Portugal Wine Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Palm Coast

Friends recommended the Portugal Wine Bar and Grill so we stopped in for an early dinner on 11/17. First impressions. Well, it’s located in a strip mall. Based strictly on the curb-side appearance, I was certainly skeptical and not very impressed, but we were starving and figured the least we could do was go in and take a quick glance at the menu.

We were quickly seated and Ricardo (the owner) made us very comfortable and entertained us for a few minutes while we peppered him with questions. Found out that Palm Coast has a sizable Portuguese sub-culture and he made a few recommendations which we blindly followed. Glad we did! My girlfriend got the “Grilled Octopus on a Clay Tile” and I got “Grilled Grouper Stuffed with Crabmeat topped with 3 Scallops”. I said I was starving, didn’t I? While waiting, we drank wine and beer and munched on fresh bread as well as olives. The entrées came and wow…just wow! I included a few pictures of what was put in front of us. Not only were the portions large, but the presentation, quality of the ingredients and food preparation easily makes it to my top 10 restaurants I’ve ever been to. The food was so good, I couldn’t stop eating and after dessert (which I didn’t need but ate anyway) and the follow-up cappuccino I was more than full. My only suggestion would be to offer a smaller portion option.

If you’re looking for authentic Portuguese cuisine, this place is a must. Even if you’re not, the menu variety and the willingness of the chef to alter a dish to your liking makes it a new favorite of mine. I’m about as far from being a Portuguese as an Eskimo is but I will definitely be going back soon and highly recommend others to give this place a try. You...

Was excited to try this place, heard good things about the food, however we were extremely disappointed with the atmosphere of the restaurant and how we were treated. We were told there was a wait which was no problem when we asked how long the man waved his hands around and said "a while". There were some empty tables but we assumed reservations. We said we would wait and he was visibly frustrated and walked off. Spouse and I looked at each other wondering if maybe we should leave. We sat for a bit waiting and a young female waitress offered for us to sit at the bar instead because there was plenty of seating. We did. She was very sweet and kind, however the male bar tender was like the previous male and was visibly irritated. Took our orders, never followed up, never offered refills on drinks, actively ignored us when trying to get his attention for a box. The food was good, reviews were correct. However our personal experience was not pleasant, extremely unwelcoming, and we have not been back since. We thought it was a one off uncomfortable situation however we have heard from other Lgbtq+ people that they got treated very similar to how we were which leads me to believe this place is homophobic and we were lucky to have been there at the same time the open minded young lady was working.

The food is not so good as to put yourself in a bigots restaurant.

Edit: No, I'm reviewing the correct restaurant and location. I will be leaving my review as is because this was one of the worst experiences I have had in a restaurant, and as much as I appreciate the owners response below to save face, the only person who showed kindness when we were there was the young...

I was prepared to give this place a decent review however while talking outside a waiter came up to me and my family with the attitude that we were trying to leave without paying. The older waiter, our waiter, did not come out himself to confront us but sent the desert cart waiter to claim he was unable to find the signed copy of the bill. Had the older waiter been honest enough to admit he did find the signed copy of the bill that would have cleared things up. Honesty is not a virtue here we have found. The signed bill was under the survey. My mother signed the bill and then I filled out the survey. They couldn't even look us in the eye when we went back in to ask if they had found the signed receipt that was left. I felt a bit of coldness from our older waiter during our time at dinner but thought it was just his personality. Perhaps, now, I understand we were being told not to come back. I also understand why the couple at the next table advised us to ask for the younger waiter with the beard the next time we come back. That waiter by the way complimented us as to how nice we looked when we first entered the restaurant for dinner. However, there will not be a next time. I will not be back. There are plenty of delicious restaurants that would be happy for us to patronize them. When the food and service is good we continue to go back. The food was not so good that I would ever have to return after such a spectacle. I will never go back and I will tell my friends the experience we had so they will avoid the embarrassment these people felt was necessary and then couldn't be honest. They have two signed copies of the bill now. They should...