Chefão Steak House — Restaurant in Portimão

We arrived promptly at 7pm. There was a couple from the Netherlands waiting outside. One of whom decided to phone the restaurant to see if they were actually opening (apparently they open at 7pm), as it was now 7.07pm. Waiter promptly arrived and brought us in. At 7.09pm we were shown to our table and the other couple were seated nearby. The male waiter brought us the menus and launched into a speech about a special offer of all you can eat. I said I'd rather order off the menu myself, so he promptly walked away, without taking an order even for drinks. A group of 6 people entered. They were shown to a table in the centre of the floor by a young female waitress. She stood chatting and laughing with them even though another larger group of people had entered. They were left standing on their own, inside the door. We looked at the menus, decided what we would like to eat and drink and sat and waited..... and waited..... and waited..... We were extremely disappointed as the restaurant had been recommended by a family member. We left at 7.25pm. We were never offered a jug of water, nothing! Had they taken a drinks order while we perused the menu we would have stayed. Although I tried on numerous occasions to catch either of the waiting staff - it appeared that they couldn't see us. At this stage I was parched for a drink of water. Eventually seeing the male waiter go behind the bar and get himself a lovely long cool drink of water, we left. He hadn't been on the clock for 20 minutes yet his thirst was more important that paying guests. I can't say that we'll visit again as the service was so poor. Apparently the food is yummy..... I never got to smell any let alone taste any. The staff could do with considerable training in hospitality. Their organisational skills leave a lot to be desired. If you're not hungry and don't mind being ignored this could be the perfect...

Had dinner on Sunday night at about 20:00. There wasn't many people in but staff said it was due to being a turnaround day and other restaurants were quiet too. There was live music being played on saxophone which was good and added to atmosphere. The restaurant itself was well decorated and looked nice. We had the all you can eat which consisted of entrees or cheesy garlic bread strips, meatballs and cheeseballs and a chicken in a sweet and sour style sauce. They asked us when we were ready for mains which came on a wooden platter board four steaks cooked to your liking, fries, wedges, rice and beans they also asked if we would like a peppercorn sauce too. EVERYTHING was delicious from starter to main. The cheese and meatballs came with their own sauces too which were lovely. The meat was tender and fell apart and was flavoured beautifully. There was not one part of the food that was distasteful. Probably one if not the best meal we have had in a long time and definitely not to be missed. The service was attentive with a good selection of beers, wines and also mineral water too. They said they were due to change the menu a little bit, which I guess was because it was such good value.. I don't think they could of made much on the all you can eat if you had people ordering more meat, but in my opinion there was more than enough served with good options and it included dessert, had the lemon mousse which was light and flavourful. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. The staff were attentive and did not go without drinks. There are a few steps to get up to the restaurant but seen the staff helping to carry pushchairs up them. I don't believe they could of...

Arrived at 7pm (opening time). Left at 7:26pm without even an offer of a drink. We were first in the door and first to be seated. They seem to have a complicated mixed system of all you can eat and ordering from the menu. I didn't get it all but three starters but you don't get to choose what they are. They are whatever the chief decides he wants to cook. This did not appeal to me so we said we'd order off the menu and pay full price. Waiter left without taking an order or an order for drinks. Both waiters spent a very long time explaining to people how their system works. We noticed people who came in after us getting drinks. The final straw was seeing a waiter going behind the bar and fixing themselves a drink of water.

I'd love to be able to tell about the quality of the ribeye steak. I do believe it would have been good but sadly we never got that far. By far the worst service I have encountered here in Portugal. The two waiters were totally out of their depth and obviously had little or no training in serving people and who should be first etc. One was laughing & joking with a group seated in the centre of the restaurant while others were left standing at the front door.

Terrible, terrible,...