Le Salto — Restaurant in Tavira

I wanted to love this place! I had found them online, and reached out to see if they can cater a private lunch for me. They initially said yes, then after weeks of not getting back to me the manager Alex told me they couldn’t. I decided to make a dinner reservation for my large group instead. After walking a ways from town (passing a ton of restaurants along the way) we finally made it to Le Salto. The service was slow and Alex the manager was extremely rude. I don’t think I have ever felt so unwelcome at a restaurant. We had a few questions about the menu (it wasn’t a very descriptive menu) and he suggested he should charge per question. One member of my group asked if the octopus salad was served hot or cold, he gave her an annoyed look and said, “it’s a salad.” However, I ordered the shrimp cocktail which was served hot with some sort of mayonnaise sauce. I have traveled to over 30 countries and never have I encountered a hot shrimp cocktail served without cocktail sauce. The steaks weren’t cooked great, the sauce that came with them was too salty. The food was just alright especially for the bad service we received. Do yourself a favor and eat somewhere else, there are plenty of great restaurant options in the area.

An update to my review: as it seems Alex had updated his initial response. The only twist and turn regarding our reservation was we almost missed our reservation due to a city food festival we weren't aware of. Given that we were from out of town, it would have been helpful if Alex had informed us about the additional traffic. I'm unsure about his comments regarding our use of Google Maps or any perceived rudeness on our part. We did appreciate our busboy and tipped him generously. While I enjoy humor, Alex fails miserably at being both a comedian and a restauranteur. Again, there are plenty of great dining options in the area, do yourselves a favor and...

We booked a table for two on a Saturday evening after hearing good things, but unfortunately, the experience didn’t live up to expectations.

On arrival, I was asked if I’d like some water because I looked like I needed it. This felt unnecessarily personal and came off as rude rather than humorous.

Drinks were taken and arrived promptly — no issues there.

However, our starter never arrived. Our mains came out, and we let the server know. We were told it had been given to another table by mistake and would be removed from the bill. There was no offer to remake it or ask if we still wanted it, just a quick dismissal of the issue. The steak that followed was disappointing: lacking flavour, no seasoning offered on the table, and a watery peppercorn sauce that didn’t help. Even with salt and pepper, the dish wouldn’t have been worth the price. The chicken dish was the highlight: well-cooked and enjoyable, but it didn’t make up for the overall letdown.

The setting itself is lovely, and I imagine the atmosphere improves after dark, but our evening ended earlier than planned due to the overall service and food quality. A bit more clarity on the menu would also help, and a more welcoming approach from staff when questions are asked.

I’ve seen how this restaurant tends to respond to reviews, often sarcastically. To be clear: this isn’t written with hostility. It’s honest feedback from customers who came in really wanting to enjoy the evening. Unfortunately, we left...

Unfortunately this was a disappointment. We were really looking forward to the food, and experience. We ordered apps, and a drink, to start us off. We ordered the gazpacho, which was very salty, and the tuna tartar, which lacked sauce and was a bit fishy, and bruschetta, which was more cheese than tomatoes. We had a plan to order more, but no one came to see us. At one point my husband went inside the restaurant to ask for a bottle of wine. They brought it to us, but forgot the glasses. After 30min, he went inside to get us the glasses. But still, no one came to see us to see how things were going, or if we wanted to order more food, which we did want to do. The tables around us kept getting served, but we seemed to be ignored. After an hour, we just gave up and decided it was time to go, so we went inside to pay. The owner was there and she finally asked us how things were. So we shared our feedback. She was defensive, and basically said they had issues at the restaurant, so for us to be patient, but that if we wanted something, we should have to flagged them down. Then she told us to come back later in the week. Which was kind of mind-boggling considering we shared how bad our experience was, she dismissed it, and expected us to want to come back. In the end she decided to comp us one drink, which was appreciated, but sure did not leave us confident to come back and have a better experience, with...