Restaurante Borsalino — Restaurant in Lagos

The food was good, the prices fair, and the ambience decent. But the quirky owner-server (Luis Filipe) dampened our spirits when we asked for a glass of  water - just tap water! He spent an eternity explaining how he would bring the first glass but charge if we asked for a second one ... The water was free, he said, but the cost of service in bringing it to the table justified him on putting a price of 2 or 3 euros! Then he brought one glass of water between the two of us! I was confused whether this was an atonement about his mean-spirited behavior or simply more bad behavior!

In the hospitality business, a 2-star rating is generous with the owner behaving like that! ... Only because the food was decently good.

If you do go to this restaurant, be sure to ask for a glass of water! Over time, Luis will amend his ways:)

P.S.: Luis's reaction (below) makes the point! What can I say? Each one makes their own choice. I just hope a lot of customers ask for a cup for water so that Luis may make the choice again and to deny that basic courtesy... May Borsalino become famous for that...

One of the best things about trying a new place is that you get pleasantly surprised every once in a while.

We had been hearing that Borsalino had changed hands and shifted from an Italian eatery to a Portuguese centered restaurant with some pastas still on the menu.

So, we decided to give it a try yesterday at lunch. So glad we did, because it exceeded our expectations on every front.

The food was delicious. I had pepper steak while the wife had Penne Arabiata. Both were cooked perfectly and very tasty.

The prices were excellent, and with good reason. Luis, whom is half of the great great team that runs the place, mentioned that he wanted to make sure he could serve great food for tourists and locals, alike. So, great dishes at reasonable prices.

Finally, the service was excellent and very friendly. Kudos to Borsalino for changing, but making it a restaurant that everyone should try.... and keep going back to! We...

Wow, what a find! Tucked away on a backstreet near Lidl is this amazing place to eat and, if you're lucky, there is even some parking outside. Service was excellent, friendly and helpful, really handy on our first night in Portugal. We shared some pate, bread and vegetable soup for starters and they were very tasty. For mains two of us went for the Bras cod or prawns, both were so full of flavour. My partner opted for the shrimp pasta which was truly excellent. My choice was the monkfish rice which arrived in it's own pan and was subtly spiced. The portions were immense and really well presented and I really enjoyed the leftover Bras Cod the following day for lunch as a very tasty rice dish. Worth noting also that the house red wine was excellent, here is a restaurant that believes in serving quality at a very reasonable price. Talking of price the same meal in the UK would coast at least double what we paid....