Restaurante a Carpintaria — Restaurant in Tavira

Not particularly fussy but felt it was important to share my experience of this restaurant. Attended last weekend, was really looking forward to the meal. However it began with my order being wrong and when I asked for what I ordered that's when things started to take a dive and the lack of service and professionalism became apparent. I requested that as they were going to prepare French Fries the entire plate be taken back so that the Salmon could be kept warm. First I was told that it would take about 10 minutes but 30 minutes later the plate was returned. Waitress obviously quite annoyed. The Salmon by this time was burnt on one side and completely dry and inedible I brought this to the attention of another waitress who begrudgingly offered a replacement.

Another 30 minutes later the Salmon arrived surprisingly about 1/3rd the original size. Amazingly whilst I was still eating the French Fries and over sautered vegetables, before the salmon even arrived our table was presented with the dessert menu. Incredibly poor service and the food not much better.

The following day we had a reservation at Come Na Gaveta in Tavira, what a contrast ! Fantastic service and the food even better! We had Wild Boar Checks, Octopus and piri piri Chicken wings. Fantastic all round. To add insult, amazingly the bill at Come Na Gaveta was within a euro of that of Carpintaria, what fantastic value for money ! - this only further served to contrast both quality of service, food and ...

We were fortunate to discover the gem in Luz de Tavira. Wonderfully secluded behind the center of Luz de Tavira serving up delicious food for 8 yrs plus now. My honey and I shared a goats cheese salad, shrimp piri piri and chicken piri piri. All three dishes were absolutely delicious. Salad had arugula, beats, and chèvre. Shrimp piri piri is a musical dish as the piping hot oil sings to you as it lands on the table. The shrimp piri piri is not for the faint of heart, spicey, but an addictive spice. The chicken was on par with the amazing churrasquearías in the Algarve, delicious seasoned perfectly. Frango (Chicken) is served with a nice side salad and fresh cut fries. We finished the meal with their version of “doce de casa” it’s amazing and very unique. Chef Alina parabens on your lovely restaurant! Looking forward to our next visit.

Muito...

The clams and giant langoustines were a nice opener followed by very juicy and well seasoned lamb chops and cod tempura with a purée of fennel. the slightly sparkling wine matched the whole and the chocolate mousse and cake of carrot, almonds and figs accompanied by a nice coffee together provided a nice ending. yes, here it is indeed a bit more expensive at €60 p/p, but the quality is a few classes higher. I will gladly come back again. thank you for the super friendly service, the short but pleasant chat with the chef and the nice afternoon I got to spend here. see...