Oliwander’s restaurant — Restaurant in Loulé

This was, without a doubt, the most horrible dining experience I’ve ever had. The food was atrocious: the cod tasted like something you’d get at a cheap tavern, the starters were a random mix of flavors with no coherence whatsoever, and the desserts were downright disgusting. The tiramisu tasted overwhelmingly of alcohol, and the apple crumble was far too sweet - completely unbalanced.

To make matters worse, it took nearly an hour just to get the starters, and then another 30 minutes between the main course and dessert. The service was abysmal - slow, disorganized, and inattentive. The atmosphere was disappointing, especially for a rooftop restaurant that you’d expect to have some charm or elegance.

The Harry Potter-inspired concept didn’t make any sense at all - it felt forced and poorly executed.

Most concerning of all, the venue lacks an accessible emergency exit. Aside from an elevator (which cannot be used in emergencies), the only way out is a steep staircase that would be nearly impossible for anyone with limited mobility - this includes not just people with disabilities, but also elderly guests, small children, or adults carrying babies. It’s a serious safety issue.

On top of everything, we paid nearly €100 for two people, which made the whole experience feel even more absurd. For that price, you’d expect at least basic quality and professionalism - none of which was delivered.

Overall, a deplorable experience, especially shocking given their 4.8 rating on Google. It’s hard to believe those...

Oliwanders is a very special restaurant/bar.

It is owned and run by a couple, who are currently managing and running the restaurant by themselves. They opened in Dec 2021 after renovating, and their focus is on sustainability. The restaurant is very loosely Harry Potter themed, with a few little Harry Potter themed touches dotted around the restaurant (e.g. a J.K. Rowling quote on the back of the menu), but don’t worry- the HP theme is very light touch so non HP fans would love this place too! For HP fans, there’s a fun game to play if you stay until the end!

The cocktail menu is fab - the margaritas are v. nice. The food is phenomenal. In particular, the mushroom & padron peppers starter, and apple crumble dessert, were fantastic. It’s hard to believe that it is all cooked fresh by the owner/chef working on his own in the kitchen.

The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated - all the decor and furniture has been hand picked and often made by the owners, with a focus on sustainability. The vibe on the rooftop bar is great and the music is chilled and creates a lovely atmosphere

The only thing that could be improved is service time (due to the owners being unable to find staff) - so despite running around working super hard, it’s hard for the owners to offer a quick service. This place isn’t for you if you are in a rush, but if you are up for chilling out and spending a couple of hours here, I would highly...

A difficult place to review. Had dinner here last night, sirloin steak (€27) very tasty and cooked beautifully. The atmosphere on the rooftop at night is truly magical. The staff are friendly and polite, but clearly overwhelmed. Service was slow. Order was incorrect. Drinks did not arrive. Steak served with no steak knives? But by far the biggest problem here is having a single small elevator as the ONLY way to bring ALL guests, drinks and meals from the kitchen downstairs to the rooftop - this is ridiculous! In order to use the bathroom downstairs I had to wait for a table upstairs to be cleared into the same elevator. To return to the table upstairs from the bathroom I had to wait for someone's meals to be loaded into the same elevator downstairs. When it started to rain, 30 people on the rooftop had to wait for the elevator that fits 8 people. Imagine how long this took. Despite the beautiful location and fantastic food, the logistics of this location simply do not work,...