Rocha Mar Restaurante — Restaurant in Lagoa

Just been to eat here and was served what can only be described as baby food. Ordered taglietelle with prawns and veg it was as if they had collected left over pasta from all plates during the day, put them in a pan on a slow cook and added frozen veg and prawns. Took a couple of bites and decided I couldn't eat any more. I am not one to complain but could not have eaten one more bite and when I was asked how it was told them it was not very nice. They were shocked and took it away but almost immediately staff came over to say they agreed that it was bad. We were then offered more pasta recooked which w e declined as it had turned our stomachs then offered garlic bread which we declined. Despite declining we were brought garlic bread and told to enjoy with our gin. We weren't hungry by then so asked for a box to put it in. We were charged for the box!!!!! Avoid

OK I will add that staff were friendly, we didn't have any trouble getting a table. Service was fast and they did apologise and explain that the pasta they were using was new after we sent it back.

However, surely they knew when cooking it and serving it that the quality was bad. Bringing the garlic bread as a token was kind but we had already had garlic bread as a starter and had declined it but they brought another out anyway which is why we requested a take away box. They definitely shouldnt be adding a charge for a box for something that wasn't asked for. The restaurant was busy so it cant all be bad......I imagine we were just unlucky...

This is not hard to explain, but I don't want to sound like a total food-snob, but here it goes. Beautiful location, with a nice view and relatively calm and cozy atmosphere. If they turn of the TV and put some nice music on, they would definitely get 4 out of 5 on that score. Waiters were friendly and smiling and it seemed like everything was under control. We ordered the saltimbocca and the chicken piri piri, which should have been a grilled spicy chicken breast served with rice and vegetables. The saltimbocca was overcooked, served with cold-cut ham and cheese. It had no seasoning and looked like some kind of brown sauce stew. It didn't taste bad, but where far from good/minimum standard. The rice for the piri-piri chicken was undercooked and the spicy piri oil was basically grilled-chicken broth with way too much garlic. It was garlic strong and not spicy at all. The waiter who served the food, after a 35 minute wait, said something like "sorry for the wait, but we had to cook the chicken well done before serving" - and thanks for that.

I told her my humble opinion, she said sorry and we moved on.

I will not recommend this place if you want the chicken or the saltimbocca, because the standard is simply too low.

Our neighbour tables all ordered some fish in some way, and by the looks of it from a distance and the empty dishes, well.....

Update May 2024 Once again great food and hospitality provided by Tiago and his family. Portuguese and Italian cuisine all served in a nice restaurant and with the warm Portuguese sun shining. Tried the grilled sardines this time which were bela. They have made a few subtle changes and I think it has improved the restaurant, which is good. Hope to see you again soon! 👍

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A restaurant right across from Rocha Brava Village Resort so very handy. It's a family place and the family are so kind, courteous, friendly and always on hand for advice about the wine, the food or the area. We tried various dishes during the week, from steak on a stone to salmon, and all were very good. The desserts are also extremely good! They also do very good pizza to take away (you collect it). It's a convenient, pleasant restaurant run by a very accommodating family and I would advise you to try it...