Camélia - Brunch Garden — Restaurant in Porto

Camélia is a place we love and keep coming in for the last two years when the time allows. We came for a late lunch as a couple today. Unfortunately we left disappointed. For staff that will read this review, I really want to make one thing clear - this is a review of a business, not a personal review of anybody. Everybody we interacted with today (or tried too) are likely to be lovely people, but the story is not about that. We do not know how busy the place was earlier today before we came in, we don't know whether the team was understaffed compared to their usual, we don't know how tired they were, but at the same time that shouldn't be any of our concern. The two waiters (a dark hair lady and a Brazilian gentleman were miserable and gave us attitude). Whether it's poor training, or the team is not appreciated/recognised or supported properly by the management, not rested enough, not well fed, not paid well, whatever was the issue, the service we got was bad and the atmosphere was not pleasant. A lady behind the coffee machine smiled at us when we came in and replied that we are welcome to take any table. The most of the further service was cold, indifferent and once again - giving attitude. We came in as staaarving guests who were looking for an efficient service. It took a while to get service so I went to order at the counter. The waiter said that he'll come to the table to take the order. He then continued waiting at the pass for food to be given out. Long story a little shorter, my other half went back to the counter to order. Got the same answer and had to insist to order, was made to get back to the table with the waitress who rolled her eyes at him before proceeding further. We did indeed become impatient while waiting and didn't mean to push anybody, but a simple smile, some sense of acknowledgement and something along the lines of "sorry to keep you waiting, I'll be with you in a moment" would have made us continue waiting at the table patiently. The waitress seemed annoyed or sad. The other waiter was treating us like we were his girlfriend who he argued with, and was giving us the silent treatment. Which, to say frankly, was funny. He walked everywhere in a pace of strolling by the ocean on a Sunday evening. The place wasn't very busy, we have visited times before when it was full and with a queue. A third waiter (Portuguese guy) appeared and saved the service. He was pleasant, efficient, attentive, with welcoming body language and professional posture. He didn't smile once, but he didn't have to either. He made us feel welcome and taken care of. The food was great! Generous and delicious plates. They have reduced on salt in the gnocchi dish (compared to other times) and it was a-ma-zing. Loved the labneh. Great juices and a nicely served Kir Royale. We always loved the place, food, and the location. We don't mind waiting for service or food so much, but we expect...

After visiting this place for the third time, we were again disappointed. The first time the staff was unfriendly and the food was tasteless, but I gave it a second chance.

The second time the experience was much better. The idea of ​​salmon with cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes is just great, but unfortunately not implemented well. We ordered this dish because we wanted a light dinner, but it was very heavy and hard to eat, very greasy with too much cheese.

The third time we waited for our food for a very long time, longer than those who came later than us. The food we got was tasteless, the falafel toast was very dry and the royal egg toast was very salty and too little avocado on it.

Also we wanted to order their breakfast but the staff said it was already late for it. On the second visit, I asked until what time they serve breakfast and the staff answered that they have no limit and you can come at any time to order it. So when we came for breakfast another day around 12am, the staff again said that it was already late and they serve it until 11.....

we had such a great experience here. we walked in and were seated indoors fairly quickly. the art on the walls was fun and pretty.

i ordered the mimosa and a pitaya smoothie. both were delicious! my friends also enjoyed their drinks as well.

as a table, we ordered 4 pastel de nata and were really happy with the presentation. i have a cinnamon allergy and i appreciate that they kept the cinnamon on the side instead of putting it on top.

i also ordered the chicken sandwich. the gouda was a great touch on the sandwich. i really loved it and would come back to eat it again.

the only downside to this place was the bathroom. it was fairly clean however the the toilet buttons were broken. so in order to flush, the customer has to press hard and stick their hand inside of the wall. that should not be what my experience was like that. that is a simple fix and it shouldn’t be like that.

a great restaurant. thanks for the...