A Casa — Restaurant in Tavira

Located in the heart of Santa Luzia, a town renowned for its octopus dishes, “A Casa” presents itself as a dedicated stop along the local “Octopus Route”. While the restaurant benefits from a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere, and the service provided by the staff was truly commendable—attentive, professional, and friendly—unfortunately, the culinary experience did not fully meet expectations, particularly considering the restaurant’s claimed specialty.

We ordered three dishes for four people: the octopus, the tuna steak, and the beef steak. Despite the portions being rather small, they were sufficient when shared. The octopus, priced at €18, was somewhat disappointing. Although the flavour was acceptable and the preparation showed some care, the texture was notably subpar—rubbery and lacking the tenderness that defines a well-executed octopus dish. For a restaurant that highlights this ingredient as its specialty, this was unexpected and underwhelming.

The accompanying batatas a murro (traditional smashed potatoes) were another low point. While a staple in Portuguese cuisine, they were served with an unusually tough skin, making them difficult to enjoy.

The tuna steak (€17.50) and beef steak (€16.50) were competently cooked and flavorful, but not remarkable, especially at that price point. In general, the prices seemed elevated for the quantity and quality of food served.

In summary, “A Casa” offers a charming setting and excellent customer service, and I do not discourage a visit. However, I advise diners to temper their expectations, particularly if they are seeking an outstanding octopus dish. The culinary experience, while not poor, does not rise to the level suggested by the menu’s focus or...

We had lunch here today and I ordered a stewed octopus. The dish arrived last and was literally not edible. It was so salty that my top lip got swollen and I was feeling slightly sick. I tried a few pieces of octopus and simply could not eat further. The rest of food we ordered was quite tasty though. After sharing my concern for the dish with the waiter, who was actually being really nice at first, he said he tried the dish himself and it was incredibly salty and is not usually like this. He brought apologies from the kitchen, a few jokes and a complimentary fruit salad to balance the situation. Mistakes happen, no worries. But! To our surprise later we discovered this horrible dish was on the bill. My fiancé had to go inside to deal with the rude woman at the cashier trying to force him into paying for it, because „I tried it“. She did not excuse herself and was incredibly unhappy he did not want to pay for the dish. This did not make any sense as the mistake has been admitted by the chef already. Well, instead of getting nice tipps for the complimentary fruit salad and us forgetting the situation & coming back again, the restaurant is getting this review and loosing us as customers in the future. What a horrible dish it was and even more - the attitude! P/S: Half an hour later the father of my fiancé came back to pick up his pullover he accidentally left at the table and the waiter, who was nice before, just ignored him. They made an old man wait for quite a while. Literally the worst attitude we have experienced in Portugal so far,...

Serve good food, even at 3pm. Other restaurants in Santa Luzia refused us. Nice smiling welcome made by a young efficient man, sorry, didn't ask for his name

Still good and fresh food, the people in charge of cooking are top skilled. Octopus, there, is one of the best. Any way of cooking it, delicious.

Again, good service with another young man.

The view from the ground veranda is priceless, go and enjoy🩵🤍💙 Bad luck this time, one year after my fantastic experience. Didn't book but had a table for 3, indoor quite quickly, so hot that day that could be a good point to install air conditioning or use it if already there. It was Thursday the 19th of june. Ordered an octopus salada, about 9euros.Only potatoes and had 3pieces of octopus, one small piece of egg white, not seasoned correctly. What a huge difference with the one ordered 1year ago!! One Grandsons ordered octopus a lagareiro. That was OK. The other one pataniscas with feijoada. Over cooked, very brown and feijoada looked like from a tin. He said nothing as young and hungry. No bread, no fresh cheese, we don't care paying extra for it but no offer! I only hope we had a bad luck...