Ar de Rio — Restaurant in Vila Nova de Gaia

Homophobic Treatment Ruined Our Engagement Dinner

My fiancée and I — a lesbian couple — came to ar de Rio tonight to celebrate our engagement. I mentioned this clearly in our booking so the staff would know it was a special occasion. Instead of congratulations or even basic courtesy, we were met with cold, dismissive, and at times openly rude service from the moment we sat down.

All the staff we encountered were older men, and our server made no effort to acknowledge us when we spoke. Every time we gave an order, he walked away without a word, no confirmation, no smile, nothing. The only time he responded was when he had to — for example, “card or cash.” There was no language barrier; my partner is Portuguese.

What made it worse was watching the couple at the next table — a man and a woman — receive warm, chatty, and friendly service from the same staff. The difference in treatment was glaring.

When we complained to the manager, our concerns were brushed aside and blamed on the “busy season.” This excuse doesn’t hold up when other tables were being treated with kindness and respect.

Whether they want to admit it or not, we were made to feel unwelcome because of who we are. On one of the happiest nights of our lives, ar de Rio managed to make us feel small, ignored, and disrespected.

If you value equality, respect, and basic human decency,...

Nice food - we had the sea bream and sea bass, both of which were perfectly cooked. OK atmosphere, probably better in the daytime when you can see the beautiful river and scenery more clearly. Bad metaphorical taste at end of night when I noticed they charged us for the bread and butter they brought out when we first sat down without our ordering it - leading us to normally (but incorrectly) assume it was complementary. One of those things that isn’t a big deal in the scheme of things but nonetheless strikes you as a bit dodgy...

"House of glass" restaurant with a large variety of things to order.

We tried the famous Portuguese Francesinha dish and it was amazing. Highly recommend if you visit this place. Waiter just left fadter than we could ask for a starter.

We were told they are closing soon (almost as if we need to eat and leave before that time) an hour and ten minutes before closing.

The waiter was called twice for salt and pepper to use with the dish.

All in all a good restaurant with delicious food and moderate...