Il Trio

For a restaurant I have been to around 5 times in the last few years, I am still impressed every time! I havent had one bad meal here. It is an italian restaurant but always choose their meat or fish dishes as they are so good!

It has a very calm atmosphere with both inside and outside seating.
It is owned and run by 3 gentlemen who are the faces of the logo of Il Trio and they are also the waiters.
Very attentive and welcoming! Their prices are very reasonable and they are in a very accessible location.

The menu has a wide selection and I always struggle to decide what to have.
For the couvert they bring warm fresh rolls with a side of Feta cheese, Tuna mayonnaise paste and calamari.  Although delicious, I wish I had given it a skip as by the time I had finished my main, I was full!
Last night we had mussels to share which were very large and covered in tomato and cheese! Delicious and fresh!
For the main I had slices of sirloin steak, filled with Parma ham and covered in Mozzarella cheese and Marsala wine sauce. The flavors were great and not too overpowering. It was served with Spaghetti in tomato and veg (parcels of beans and carrots), (spinach and mushrooms).  It was well presented and didn't want to leave any.
My Fiance had the rack of lamb, which was the softest and tastiest lamb I have tasted in a very long time.

One of the highlights for my meal at Il trio is the desserts, but last night I couldn't manage one as much as I wanted to.
The trio of desserts is a great choice, with a selection of tiramisu, pana cotta, profiterole cake and an expresso.  The  chocolate cookie is also a must!

This is definitely a restaurant to try! I haven't met anyone that hasn't enjoyed it!

O'Victoria

This has to be one of my all time favorites! The first time I visited this restaurant, was my first date with my now fiance on Valentines day.  At this time it was called Pipa Rota, it has now moved across the street and also changed names.
It is owned by a french chef who works the kitchen himself.  In the 6 years that I have been going there I have not been disappointed once.
I have tried most of the menu and everything is great, but I still have my favorites that I have on a regular basis!

My suggestions would definitely be :
Starter - Chicken and mushroom crepe
Main - Filet of Lamb with potato croquettes and spinach
            Roquefort filet steak

All the meals come with a side of veg for the table which consists of carrots, flat green beans and aubergine covered in breadcrumbs (absolutely delicious).

The prices are very reasonable and great value for money.

Definitely a must try!

Akvavit - Vilamoura

Having waited till the end of august, for the summer rush to calm down, my fiance and I decided to to have our weekly meal at Akvavit, on the marina in Vilamoura.  Knowing most of the places to have a lovely meal here and being told that Akvavit is "the restaurant" we were very excited!

On arrival we waited around 10 min to be acknowledged by any of the 10+ waiter/waitresses that kept walking past us. It seems like they do not have anyone on front of house.  After being seated and given our menus we again sat in wait.  On principle we decided after 15min that we would wait 5 more minutes before leaving if we had not yet been served or even said hello to.  

Being told that in August (their busiest time of the year)  you could never get a seat, it was a shock to see, in September,  so many empty tables and so many waiters/waitresses.  How did they cope a few weeks ago? 

Whilst still waiting we watched other tables be seated and served their couvert and drinks before us, even in the same section which was a little annoying. 

We decided to share a starter so that we could share a dessert too

Starter

Vol-au-Vent with scallops, shrimps and lobster sauce  - 12 Euro

The starter came out and it looked amazing to say the least! Our mouths were watering.
What a disappointment that was.
Inside the Vol-au-Vent was 1 shrimp (which was dry and overcooked) and 1 scallop.  It should have been named the mushroom and green pepper Vol-au-Vent as these were abundant.  The sauce was tasty but still as a whole not acceptable.

Main course

Sole in pastry with mushroom filling and tarragon sauce - 18 Euro

Lamb rack, crusted mustard and sauce, oven gratinated potatoes  - 18 Euro

Again the presentation was beautiful. Neatly wrapped parcels of julianne carrots and asparagus on both plates and the potatoes looked deliciously creamy.

The carrots tasted like they were cooked in the microwave and practically raw. I like my veg crisp but these were not good. The asparagus was nice however.

The sole was dry and the mushrooms were out of a can (the worst kind, with absolutely no flavor whatsoever).

Now we get to the lamb, which was cooked beautifully and tasted lovely but, unfortunately they had spoiled it by coating it so thick in english mustard it tasted like you had bleach in your mouth. My fiance  tried to scrape the thick coating off and tried to wash it off with the gravy on the plate but it was still way overpowering.  After he had a bad few mouthfuls and not being able to hide his reaction from the table next to us, the woman next to me could not help stare at his response.  Needless to say he walked out and I paid the bill and left.  I would have complained if it wasnt the fact that there was nobody that came to us to complain to.  

A big disappointment and wont be returning. 

Initial inspiration

Being my first blog i thought id tell you a little about why i have started this page.

Living in the Algarve on and off for the last 6 years, being an avid food lover and someone who loves to cook, having traveled all over the world trying different cuisines, being adventurous with trying different flavors and food just being a passion of mine, i thought that i could give some advise to people traveling to the algarve.

Having sampled some of the nicest meals i have ever eaten in the algarve, and then last night having the biggest disappointment and let down ever, it inspired me to write about it and all my future meals.

Sometimes I feel I can be a little too overcritical, but at the end of the day everyone has their own opinion and is entitled to it. 

I used to get very embarrassed by my father who was always the person that every waiter/waitress dreaded. He always said that if you never complain about anything then the restaurant will never know what to change to make it better. Positive criticism is always good.

Having being a waitress myself when i was younger I had first hand experience on both sides of the table.

I hope that i can point people in the right direction for having some great food experiences!