Tavira Restaurant Reviews
Here follows the first batch of restaurant reviews from our new home town. I would value any comments and suggestions for other establishments to try, as well and second opinions on the places we have already visited!
Quatro Aguas – Located up near the jetty to the Isla De Tavira, this is a high-end seafood restaurant with prices to match. The seafood, however, was outstanding. A shellfish cataplana was sparkling fresh and no morsel of seafood was less than perfect. The cataplana also had the rich tomato flavour often missing from the dish. The portions were not the usual huge size you find in Portugal but were neither too little nor too much. We will come here again for special occasions.
Avenida – A neighbourhood restaurant very slightly off the tourist trail between the old town and the train station. This is a very good traditional Portuguese restaurant with attentive and friendly service. A Secreto Porco Preto (Black Pork) was served with tasty home-made chips, salad and flavourful baked rice, along with piles of pork, cooked ever so slightly pink as seems to be the way in Portugal (it has done us no harm!) An Arroz De Marisco (shellfish rice) was beautifully flavoured and very generous with the shellfish – prawns, clams, crab claws and more. The tiny olives served as part of the couvert were excellent here as well. Very tasty and cheap house white too. Highly recommended and affordable.
Rive Gauche – We love this quirky modern European place with funky mismatched decor and lighting. Along with the bread and olives you are
brought “surprise of chef” which can be anything from hard to fathom salads in shotglasses to curried mussels. The food itself is more straightforward – excellent steak with a good dauphinoise, a trio of of fish fillets and an imaginative duck salad starter have all been enjoyed by us and our visitors. A trio of chocolate desserts was truly stand-out and deserved the “fine-dining” label. A decent, well described wine list. Rich food and quite high prices make this a good choice for special occasions. The service can be as quirky as the decor!
O Patio – The tourist favourite, lots of English voices when we visited. Very popular and well-known. The reputation IS justified, and this is a very safe option for those wishing to try out local fish and shellfish with the confidence of knowing exactly what will be on the plate! The food and service are very good. Several tasty couvert options. Prawns in brandy were good and a cataplana was fresh and generously portioned, if not the most flavourful we have tried. Where it falls down is the price – you are not told the price of those tempting couvert dishes and certain things are pretty astronomical. A great place for a holiday treat, but, as we live here, think we are more likely to stick to the more “local” and affordable places.