Tavira Restaurant — Restaurant in Maryland

A disappointment. Three of us went for lunch. It's a pleasant place with an interesting menu but to me, the food is almost everything, and in this case, well, it was not much. Two of us ordered the soup of the day, supposedly shrimp bisque. This was served warm, not hot. It was pretty awful--tasteless, little if any flavor or shrimp and a slight but strange smell, as if it had been made from shrimp paste or dried shrimp. We ate both bowls, but probably should have sent them back. The bread was excellent. Then came three entrees--a hamburger and fries which was okay--and of course really hard to mess up. One entree was fair although the so-called sides of potatoes and beans was tiny. but I ordered cod with vegetables and potatoes. GREASY--swimming in oil with a lot of oily onions on top. There were many tw small pieces of potatoes and perhaps a handful of string beans. So disappointing! I took a few bites of cod which is about the easiest fish to cook--and it to was soaked in oil. I held the platy on its side nd poured out about three tablespoons of oil and simply sent it back telling the waiter that the chef has no idea what he or she is doing. My friends did say that the limoncello dessert was excellent. We were not charged for my entree but the waiter should have informed the manager and that person should have come to check on us. Will I go back? No way. If the food was better and had the portions been a bit larger, it would have seemed to be a fair value, but as such, I can only give Tavira two stars. The owner or manager may write a response but he or she (as well as he so-called chef) really missed their chance to make up for this disappointment. I would have gladly shown the manager the pool of grease and greasy onions and greasy fish had he stopped by, but he did not. I just want a fair deal and would expect that in what is supposed to be a fine dining establishment that a chef can cook a meal of codfish and potatoes much better than I can, but he did not. If I provided a service like this to my customers, they'd write a similar review. Very disappointing--but the bread and dessert...

In seeing the star rating for this restaurant, I was hopeful to have some delicious Portuguese food for lunch. But left with a bad taste in my mouth. Food: lunch menu seemed very Italian focused with whispers of Portuguese in it. I ended up ordering the meatball sandwich because I couldn't find anything that grabbed my attention and opted to add on the Caesar salad. There was nothing overtly wrong with the meatball sandwich. The meatballs were a bit overworked but decently seasoned. The bread was a generic "sub roll" the sauce was sauce. Caesar salad was a decent size with some red bell pepper sprinkled in, which is a nice touch. But where else can you find a sandwich and side salad for $8. It was a real value and I'd return to the inexpensive lunch menu.

Service: Lack luster. The person who eventually took a while before noticing me. But it's hard to do that when your back is turned to the counter. My order was taken and that was it. Food came quickly. But then I was informed that I my food was carry out and in order to dine in, I had to pay a DIFFERENT price. I was told there are tables in the lobby I could eat at. Two thumbs down for these policies.

Atmosphere: I can only describe it as beige. No music, no warmth, no friendliness. I couldn't even experience the restaurant unless I wanted to pay admission for my food. Might give it another try in time, but for now, I would not recommend. I gave the second star for the value. If there was a better/more Portuguese menu, would get another star. If I could get a server at what appears to be a sit down restaurant, would have another star as well. There's work to...

2024 UPDATE: Tavira’s food continues to be excellent into 2024. My earlier 5-star review stands. We’ve recently enjoyed the steak, the roast duck, a swordfish and saffron sauce special, the bacalao and, as in the past, the calamari and clam/chorizo apps. Recently went with friends, and they loved it, too. One kerfuffle: new waiter with language limitations who had trouble describing specials, but that’s the first time I’ve seen that happen. Have been dining at Tavira for years and love it. Spectacular Portuguese food, excellent service and a comfortable location.

High points here include the tempting array of specials — a wide variety of thoughtful seafood and meat dishes and, if you’re not in the mood for the specials, the 3-course prix fixe dinner ($38 as of late 2023 and an excellent value.) The standard a la carte menu can be rewarding, too. Recent winners have included the grilled squid appetizer and swordfish steak specials. The pork shank (available on the prix fixe and a la carte menus) is one of my favorites, as is the iconic clams and chorizo appetizer. Desserts are light and delicious — save room.

The servers at Tavira are experts at presenting the list of specials with drama and delivering each course with impeccable timing. Service is thoughtful and attentive.

The location is quirky: in the basement of an office building on Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase Lake. But tables are well-spaced, the dining area is comfortable and the atmosphere is relaxing.

Highly...