Mar de Fora - Restaurante Carvoeiro — Restaurant in Lagoa

I was a little nervous to try this restaurant after reading some of the reviews, but I highly recommend it. You do not want to miss out on this experience!

Not only does it have beautiful views and delicious food, but it also has wonderful staff who are friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable.

We had the pleasure of being served by Costa, as well as Filipe, Pedro, Sara, and throughout our evening they made us feel welcome and appreciated.

We had several special requests, (including a table with a better view as we wanted to see the sunset) and requested some substitutions to our main course (due to allergies).

While initially we were told we could not move tables, we got lucky a little while later as a reservation had called to cancel. They handled the declined initial request to move with grace, and seemed genuinely sorry that they could not accommodate our request. Once the second table became available they gave us the option to view it, and to decide if we would still like to move (it was sandwiched between two large family parties and we were a couple celebrating our anniversary and my husband's birthday). While they did not know we were there to celebrate, I thought the option to choose was very considerate and it was greatly appreciated, they moved everything for us, even bringing my purse for me.

We shared a bottle of rosé, chilling while we enjoyed a cocktail, and started with the scallops which were perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth (they were so delicious I wanted a second order).

The tableside presentation of the "fish of the day" options was wonderful and very informative, they explained everything and answered all of our questions quickly and efficiently.

We decided on the fish fillet of the day (I didn't want the whole fish, although the experience of having them bring it out with the head and all, and fillet it tableside was enticing) and a steak, for variety! Both dishes were presented and cooked to absolute perfection. The fish was filleted and contained no bones, it was flakey while still being juicy and very flavorful (without tasting fishy) and the steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare.

While we were very full, and the restaurant was quite busy, and new tables were still coming in, the staff was extremely patient and allowed us a bit of a break between courses and after our main course. They did not rush us or present us with the bill, instead they asked us about dessert and actually seemed pleased that we decided to stay.

The chocolate dessert with caramel and coffee ice cream was perfectly balanced, not too sweet, and had crunchy chocolate bits on the bottom for a great texture with the smoothness of the chocolate cream.

I would give Mar d'Fora more than 5 stars if I could, and...

We made a reservation for two, arrived on time had to wait 5 mins by the door as the staff wondered around looking at us and ignored us. had to sit and wait with the walk ins then was shoved in the corner, had to ask for a different table then was put next to the kid play area kind of bit. We were given the drinks menu and ordered water for the table instantly we then ordered more drinks and when they were brought over we had to ask for our water that still hadn’t come. After that they finally brought over our water then we had to wait another 10 mins for them to bring us our food menu. We ordered bread and butter for the table because we were told it was a 45 min wait for food and was rushed to order. The bread came out in a brown bag and was like the a loaf of bread from aldi and the butter was a tiny little bit on a tea plate. After we received our mains we got the prawn and pasta we only got like 3 prawns in our meal when we asked why the staff called us unlucky we were abandoned and had to go up basically the the front of the restaurant when we had questions or wanted to order anymore drinks. Then once they had cleared our plates another waitress came over slamming a desserts menu infront of us and left instantly. We wanted to hurry up and get out so we went over to a waiter and asked for the bill then waited 10 mins for the bill. Then we were told it was better for us to pay at the bar and preceded to wait another 10 mins to pay as the staff just walked around looking at us and chatting...

Even one star is too much. I’m not one to complain and often try to see the positive things in places, but this was the worst restaurant experience of my life. Staff is very rude. Me and my partner were there an hour earlier, asking whether we could just have a drink at the bar. The waiter rudely told us no and that we had to wait and pointed to the sand at our legs and that we should clean it (we just came from the beach). So we did. They even asked us to get cash because their ATM didn’t work, so I went down and up the hill to get some. After waiting an hour, it was time for our reservation so we went inside. There, the waiter told us we couldn’t come in because of our ‘beach clothing’. I was wearing a dress and closed shoes. My partner still wore his dry swimming trousers, a shirt and sandals. We didn’t have anything else with us and with loads of people behind us, rudely were being sent away. We felt very humiliated. If they had told us this earlier, we could have gone back to the hotel and still change, but they never did. We waited an hour there only to be sent away. This ruined our night and we are never coming back here again and are definitely not recommending it. If you want your restaurant staff to be friendly, definitely...