untouched and may have been the cause of the bug)! In what world do you pay for a dish that had half of it go down the toilet (the other half remains inside of my stomach and hopefully won't need to come out)!? The poor server was so worried that his boss wouldn't believe him that he started making excuses that everyone else is eating the same dishes in the restaurant and that it could have been something we ate previously (although the last meal we ate was 7-8 hours ago). I had to let my friend continue to make his way to the meds, while I went back to talk to the restaurant manager. After I stood in front of managers like an idiot without saying a word, while the server was explaining the situation in Portuguese, I was given a big thumbs up and dismissed without paying anything. Which further confirmed that there was trust issues between management and the server, and poor service as I don't recall them even offering an apology. This review will probably do little to decrease the rating or caution others from attending the restaurant, instead the hope is that it will catch the attention of restaurant managers to improve their relationship with the servers and educate servers on how to deal with rare but unfortunate circumstances such as the one my friend...

Entering the restaurant I felt I am in the house of a fishermman`s family, except that all the rooms were dining rooms and crowded with all kind of people (locals, backpacker tourists, businessmen, the guys from the docks) enjoying simple seafood grilled to perfection. The service was a bit chaotic and slow to take our order, but once the order was taken, the wheels were greased. The staff was however friendly and helpful, but you could notice that they have capacity issues at peaktime. What we ate: Dorada fish: grilled perfectly. The texture was great and the taste was simple - no spices only salt - and very satisfying just by itself, probably because the fish was fresh and the dourada has a very nice taste without having to upgrade it with spices. Sardines: properly grilled and both the texture and the taste were amazing thanks to the extra coarse salt they used when grilled. Fishes were served with simple tomato and onion salad and cooked new potato (as usual here). For dessert we tried the orange cake and the almond cake. In a previous review, about Cafe dos mestres in Fuseta I mentioned that I will try orange cake at every restaurant I eat in Algarve. This is the second place I eat it and so far the best. Was less sweet than at the Cafe dos mestres and the taste of the orange was more dominant. The place is like a big home restaurant and the athmosphere and the interior design is in harmony with the food they serve. The place has quite positive vides, it is perfect to have a joyful, loud family lunch or dinner with friends. Price for value: so far the best in my Algarve...