Playa Restaurante & Bar — Restaurant in Olhão

A new Mexican restaurant in Olhão, the second in town (Hola Torito being the other), I was excited to give it a try ... HOOAH!

The macho-man server who greeted us, rather, who made me feel rather unwelcome, failed to impress and that was, unfortunately, a sign of things to come.

The server mentioned earlier, who turned out to be our waiter, was equally as unimpressive in this role, unfriendly and obviously very impressed with himself. He seemed more eager to chat with his buddies than pay attention to us, so there you have it.

The Spicy Playa Margarita - pitcher €22 - tasted very little like a margarita and had minimal alcohol, but the 'spicy' designation was spot-on. The four of us shared an order of Totopos with 2 Salsas (Chips and Salsa - €3.90) and a Guacamole (€6.90). The chips were homemade and pretty good, the salsas tasty, and the guac not bad, although €4 for a few chips, a little salsa, and no refills was not a great value.

We decided to order several dishes to share, a Carnitas Quesadilla (€9.90), a Roast Beef Burrito (€12.90), and Roasted Beef Tacos (€9.90) and that is exactly what we got. There were no side dishes, no rice and beans, no nothing, just a quesadilla, a burrito, and two tacos. There weren't even side dishes on the menu!

The scenery, on the other hand, was spectacular with views of the Ria Formosa, sailboats, and the barrier islands from the outdoor terrace.

Don't expect endless chips and salsa and ample food on the plate. like we are used to in the USA, so one entree is hardly enough to satiate. The food was decent, but for the quoted prices - €5 a pop for a taco for example - Playa is not a great TravelValue and the service was unimpressive. I do not see us returning here any time soon because Hola Torito is a much better value and their food is better and more plentiful, besides, I can make better Mexican food at home for far less.

CombatCritic Gives Playa 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More...

Hate to write a bad review but we were so looking forward to this place by the reviews. The place had an appealing Ibiza beachy vibe initially. We arrived at 6pm on a Sunday as booking was advised. Upon arrival the place was empty but still made to feel as if there was no tables available. Not sure if it was just a ‘Sunday’ thing but staff were lack lustre and basically non-ish and rude tbh. A member of staff started their shift then had their meal by the main bar. I felt as if I was interrupting their home meal. The beef in the tacos was tough and not restaurant standard for what was charged. The chicken quesadillas were tiny and sat under a good inch of tomatoes. Also it was basically a half tortilla toasted, cut in two then I got served the half cut portion into multiple bits to make it look fancy! Where was the other half lolz. The tacos had one prawn chopped up and also they had no oysters to start. I can handle bad food if the service is good but both were as bad as each other. The wine was decent for the most expensive on the menu. Guy at end flung down the €120 bill, looked away then tapped his fingers on table as if we were overstaying our welcome after 1.5 hours. If you can’t smile or be nice don’t work in hospitality..end of! So far, on our trip, the local places have been the best as the food and atmosphere has been exceptional every time. Not one bad meal or service until now, so disappointing on our last day. Also we weren’t made to feel that welcome, sorry to say! We should have left once we had that feeling. Do better please! It doesn’t take much! Give...

The aesthetic of the restaurant is lovely and in a great location with wonderful views. The food is ok, we ordered a mushroom quesadilla to share as they were out of two other starters. It was quite small for the price but tasty. Ordered a prawn burrito, which was ok and didn’t fall out as it was toasted.

Cocktails were not particularly strong, my husband had a strawberry mojito and said it tasted like strawberry soda water. My margarita tasted like fruit juice, which was a shame. Ordered churros for dessert which were nice but the dipping sauces weren’t particularly pleasant.

We probably won’t return as it’s more of a location place rather than quality of food and drinks.There are better places that serve high quality Mexican food and drinks and...