Olhão (Faro), Portugal: Decent Food and Service, But The 30% Discount Elevated My Rating

Tacho d'Avo

Urbanizacao Village Marina 21A

Olhao 8700-292 Portugal

+351 289 722 249

Prices: €€€€

I wish I had seen the TripAdvisor 30% discount on the ala carte menu before we went last night, but, as it turns out, we received the discount without asking ... HOOAH!

We were the only people in the restaurant at 18:30 when we arrived and had our pick of tables. Unfortunately, they had no air conditioning on this hot summer evening, so we had to switch tables to a shadier place as the sun went down and into my wife's face.

We ordered a 1/2 liter of house red wine and a small Cheese and Sausage Board (€7.50) to get us started. The wine was decent and the board adequate with salami, two cheeses, three types of ham, and some olives.

My better half decided on the Basil and Pine Nut Ravioli in Roquefort Sauce (€18/€12.60 with discount). They were more tortelloni than ravioli, but the dish was very tasty and filling. My Sicilian wife was very happy with her choice.

I ordered the Steak with Roquefort Sauce (€20/€14 with 30% off), coming with fries and rice. The steak was medium in size and the sauce very good, but the meat was quite chewy. I had asked the server about the Large Steak for 2-3 people (€40) because I had seen photos of some great looking T-Bone steaks online, but she could not tell me what kind of steak it was or much else for that matter.

The service was good overall, but nobody bothered checking on us after the food was delivered and I had to go find some salt and pepper for my meal. We waited so long for someone to return that I ended up going up to the cash register to pay.

CombatCritic Gives Tacho d'Avo 7 Bombs Out Of 10 (5 Out Of 10 if we hadn't received the discount)... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To

Translation for Civilians: "Shits & Grins"

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Title: Olhão (Faro), Portugal: Decent Food and Service, But The 30% Discount Elevated My Rating

Key Words: Olhão, Faro, Portugal,  Tacho d'Avo, tacho, avo, steak, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Lille, France: SNAFU ... I Had DiaRihour After Paying Too Much For A Chewy Steak And Expensive Fries - Satiated But Wanting MUCH Better

Le Rihour's

29 Place Rihour

59000 Lille, France

+33 3 20 22 93 59

Prices: €€€€

Thought we would try this place because the menu looked decent and prices seemed reasonable compared to most, but you get what you pay for ... BOHICA!

House red wine was not very good (€6 - 25 cl) and a Coke Zero was €4.50.

My wife had a Croque Madame (€5) and a side of FRENCH fries (€4.50), the sandwich decent and the fries overpriced.

I got the Steak Frites (€15) with a local cheese sauce. THe sauce was plentiful and tasty, but the odd shaped piece of meat was very chewy. I did not have to spit out any gristle, but my jaws got a good workout and I now look like Dick Tracy,

Definitely NOT a TravelValue and 500 klicks from my 'WALL OF FAME'.

CombatCritic Gives Le Rihour's 3 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

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Title: Lille, France: SNAFU ... I Had DiaRihour After Paying Too Much For A Chewy Steak And Expensive Fries - Satiated But Wanting MUCH Better

Key Words: Lille, France, La Rihour's, steak, fries, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Tavira, Portugal: Had They Cooked My Steak As I Had Asked, They Would Have Been Rated Higher

O Castelo Cafe e Restaurante

Rua da Liberdade

Tavira 8800-399 Portugal

+351 915 087 614

Facebook: O Castelo

Prices: €€€€

Our friends invited us here as I had no idea O Castelo existed, well known in Tavira for their great steaks. The restaurant is tiny, just four tables, so it was fortunate that we had a reservation.

We were quickly seated and given menus, skipping starters as we had indulged at their nearby apartment beforehand. We ordered a bottle of the house vinho tinto (red wine) and a bottle of sparkling water. The wine was good and the water was, obviously, water.

