A Quinta — Restaurant in Loulé

Having dined at A Quinta before many times, our meal on 25 September was unfortunately poor and has hence led to me placing a review for the first time on here.

The staff this evening were very disinterested and at times rude. We had issues from the start of the meal with drinks not arriving 15 minutes after ordering them and starters arriving before the couvert despite our request to have the bread before our starter when ordering. The mains when brought were cold and when we raised this to the managers attention a tureen of reheated sauce was instead brought to our table with a shrug of the shoulders…

What the staff are lacking is an appreciation that when things go wrong (as in any business) it is how you rectify things and bring a smile to a customers face that often best deals with a problem. All we got was the bill brought over with no apology or even a disinterested ‘how were your mains?’.

When leaving we raised our grievances to the manager who apparently understood all of the issues we faced but at no stage accepted he could have done things better. Overall the main regret I had, other than booking in the first place, was...

A wonderful experience, I only wish I had visited sooner. I’ve had a home just down the hill for six years and only visited A Quinta for the first time last night! We didn’t book, so were a little unsure if we would get a table. We received the warmest welcome I’ve had in The Algarve. The host greeted us like old friends, and led us to a really nice table that would have valley views had the sun not set.

The decor is really tasteful, the lighting just right and the music the perfect volume (all things that are usually off-by-one in Algarve Restaurants in my experience).

Each member of the team was polite, warm and efficient.

We opted for the cover, which I never normally do. The warm bread was fresh and the pate was perfect. I opted for the Tenderloin, which came with Julianne vegetables and a wedge of dauphinoise potatoes. It was cooked exactly how I like it, and the portion size was spot on.

All in all, this place is flawless and I will...

A Quinta is a smart restaurant in an area with a number of other smart restaurants.

The atmosphere is slightly formal with a slightly older crowd coming for dinner. The menu is not especially Portuguese in nature, instead, it draws upon quite a bit of international influence.

Overall the food is good but not spectacular. The highlight was a group of sautéed prawns with chilli and garlic that were bolshy, bowls and spicy. This kind of gutsy big flavour eating as what the restaurant should do more of. The presentation is clean and simple. A pork tenderloin dish and foie gras starter could benefit from more flavour in the key ingredient: foie gras and pork tenderloin. Wine by the glass is quite reasonable and very enjoyable.

Would I return? Yes, but not in a hurry. There are many places to eat...