Magic Moments Restaurant & Dance Club — Restaurant in Lisbon

The idea and the show itself was great... However, there were things that happened which should never have happened in the first place, and it's a shame that it RUINED the whole experience for us and for the bride to be.

Firstly, we paid 100 euros for an extra dance which was supposedly 15 minutes (now I think that's quite long anyway, so we didn't mind it was only one song). The PROBLEM was that the main performer, who is the owner, also gave people in the audience who hadn’t paid the same treatment. Again, that would usually add to the great atmosphere so we can understand that. All we did was ask for our money back as the bride DID NOT get any extra special treatment for 100 euros extra (nobody else had paid for a dance, we checked)... instead of offering a simple solution, and perhaps apologising and giving us a free round of drinks, or giving us some of the money back (which we would have happily accepted), the owner got CRAZILY ANGRY and his attitude was ABSOLUTELY APPALLING. He started shouting at us in Portuguese (which by the way we understood perfectly, coming from Spain and being linguists...). He even started shouting at the waitress working there and we told him not to shout at her as none of this was her fault. He started getting aggressive, slamming the complaint books down - which were OUT OF DATE and therefore ILLEGAL by the way.

This "problem" of the dance (which was great at the time) should have been resolved very easily, but he was uncapable of acting calmly and taking responsibility. Honestly, we would have appreciated some kind of offer to apologise for it.

Secondly, the VEGAN OPTION FOR THE FOOD was unacceptable. Our show was Saturday 22nd March 2025, and we PREORDERED the food on 4th February 2025 (please refer to screenshots of my Whatsapp conversation). The vegan option was supposedly sharing starters (not including anything vegan) and then for the main it was “Salada de Grao-de-bico com abacate, tomate cereja, coentros e um toque de limao” (please see picture of menu options for “Menu Singular”. And some fruit for dessert. The vegan in our group did not get the salad, instead a risotto, explaining that it couldn’t contain any milk, eggs, cheese, etc… (she ate it and didn’t complain) and they didn’t have any fruit to offer for dessert, so she asked for a Disaronno and Coke (for free) which the waitress gave her. We originally weren’t going to complain about that, but seeing how the owner got so angry and so aggressive and not offering any solution for the dance, we highlighted that we paid good money for a service we did not receive – INCLUDING THE FOOD. He told us there was no vegan option, so I got my whatsapp conversation out and showed him, along with the menu that was present on the reception table and highlighted the VEGAN option. He was basically saying we were all liars… again, please see pictures attached.

When we formally wanted to make a complaint, we were not able to because the books were OUT OF DATE so we threatened to call the police. This is when he started getting more aggressive and demanding that we pay the 20 euros extra that we owed for the drinks. We would have been more than happy to pay for consuming the drinks, but there was NO WAY we were going to give him any more of our money when we felt completely ripped off. We ended up leaving the place because he was ushering us out, and we told him to get his hands off of us!

When we were outside, we could hear him SHOUTING at his staff for a while.

Instead of taking some responsibility and offering something small to apologise for the length of the dance, he turned what could have been a great night into a DISASTER. He’s planning on opening another one in Albufeira… please watch out! It’s such a shame as I would love to speak more about the show itself, including the fantastic female dancer, but unfortunately, our memory is tainted by the awful attitude of the owner. Absolute shambles! I have never met someone working with the public more aggressive and just horrible...

In March, we just arrived in Portimão, settled in the apartments and started looking for a place to have dinner. Unfortunately, I chose this place. There were many reviews on Google. All were positive. Therefore, the choice was obvious. Made a reservation through google maps. When I left the house in the direction of this "restaurant", they started calling me on whatsapp from the restaurant and asking what menu I want, which was strange (I'm not used to the restaurant calling in advance to find out what I'm going to eat). I clarified whether it is possible to make a choice upon arrival, to which they answered in the affirmative. When we approached this "restaurant" and looked around, it turned out that it is located next to a strip club, and the restaurant itself is full of images of a similar theme. In addition, there was apparently a stage covered with a cloth. We decided that we wanted to look for another place for dinner, since there were both women and men in the company, and such an environment does not suit us. But they locked the door and said that we would not go anywhere until we paid 40 euros for each person, because they had already organized a show for us. To all the statements that we did not ask for any show, that there was no such information when booking, that no one informed me on whatsapp about the need to pay in any case, they simply told me that they would not let me out, and in general they began to threaten to call the police. It is a pity that in our company there were people who still wanted to see what would come of it, and offered to stay. At that moment, I really wanted to talk to the police. In the end, we sat down at the table. there were only 2 options on the menu, 40 or 50 euros per person. and the menu consisted of one plateau of appetizers for all, one main course for each, and one dessert for each. All this for 40 euros per person. hmm.. ok I chose fish. it was tasty enough. My friends chose the meat and said it was over dried. We didn't try the desserts, so I can't comment on them. We were told that the "so long awaited" show would start at 10pm. we left at 10:10 pm and the show was just starting to be announced, so I can't say anything about it either. I just wanted to get away from the place where I was forced to stay. And if it were not for my friend and his curiosity, I would have talked with great pleasure to the police that evening. However, as I saw in subsequent comments this summer, the Police are in cahoots with them, and this is unlikely to help.

UPD as an answer to the restaurant representative. We were trying to leave the place before ordering any food. But you closed the door and...

Where do I even begin? This is a disaster of a business. Calling it disorganized is being polite.

We came for a surprise birthday party for my friend. We asked to sit at our table before she arrived as to not have her see us in the lobby. They told us that wasn’t possible. We asked again, and they said we could do that if we paid the remainder of our fee first. We paid half upfront when booking. Fine.

The room is cramped. There are tables jammed in anywhere they can fit them, with two large pillars that obstruct the view of the stage. We were in a corner table, and had to move our seats around to get a view of the stage. However, that wasn’t completely necessary as there was zero entertainment.

The first dancer came out well over 1 hour to 1.5 hours into the start time. Ahead of that, they called up guests from each of the tables to dance on stage, so not only is the service terrible, they expect you to entertain yourselves.

All of the glassware and cutlery was dirty. We were not brought wine glasses for the wine and sangria we ordered, so we had to use our water glasses.

The food was mediocre at best. Also, my dish was the last served, and arrived 20 minutes after everyone else’s at my table - great!

There were 3 dancers total for the whole evening. And it felt disorganized. The host was also the MC, and a dancer. Respect for working multiple roles for the business, but it takes a bit of the “magic” away.

The concept of this business is a good one, and there is a huge market for this type of entertainment in Lisbon. But whatever that was last night isn’t it.

We weren’t the only customers who felt this way. Many other customers felt this was a poor experience and felt “ripped off”.

I wouldn’t recommend coming here, take your...