Mercado da Vila — Restaurant in Vila Franca do Campo

Ok so I am no food critic, am certainly not a stickler when it comes to food, I will usually go with the flow and hardly raise a stink and I really wanted to like this place but it is one of the only two restaurants where I rejected what they attempted to serve me. I also never take the time to leave such a detailed review, so consider this lucky. 🍀

To start, I ordered a Margarita (the world’s most popular cocktail) which tasted like salt water with lime juice, I am not sure there was any Tequila or Cointreau in there but definitely lots and lots of lime juice, and in the end I had to add honey and sparkling water to make my limeade palatable. Fail.

Alas, this beverage foreshadowed the remaining meal…

The Pellegrino was divine but of course, you can’t really screw that up.

Next up was the Lobster Hotdog actually a lobster roll, for 30euros (!) which ended up being the only thing I enjoyed, but for reference a lobster roll of extraordinary quality (this was not that) runs $25-$30 USD in Maine or Maryland, USA but ok. The bread roll appeared to be a few days old. The actual lobster itself was good as was the mayo concoction that was included. A little side salad of iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots and pickled cabbage was included on the side as garnish.

Next up was the Miso Soup which was so salty I also had to add sparking water to get half way through, I did not finish it, nope. Fail. I liked the little mushrooms though… too bad they weren’t psychedelic as then maybe my opinion would have been different. Alas they weren’t…

And finally (drum roll please…) came the USUZUKURI and USUZUKURI SPICY. Which for 12 euros (each!) contained maybe 2 euros worth of paper thin fish of unknown origin as the server neglected to inform me exactly what was on my plate. Needless to say I agreed to eat only one and returned the other.

Fun game: Please look at the photos and see if you can spot any “vegetables”, you may spot one paper thin slice of lime (which is technically a fruit), needless to say the menu description was misleading and I dislike that.

At that point I asked for my bill and left hungry as I wanted to avoid any further disappointments.

If you decide to go perhaps try the Italian menu (the pizza actually looked decent) but proceed with caution, you have been warned.

Overall the location and the ambiance were absolutely fantastic and the servers quite friendly considering but anyway they can’t help what they serve, they were however quite spread thin and unfortunately all else was quite underwhelming.

Oh and lastly a food establishment of this “caliber” should NOT be using PAPER napkins!?!?!! You can certainly pay for cotton/linen considering what you charge. Come on now.

Total bill (minus one 12 euro USUZUKURI SPICY which I refused to consume) was 64 euro… I left 70 euros for their “troubles”. Overall WAY OVER PRICED for the food and overall lack of general service and attention.

Overall quite an abysmal and...

Disclaimer: We are foodies who enjoy good restaurants and the art of fine dining. I don't usually write online reviews, but this time I'm making an exception to prevent you from experiencing disappointment.

The service was awful: my wife's dinner was served cold, and I had dine alone while, waiting for her dish. Moreover, I had to constantly flag down waiters for service throughout the entire evening. They simply drop the food at our table and vanish, leaving us to fend for ourselves. This was particularly frustrating since the restaurant wasn't even full. The host was very pleasant, although he lacked the courage to address the failed experience we had. Of course, it wasn't his fault, but his acknowledgment would have made a significant difference in my decision to visit again or not.

The food was completely average. There was a stark contrast between the signature cuisine described on the menu and what was actually served. I ordered the codfish, which was disappointingly dull, lacking texture and somewhat soggy. However, the true letdown of the evening was my wife's overpriced Italian beef veal sirloin, priced at 27€. To maintain objectivity in this review, I'll refrain from basing my comments on personal taste. On the first occasion, it was served cold, and on the second attempt, it came with a sweet potato mash that had a fizzy texture and a peculiar aftertaste, leaving us wondering if it had gone bad. The first time serve the sauce had leak and crisped onions second time no sign of them ( each was actually a thing good 😅)

Final note: The prices, considering what was offered; are absolutely unreasonable we don't mind paying for good food and service, but charging 25€+ per dish (each of which is already expensive in the local context) should give you a higher level of quality and service. I wasn't expecting a Michelin Star experience but i definitely would not recommend this venue for a special occasion, perhaps only for a quick meal with friends.

While we may not return, we appreciate the opportunity to have dined at your...

Despite reading poor reviews we tried it anyway. Famous last words. It’s in a great location and the ambiance is nice (except for the order notification system that sounds like a very loud video game chime every 5-10min) I’m not sure what the deal is with this restaurant. The staff is not friendly, accommodating, efficient or knowledgeable. And despite this clearly being a tourist trap do not speak English.

We arrived for our reservation and 3 service staff saw us and walked the other way. We had to flag someone down to be seated.

As soon as we were seated a server came to our table and took away our bread plates. Moments later the bread arrived….

I ordered a gin martini. Received a gin and tonic. Explained that the order was incorrect and the server argued with me telling me that what I had ordered was a gin and tonic. I am well versed in the difference. 2 more servers came to try and translate. Somehow this ended with the same gin and tonic but this time with olives … Asked for a glass of wine, finally a server who was just finishing her shift came to our table to ask about the mix up, I said martini she said ohhh and then made me one of the best martinis ever so kudos to you.

Overall the food was mediocre. Sushi was fine, duck was fine, dessert was fine. The sushi plates are ridiculously large just the plates not the portions. My partner specifically mentioned his shellfish allergy (not anaphylactic thankfully). He was assured there would be no shellfish in the sushi. His sushi came with a shrimp prominently displayed on the plate (see photo) The menus are comically large for some reason and there are so many questionable design choices why is the toilet paper black? Overall a pretty boring overpriced meal with bad service.

Go to Atlantico up the street. The food is amazing the service...