Restaurante Alfândega — Restaurant in Vila do Conde

I love Portugal and everything about it, however I was quite disappointed with my experience at this restaurant. I was a solo person and when I got a table a waitress removed the extra plate and the cutlery but when my started arrived (shrimps), nobody wanted to turn my plate, so I had to do it myself. The dip was bland. I got my main dish (grilled octopus). On numerous occasions I had to ask to get new cutlery because I used the first set with my starter and I couldn’t eat it just with a spoon, which was placed on the plate when I was served the dish. I was about to attempt to eat it with a spoon because I waited sooo long for a knife and fork. However, once I got the cutlery, again I was a bit disappointed because food was lacking the flavour… On numerous occasions I also asked for a napkin, as I used one for my starter, however never received one… Also I ordered a bottle of wine which was just placed on the table without pouring it into my glass… so pretty much my experience was like eating at home not at the restaurant. When I asked for a bill, I waited and waited again. Asked for a bill several waitresses when eventually one said “inside” and walked off. Inside as it’s getting ready for me or inside as I need to go inside to pay the bill??? A simple explanation- please go inside to pay the bill would have been appreciated. C’mon it’s not that difficult to be polite even with a language barrier… I know just very basic Portuguese but I wasn’t feeling comfortable when it got quite obvious that for some reason waitresses started talking about me… Overall, I think that all customers deserve the best quality...

Por onde começar? Reserva para as 19.30, sentámo-nos e fomos atendidos cerca de 20 min depois. Passados 15 min trouxeram pão (com alguma coisa vermelha que não sei o que era e pedimos para trocar), azeitonas, água e uma garrafa de vinho, que não abriram e que deixaram sem manga, durante mais cerca de 15min. Pedimos camarão de entrada, vieram cerca de 6/7. Entretanto provamos o vinho e tinha sabor a rolha. Pedimos para trocar, responderam que iam falar com o chefe… não disseram mais nada durante mais 30 min, até que perguntamos quando ia trocar o vinho, que la veio. 1h30 depois de chegarmos, vieram os pratos principais, estavam bons. Comemos e fomos pagar, porque já não conseguíamos esperar mais 45 min para pedir sobremesa e 1h para a mesma chegar à mesa. O empregado de mesa era simpático, mas não conseguia organizar-se para gerir as mesas que tinha atribuídas. Espaço grande na esplanada, com várias mesas, apenas com 2 empregados, uma das quais não sei onde esteve a maior parte do tempo. Percebo agora o motivo para ver o restaurante sempre cheio na esplanada: para além de ser um sítio bonito que atrai muitos turistas, não tem qualquer rotatividade, porque quem la entra para jantar/almoçar não consegue sair antes de passadas 4h! Assim realmente está sempre cheio. Claro aproveitamento dos donos para fazer dinheiro, sem haver preocupação em ter empregados em número suficiente (custariam caro, o lucro era menor) e oferecer uma experiência agradável aos clientes. Para além de caro para a qualidade e quantidade da comida. Enfim, a...

This was one of my least favorite restaurant visits, ever.

You’ll have to be submitted to a system of “writing on a paper and waiting for someone to call you” this takes about 1h as it’s very unorganized and outdated.

Once finally seated, the food takes another 30m to 1h per our experience and watching surroundings.

About 5 waiters for 20-30 tables! Unacceptable We came at 12h and by 15h were trying to ask a waiter for the dessert menu. Food itself is OK, not...