Terra i Mar — Restaurant in Olhão

We'd walked past this place a couple of times after eating in other restaurants at the opposite end of the promenade, so we decided to stop for lunch one lazy afternoon. The couvert was lovely with perfectly fresh local bread and beautiful olives - some restaurants skimp out on this and give baguettes and olives out of a jar - so already a big plus! They had an array of lovely fresh fish so one of us got fried sardines, which were the best of the whole holiday apparently! Myself and my dad shared a paella, where in hindsight we should have chosen the Cataplana as the paella was disappointing. The paella contained mainly muscles (which were not cleaned) and prawns (which were perfectly cooked I must admit), however it felt as though many leftover bits of meat and fish were just thrown into the mix - there were two pieces of octopus (very small) and one ring of squid in the whole dish, not to mention pieces of very dry chicken and oddly cut pieces of chorizo (some large chunks and small very thin slices). The paella also tasted far too strongly of saffron, it didn't seem balanced! It's clear that this restaurant knows how to do fish, I cannot deny them that!! As I said, the prawns in the paella were perfectly cooked, but maybe a warning to other goers to stay away from the paella! The waiters were very friendly and very attentive, and did their best to make us feel...

The menu at Terra i Mar centers around their fresh fish case inside the restaurant. I don't see why more restaurants don't do this because it makes total sense. It is a little bit awkward if you're sitting outside and dining by yourself because you get seated and then immediately get ushered out of your seat to the fish case, but that's unavoidable. I had the garlic shrimp starter and picked the squid from the case since that was the only thing suitable for one person (everything else was quite large and would be more suitable for 2+ people dining together). The garlic shrimp comes in a tomatoey garlicky sauce, and it is really quite tasty although the sauce is mostly oil. They prepare the seafood from the display case pretty simply, grilled with herbs and garlic. The squid was really quite delicious and cooked properly, but again was swimming in quite a bit of oil. I looked at some of the other tables who'd gotten fish instead of squid, and their serving platters didn't seem quite as oil-laden, so perhaps it's a quirk of how they serve the squid. I do want to say that the service here is excellent and definite highlight of...

I recently came to Portugal on vacation. Friends of mine took me to Terra i mar for a Birthday dinner. The house was full inside and out on the patio. The place was really cool inside. The staff was pleasant and knowledgeable. My friends ordered the dishes for us to all share. Everything i ate was amazing! The clams, shrimp, octopus, fish all fresh and beautifully seasoned. I like the food and ambiance so much I returned again tonight. This time I was solo for dinner. This time I not only enjoyed the 3 dishes I selected but I was able to just watch. This has to be the best place to eat in Olhão. The plot thickens they have 2 more restaurants so now I must try them also. I highly recommend Terra I Mar and give the a 5 out of 5 stars. The desserts are amazing and and homemade. The restaurant is kid friendly. The owner is an awesome guy!! Such a nice and humble person. If you are ever in Olhão or close by it’s 100% worth going there. I’m a foodie and my family has been in the restaurant/food business over 50 years on...