Canalha Tavira — Restaurant in Tavira

Really disappointing. We went here on our first night away, and arrived on an absolute high, ready to enjoy some local food. We were given the end table outdoors, which was so wobbly it was farcical. A waiter and I established the problem was that the table was broken rather than the uneven ground so there was no way to rectify it, and no other table available.

The menu was really random (not the menu shown on here currently). The wine list was only available online by scanning a barcode. I really wanted seafood in this coastal town so I ordered the prawn carpaccio which was the only seafood item I could see, and hoped it would come with something else, as one of the most expensive items on the menu.

After using the facilities, the waitress stopped me and explained the bottle of wine we'd asked for wasn't actually available, and offered me an alternative that wasn't even on the list. So I'm not sure what the point of the online wine list even was.

At this point we moved from the table to a large barrel in the doorway as the only option, as the wobbly table meant it was impossible for my partner to even cut her beef.

As we did so, my carpaccio arrived. Just a plate with a thin layer of jelly covering the bottom. At first, in the low light. I thought it was a plate someone else had finished with, on its way to be washed up. I scraped up the jelly which came to roughly two forkfuls of food. I know carpaccio is often a starter, and is considered a delicacy, but this was ridiculous. An image search for carpaccio shows dishes which have much more to them, etc, especially given the price point.

My side of fries was fine, if you like MacDonalds type food. At least it meant I had something to eat. Thank goodness on the following evenings we found much better meals elsewhere, and at...

The fact that no-one mentions how overpriced this place is baffles me. I ate here twice while in Tavira and while the food is ok, the service and value for money are not. Tacos and tuna are tasty but not worth €16 each as they are tiny. Me and my friend ordered a bottle of sparkling wine and said we will wait with our food order (we sat at one of the high tables) and they were trying to rush our food order because they were expecting a bigger group of people for dinner later on, which we found very uncomfortable and just inappropriate, especially as it’s not a dine only spot. Plus, they should aim to treat each paying customer equally. We had to ask for cutlery and napkins when our food arrived and apart from the young waiter Joao who was very friendly and helpful, the service was overall disappointing and arrogant, the latter especially coming from the owner himself. The cherry on top was the waitress saying that they’re not able to take card payments when we asked for the bill, and that they’ve always been cash only, then the owner’s wife saying it’s down to the card machine being out of service even though they usually take card payments. If you don’t accept payments by card, say it in advance or have it written on the door is all I’m asking. All in all, very unprofessional service with mediocre food. Way better places to eat in Tavira, this one is honestly not worth the highest rating on Google...

Sadly disappointing We chose this restaurant due to the very good reviews here in Google and had high expectations. We ordered Burrata, Croquettes of Jamón Pata Negra, clamps Algarvian style, a rump steak, a coulant au chocolat with vanilla ice cream as well as a drinks and a cocktail. The following review is of course subjective but these are our thoughts on the food: the clamps very tasty and fresh but on the very salty side, the burrata was nice but could have been a bit more runny without roasted onions on top, the meat was good, the coulant could also have been runnier in the inside but was all in all OK. Our biggest disappointment were the croquettes which had a bechamel filling that was simply too hard probably because it had too much flour and left a bitter aftertaste. I couldn’t tell whether it was fried in olive oil how it should be but the oil should have been changed more frequently to avoid bitterness. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even taste the Jamón inside the croquettes because the bad oil was overshadowing the taste of an otherwise acceptable croquette like I know them. The service was a bit slow. The interior was...