Restaurante Botega Italiana — Restaurant in Tavira

We ate here last night in the lovely outdoor seating area. Staff were all really nice.

I preferred the Pinsa (pizza) with cooked ham and egg. Had a little conversation with the waiter (the owner I think) about how I wanted the egg (either boiled and sliced or fried. I said fried was fine 'as long as it was cooked')

When the food came out I noticed immediately that the egg was barely cooked at all. The white wasn't even white! I mentioned it to the waiter but as he couldn't speak English very well he went to get the other waiter. I explained the issue and he was very nice about it and said they'd remake it.

New one arrived ten mins later and it was really really good. Perfectly cooked egg and lovely crispy cooked ham. Loads and loads of lovely creamy cheese. The base was tough to cut and crispy but surprisingly lovely and chewy and doughy and tasted really good.

My wife got the carbonara pasta with bucatini (thick spaghetti with a hole down the middle). It was nice, but went cold very very quickly (not even sure it was that hot when served). There wasn't much of a carbonara sauce, and after my uncooked egg issue she was very nervous eating what little of the sauce there was as it did resemble uncooked egg.

Bit of a mixed meal, but the pizza (2nd one) was really really good, and they dealt with the issue very nicely...

I'd give 0 stars if possible. Asked waiter if a table was available, he asked us to speak to another worker. When we did the guy was incredibly rude. Said "I told the people in front of you that I didn't have any seats without reservation. Did you not see them walk away". I was disgusted at how he thought it was appropriate to talk to someone like that. I did not know what conversation he had with anyone else. I didn't know if those people didn't want to wait for a table. In all of Portugal I have never met a ruder person. I would NEVER recommend going here. He could of simply said "there are no tables available". He didn't have to treat us like that because we simply asked him if we could sit down to eat. Also, there were multiple tables empty inside and outside. I get if your too busy but that's never an excuse to be a so rude. Hire new people who know how to talk...

Slightly slow service to take orders (which seems to be the norm here) but the food came super quick. I'd recommend booking as it seemed quite busy despite it not being peak season yet.

The restaurant looks very new which is a nice contrast to the rest of the area. The menu boasts a variety of fresh pasta choices with some classic sauces, along side other traditional Italian dishes like ravioli, lasagne and pizza.

We went for a pasta with pesto sauce and a ravioli. Both came out super quickly which I think reinforces the claim of fresh pasta. Both dishes were really tasty, we're planning to get some takeaway pizza next!

All in all a greaty experience and...