Three of us ordered steak and one the Dourada (Sea Bream). I decided on the Ribeye with Peppercorn Sauce (medium well - €27+€1.50) as recommended by the chef even though it is on the menu and my wife the Sirloin with a butter, lemon and cilantro sauce (well done - €24+€1.50).

Sirloin

My steak was large, maybe 250 grams, but oddly sat alone on the big white plate, and came with a big bowl of fries (chips) to share between my wife and I. When I cut into it, I could clearly see that it was closer to medium-rare than medium-well. The sauces all came on the side in a steel boat and all were to our satisfaction. The server never returned to ask us us how our meals were, so I just sucked it up and ate the bloody meat, covering it with sauce so I did not have to see the blood.

Ribeye

Ribeye

I really do not care what others think, preferring my meat with as little blood as possible, that is simply my preference, but most times they either do not know how to cook steaks or give me my meat the way they think it should be cooked. In either case, it tells me that something is very wrong in a restaurant that specializes in steaks. 

Ribeye

My wife's sirloin came in three medium size cuts and was medium-well, not well done as she had asked, but was tender and tasty.

The Dourada was nicely presented with the fish, mixed vegetables, and potatoes on the same plate.

Dourada

If I remember right, the meals were supposed to come with salads, but we only received one small bowl of salad amongst the four of us.

The meal was nice and the service friendly, coming in at €60 a head, including tip, not horribly expensive for a meal, but much more than we had paid for similar meals at another Tavira restaurant a week earlier.

CombatCritic Gives O Castelo 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Six Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Good To Go"

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Title: Tavira, Portugal: Had They Cooked My Steak As I Had Asked, They Would Have Been Rated Higher

Key Words: Tavira, Faro, Portugal, steak, fish, Portuguese, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Read Chris S.'s review of Castelo e Cafe Restaurante on Yelp

Quatrim do Norte (Olhão): If You Are Hunting For Good Fish And Steak, The Operative Word Is 'Caca' at Clube Caça e Pesca Cavaquense

Clube Caça e Pesca Cavaquense

Quatrim do Norte, 8700

Moncarapacho, Portugal

Phone number: 927 419 607

Prices: €€€€

I had heard about this place from friends, located on a secluded little road off of the N-125 at Quatrim do Norte between Olhão and Fuseta, it really does not look like much from the road once you find it.

I was told it is a Brazilian restaurant with live music on Sunday's at lunch time, but the only thing Brazilian that I noticed were the servers because the menu is made-up of standard Portuguese offerings.

The food is adequate with smaller portions and higher prices than you can find elsewhere and the service is very slow. 

After 20 minutes of sitting on the patio with nary a 'boa tarde' from the female servers, I went inside to order our drinks from the bar. When they arrived 10 minutes later, there were no wine or water glasses and they finally arrived another 10 minutes later.

We ordered two Picanha Grelhada (grilled skirt steak - €11 each), but only one side order of fries, salad, rice and beans were received. The amount of steak on the plate was probably half of what you would receive at most local restaurants and almost half of that was fat.

My wife's Bitoque de Porco (pork steaks with a fried egg on top - €10) was nicely presented and she was quite happy with it, coming with fries, rice and salad.

The meals did come with coffee and dessert, but the cheesecake was obviously straight out of a box, the mass produced variety that has neither cheese nor cake.

The highlight of the day was the wonderful Algarve sunshine and blue sky, along with the live music, a single musician and decent mix of modern pop, popular hits, Italian classics, and Portuguese/Brazilian favorites.

If you like live music while eating on a shaded terrace under the wonderful Olhão sunshine, then you will enjoy this place, but the food is mediocre at best, the service slow, even by Portuguese standards, and the prices higher than average, so ...

CombatCritic Gives Clube Caça e Pesca Cavaquense 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombas Are Melhor!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

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Title: Quatrim do Norte (Olhão): If You Are Hunting For Good Fish And Steak, The Operative Word Is 'Caca' at Clube Caça e Pesca Cavaquense

Key Words: Quatrim do Norte, Moncarpacho, Olhão, fish, steak, Clube Caça e Pesca Cavaquense, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, music, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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