Maharaja Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in São Brás de Alportel

Went here last night for the first time. Not a good experience at all. We sat outside and the wind picked up so we asked to be moved inside. The table was laid by the knifes, forks, plates and serviette all being banged down in front of us without being laid so we finished the job ourselves. This is where it started and wasn't off to a good start. We ordered and ate our poppadoms and sauces plus ordered a pickle tray of which the offering wasn't to our tasting and what was served on the pickle tray was a very unfamiliar serving compared to 99% of indian restaurants we have every visited through our travels and where we grew up. We moved inside to eat the rest due to the wind picking up however when we order two more drinks, I got my second beer but my husband is at this point still waiting for his second coca cola. The mixed grill was missing prawns which was advertised on the menu as a "Couple of Prawns" nowhere to be seen and the food on the mixed grill for 17euros wasn't good at all. Green minted chicken, barely any seek kebab and a few half dead bits of meat under chicken which didn't taste seasoned. Rice looked great but arrived warm to cold at best. Naan breads for the price were flat, thin and soggy with the coconut falling out all over my plate from the peshwari Naan. Chicken Tikka Masala didn't arrive being grilled pieces of tikka. Coming from Manchester in England where we have the curry mile and being involved in Indian weddings. This place falls far short of what is expected for the inflated prices for a meal which being quite honest just didn't leave us feeling like we'd eaten Indian food which is our favourite cuisine. Sorry guys but if it's good, I will say so and provide praise but in this instance it wasn't good at all and when the waiter who was wearing sports shorts, t-shirt and sandals asked us how was the food and my response was "okay" he looked beyond himself shocked. I was being pleasant in my response as others were eating in the restaurant however it wasn't of quality and charged for at a quality price for not much quality served.

Our total bill for 2 people was 51euros and being honest I could have travelled 20 minutes up the road for a far better quality of Indian cuisine and service. I am certain given the food and service we will not be visiting again but wanted to try this place out. Not the end of the world but a very honest review.

I wish you well in business and my review is honest and not an attack on your business. Honesty is key in reviews and we've found many good places and avoided some bad ones with other being honest about their experiences. Room for improvement here and I hope you grow and learn from...

We were a table of twelve, perhaps 13, eating in mid December 2023.

I’m afraid; In my opinion, the restaurant needs to try much harder. The two young waitresses were extremely pretty, but need to pay more attention to their jobs.

Even though we were the only guests, (between 19:00 and 22:40) it was a tough challenge to get their attention, to order more food and drinks.

I was astonished to see the toilet (in the gents) didn’t actually have a seat! Whats wrong with these people ? For heavens sake! Clearly this “couldn’t give a care about the diners” attitude extended through the business.

My partner ordered Chicken Korma which was acceptable, but my own Butter Chicken was completely lacking in flavour and heat.

For €11, I expect better. Butter chicken is perhaps an easy dish to get “right”.

The Nan breads were disappointingly thin and crispy. Not the “fluffy, fresh, tasty flour/dough“ breads that one looks forward to, when attending an Indian restaurant.

Despite the room being quite large, our table (seating 12 or perhaps 14) was utterly rammed into the corner of the room. Access to chairs on one side of the table was pretty much impossible.

Why not rearrange tables to sit us in the centre of the room ? Baffling.

My final observation, was the beer (again something that should be a highlight of a curry night ) tasted awful. I should have refused it, but we were guests of friends and I didn’t want to “make a scene” when they had kindly organised and funded the dinner.

I know it’s tough for Indian restaurants to make money in the Algarve. They are often empty for consecutive nights. The Portuguese don’t seem to frequent them at all. The restaurants rely on English/Dutch/American “expats”

However, this particular restaurant is “shooting itself in the foot” with disgusting beer, poor service and unappealing food.

I’m glad I’m not an investor!

(May I kindly add a note that I have double checked the name and location of this restaurant...

My wife, 15 year old daughter, and I ate dinner at Maharaja Patiala last night around 6pm. We were greeted warmly and quickly served papadum and several tasty sauces. The chef came out to greet us and to take our order. We chose for starters some garlic and cheese naan, vegetable samosas, and more papadum. My daughter ordered chicken balti, my wife had chana gobi, and I ordered butter chicken and vegetable korma. The chef questioned whether I wanted to swap to vegetable balti as what I had ordered were both cream based and he felt it would just be two servings that are very similar in taste...so glad he recommended the vegetable balti as it was spicy enough to perfectly compliment the mild creaminess of the butter chicken. We also had two servings of Indian fried rice to act as the bed for the various sauces. I love Indian food...and I will attest that these dishes were some of the best I've ever had. If you are in Sao Bras do Alportel and want a really good meal at reasonable prices, you should treat yourself to Maharaja Patiala. You won't be...