Restaurante Gilão — Restaurant in Tavira

We went there for dinner after the most amazing Fado concert you can imagine. The service from the start was horrible. The waitress who gave us our menus did not greet us and did not say a word to us! We ordered two glasses of wine, water and beer. I asked for ice and lemon for the water. She brought payed drinks but did not bring the ice or lemon. We ordered seafood Catalana for two and asked what came with it. She told us potato came with the dish. When the food arrived we were quite overwhelmed by the looks of it. The fish had all the bones the shrimp was not peeled. I asked how to eat the prawns. She told us to use fork and knife. The dish did not have any potato, or any vegetables. It was served in a broth like soup. Overall the food was terrible my friend could not eat it at all. Nobody came to ask if the food was ok or if we needed anything during the meal. Nobody came to clean or remove any dirty dishes. The restaurant completely lacked any customer service. After we were done another waitress came with the bill and asked how was everything. I told her the above comments. She said she was sorry and presented us with the full bill. So far it was the worst experience since we came to Portugal for our vacation. I would like to give it zero stars. Do not go there. Better go hungry than eat at...

This restaurant is highly overrated. First of all, the service is incredibly, exhaustingly slow. The food is simply not good, with the exception of the startes (we had the ceviche and the chamuça, which was actually delicious). As main courses we had the octopus and the shellfish rice. The first was just sufficient (but I ate much better octopuses elsewhere), the rice was a real delusion. It was overcooked, and way to salty. Then, when we thought we reached the bottom, and after another long unjustified waiting, the dessert came, and it was a disaster. The mousse of chocolate consisted in two little balls of not so tasty chocolate with two small slices of strawberry on top, but it was good compared to the the mousse of azelnuts. That was really impossible to eat: full of butter and salty. No one of us could get more than a bite, and we leave it there. All of that came at an absolutely unjustified price. The food of this restaurant made me sad. Don't get fooled by the fancy attitude here; a normal tasca has better food at...

Unfortunately a bit pricey for Portuguese standards - probably due to the touristy area and prime location by the Gliao river. The food was delicious and interesting - trying to give some traditional Portuguese dishes a new twist - though the mix of flavours in some of the entrées we ordered were a bit too strong and a bit gimmicky. The soft shell crab with spicey mango sauce was a bit strange, however the curry cavala samosa was unexpectedly good if a bit overpowering and unable to taste the fish. The clams we ordered were some of the best we've ever had (speaking as foodies and my partner as a Portuguese who has travelled up and down the country). The Algarvian twist of the algae and toasted Xarém cubes with the clams was outstanding. Just wish there was more of the delicious Xarém served with the clams! To finish off, the Alfarroba dessert was absolutely amazing. Definitely recommend this restaurant but be prepared to pay much more than other good restaurants...