Restaurante A Moiteira — Restaurant in Nazaré

Title: A Meal to Forget at Rest a Moiteira – Buyer Beware!

I feel compelled to share my dismal dining experience at Rest a Moiteira in Nazaré, Portugal, as a cautionary tale for others who might be lured into this establishment.

From the moment we stepped in, the staff exhibited aggressive hospitality, if you can even call it that. The waiters bombarded us with the “fresh catch of the day,” speaking at a speed that would put auctioneers to shame. This should have been our first warning sign.

The menu listed the fresh squid at €18 per person, which seemed reasonable for an oceanfront seafood locale. However, the first red flag was the unsolicited appetizer, casually thrown onto our table. It featured four shrimp and an array of unremarkable nibbles. The waiter assured us, that it was “just eat, no pay.” This generosity was a facade for what was to come.

When the main dish arrived, the squid’s lack of flavor was a disappointment. The rubbery texture made me wonder if it had been caught fresh or salvaged from a shipwreck. Leaving over half uneaten, we anticipated the meal's end with the hope that the worst was behind us. Unfortunately, it was only just beginning.

The bill, scrawled on a scrap of paper, demanded €150. With the speed of his delivery, one might assume the waiter was trying to disclose classified information rather than a restaurant bill. This was not only unprofessional but highly suspicious. No itemization, no breakdown, just a number plucked from the air.After insisting on an explanation, the waiter became verbally aggressive, accusing us of attempting to dodge the cost of the so-called 'gift' appetizer. When I stood my ground, the price miraculously dropped to €112 on another piece of paper. What sort of arithmetic was this? A second waiter finally presented an itemized bill, which somehow settled at €90.

The first waiter had the audacity to label me as “crazy” for merely questioning this farcical billing process. In response, I voiced my dissatisfaction loudly enough for other diners to hear, warning them to scrutinize their bills closely.

I left Rest a Moiteira feeling swindled and disrespected, paying €90 for what could only be described as a subpar meal that was overshadowed by their underhanded tactics.

I urge anyone considering a visit to Rest a Moiteira to rethink their choice. There are plenty of establishments in Nazaré that offer genuine Portuguese hospitality and transparent billing, without the side dish of deception. Save your money, save your time, and save your appetite for a restaurant that values its customers and...

Avoid this place. We started the meal off with a bag of bread that looked like it could’ve been a kin to trash… which we didn’t ask for. I understand the concept of couvert, but this was literally a bad of dried out bread thrown on the table. After asking for a sangria, we were brought two beers that we were charged for in addition to the Sangria. I ordered a “petite steak with mushroom sauce” and received a thinly dried sliced pork chop with mushroom sauce. My husband also received and underwhelming gristly steak with dry unsalted fries. We were also charged for a starter that we didn’t order. When we were trying to look at the bill, the waiter came out to the front and snatched the bill up off the table and kept trying to distract us from looking at the written-out bill with no assignments to specific items, while talking inane nonsense about what we were doing while we attempted to look at the bill which was scribbled incoherently on receipt paper. As he rambled to keep us from discovering his scam, He also included that our bill was €52 +5 euros for service. I didn’t think about it at the time, but not only was the food terrible, but they were actually breaking the law I charge a service fee. I wouldn’t even mind if there had been any level of polite service, but It wasn’t intended scan from service, the terrible food. We were purposely overcharged for a dinner that we should have skipped in the first place. ...

A total rip-off! Stay away. We asked about the specials that were listed without a price thinking that the fish dishes would be between 10 and €15 each similar to other menu items which in hindsight is our fault. The waiter brought us a platter of fish so we could chose from. There were four of us and we each ordered a fish dish. We were told it came with salad and potatoes. The meals arrived, and were served with the french fries. Our cousin, who lives in the area, stated that she has never seen a broiled fish dinner served with french fries. In addition, at the end of our meal, we received handwritten bill for €116 with no breakdown & the waiter stated “the service charge isn’t included”. In other words, he was looking for a tip which is not typical here. They had charged us for almost 2 kg of fish although there was no way we had more than 1 kg of fish between the four of us. Because we had been speaking English & broken Portuguese he did not notice that we had a local Portuguese person with us. When she received the bill and asked for an itemized receipt to submit for tax purposes it was quite a commotion. My cousin was especially disturbed about $2 euro coffee as they are usually no more than $.60. They gave her a hard time about getting the full receipt and it took about 10 minutes to get it straightened out. Stay...