Restaurante F — Restaurant in Portimão

Beautiful setting with stunning views over Praia da Rocha. F goes all out with the pomp and ceremony of a premium dining experience.

Wait staff are turned out impeccably, place settings gleam, the wine list is long and cultured and the menu itself is crafted to give a a sense of prestige.

Drinks came out promptly which included a couple of elaborate "Mocktails" which even featured a performative finishing at the table - much to the delight of the kids receiving them...!

Dishes are presented beautifully with the precision and craft that aligns well with all of the pomp surrounding it.

Unfortunately, this is where the veil slips. The food was very poor. Beautifully turned out but ingredients that make no sense together to the point where it's off putting. For example, crab ravioli with scallops... I'm sure there is some version of this that can be done well but this was not it. The veal was dry, accompanied by inedibly salty spinach, potato croquettes topped with sour cream which didn't go well together at all. Portuguese steak was dry, tough and overly salty.

Then there were the niggly things:

1. we had a waiter who was rude and irritable, throwing his hands up when we requested a 6th, unused, place setting he had just clattered about and removed, remain on the table to represent my mother-in-law who had passed away recently - this being our first family holiday without her. He got stroppy and offended at the inconvenience which was really off putting. We observed him get stroppy with 2 other groups close to us, with them visibly surprised by his behaviour also.
2. the booking was for my daughter's 11th birthday so we had requested a table outside and a glass of juice each on arrival in a champagne glass. They hadn't read the note on the booking so we got neither - not a deal breaker by any means, they're busy, we get it.
3. The bill came with 3 mistakes. 2 were quantity discrepancies (it happens) the other was an incorrect price for a meal compared to the menu which I find less forgivable given most people would not remember the cost of a dish they ordered. All were rectified once highlighted, however I can't help but feel that this kind of thing shouldn't happen with this frequency in a place like this.

All said and done F, for us, was all aesthetics and optics with no substance...

We found this restaurant F on our last night at Algarve. Located in Praia da Rocha, Portimão on top of beautiful beach and rocks. We looked at reviews, photos and price and couldn’t believe the place like this even exist. View of the restaurant was incredible and restaurant was beautiful. We loved the music and ambiance.

We were still doubtful about the taste of food until the appetizers came out. It was out of this world! Mushroom dish was not only beautiful work of art, but every bite was magical. Medley of exotic mushrooms, poached and cheese were incredible. King prawn appetizer came with 3 big prawns and sauce was like lobster bisque so we dipped delicious bread into the sauce.

Star of the main course was Turbot: turbot was perfectly cooked and Tiger prawn, mashed celery was amazing. Sauce added extra flavors. Loved Octopus and Sweet potato Cataplana. It came with lots of fresh clams and the waiter prepared by table-side. Food was hot and portion was huge. Grilled Entrocote (dry aged ribeye) came with truffle potatoes, ratatouille. Bernaise sauce that came in mini copper pot was perfect!

We went back next day for lunch to try other dishes. Grilled fish, risotto with sea bass and chocolate brownie desserts. Bread & butter is definitely worth ordering. Presentation of the butter is so pretty and butter quality is top notch. You can tell that they care about every details and every dish they prepared for each client.

They had extensive wine list at amazing price. Dessert is beyond your imagination. We had Casanova Apple and pecan, cappuccino and fruit platter. We enjoyed every bite of it and wowed at their creative presentation until last minute.

We said thank you to the chef and the owner for a memorable meal at Algarve. It gets too packed up for the summer, so I suggest to visit this restaurant when it’s off time or make a reservation ahead of time.

We were so impressed with the quality of food, presentation, portion, pricing, and level of service. We were in restaurant business in NYC over 25 years and I know it is a tough business. You get worn out easily and lose your passion. It’s not the case of Restaurant F. They have been open for 12+ years. They deserve Michelin...

Bad place. Unfortunately we chose it for my wife's birthday celebration because of the seview. It was a mistake. First of all, what is the most outrageous - i told the waiter that came to celebrate birthday, and he ignored it. No even an attempt to propose a cake with a candle. What is the most disgusting - they gifted a cake with a fireworks to another person who also had birthday. But totally ignored us. Why? Second - there were no places on a balcony, so we took a place inside, but asked to move us to a balcony as soon as a table would be free. They promised to do it, but also ignored! From our table inside, we didn't see if there is a free table on a balcony, but when we eere leaving, there were already 3 free tables on a balcony. But the staff ignored us for the second time. The plate was dirty when was brought to us. The octopus was like a rubber - weak cook. The cocktail was too bland taste - they added less alcohol than it should be. It was a waste of money - we spent 80+ euros and did not like anything. The octopus even in Montenegro was twice better than here. The waiters were not friendly. The last cocktail was like thrown on a table. The service was so bad, that we start suspect that it was because of our nationality. It seemed like the staff were not happy for having us (or just it is the overall wibe of not being happy to work there). Looks like everything is wrong with this place. Do they behave like this with all the foreigners, or they really have serious problems with overall service? To date, it is the worst place we tried in Portimao. The good view doesn't cost unprofessionalism like this. Waste of money, waste of time. Choose any other place - it won't ruin your mood like...