Having been to CVO a few times this year I noticed that some restaurant prices have increased when I was there last week. Is this normal for this time of year or is it just inflation !!

ie tuna salad was €5.00 now €7.50 (cheaper in Holland)
fish soup €2.50 now €3.50

Wont give any names but that seems a bit steep % wise

Gary

That's "common practise" I'm afraid...not saying that everyone will put prices up but from my experience YES it does happen! I'm having to pay more myself to have a drink in the cafe next door.

One of the things that people complain to me all the time is that everything is as expensive or more expensive than back home!

And one Portuguese local pointed to me that this is partly due to local shop owners holding to the belief that tourists will pay those amounts because in their country all is more expensive (which is not always the case)...

Having been around a bit yes I know it does go on and realise we all have to make a buck.

One problem now though is the competition is now getting tougher especially from the east and I believe they could treading a fine line here.

One other thing I noticed is with the couverts they now seem to just gives you carrots and bread gone are the sardine paste and olives. So with just that it can also work out relatively expensive.

I now this may sound petty and believe it or not i am not a penny pincher but I do not think it looks good to those that come out year after year.

IVA has gone up on some things so I guess that gets passed on in prices but some places do push prices up. But why not name them? People can vote with their feet when they know they are being ripped off - it's the only way you will stop the practice.

As regards covers you don't have to have them nor pay for them if you don't eat them. If you don't want them then ask the waiter to take them away.

Restaurant and Bar Prices have been creeping up over the last few years to the point that owners of these establishments are almost looking to earn enough in four months to last them a year.
Yes there are July/August prices in restaurants and bars on the basis that you will will be going home in a couple of weeks and another load of lambs to the slaughter will be landing at Faro
Cannot understand the recent attitude, but if they are not careful they will have nothing left.
As you will come to realise the Portuguese are never wrong so they wont be advised. Spain suffered the same type of problem until they realised that people want goodservice at fair prices. At least they smile when releiving you of hard earned euros. Thank goodness I am sitting in the rain in UK in August.

It is a fact of life isn't it...you go to a tourist resort, you pay tourist prices?

If you able, perhaps considering going inland a bit to eat. I can eat at one of my local restaurants (20 minutes from Carvoeiro) for € 6,50 a head and that includes starter, main course, pudding, wine in jugs, coffee and liquor!!!

Gary and I often go out to Lagoa to the resturant in the square for lunch if we have to get the food supplies in. Great fish or vegetable soup, best we have tasted, good wine, ice cold beer, good service and prices too. So I agree just a little further out of town and you can eat like a king with the locals. Most are really friendly and interested in stopping and chatting a little. Silves has some nice restaurants too.
It's great that these lovely little restauranats also get some of the money coming in don't you think?
Gaynor

Bruxhina, what restaurants would you recommend in Silves? we have eaten at the Thia but havn't found any others apart from the one down by the river/market. Would love to know of some really good ones as we would rather go somewhere quieter for a meal sometimes.

Hi Lesley Jean. Well the cheap one I was talking about earlier is actually opposite Alcantarilha Train Station and is called O Grego...the food is good, not flash, but wholesome and cheap. A good place for lunch or dinner, although at lunchtime it is packed with local workers, so hard to get a seat. Further along the EN265 i.e. along from Alcantarilha station towards Algoz is another nice place called Os Mosqueteiros (I had good lamb there) and there are some nice restaurants in Algoz like A Curva (good turbot) and O Charuto. In Silves itself, the most famous has to be Rui Marisqueira...reportedly the best seafood restaurant in the Algarve, not cheap and naff decor but great food. I love the clams, barnacles and crab there, but everything is good. Recanto dos Mouros is very nice too. It does very good meat dishes, especially the Porco Preto (Black Pig). It is up behind the castle near the road to São Marcos de Serra. Café Inglês up near the castle does nice pizzas and a pasta dish of the day, as well as other food and has nice decor unlike most Portuguese restaurants, which tend to be very bland and unattractive. I know the food is the most important thing, but it is nice to be in an attractive environment...well for me it is. If I think of any more I'll post later.

Oh, I forgot the Ponte Romana on the old bridge. Very popular with the locals and foreigners alike. Only criticism is the crockery etc can be a bit on the dusty side...a bit too rustic maybe

Gary/Gaynor wrote:Gary and I often go out to Lagoa to the resturant in the square for lunch if we have to get the food supplies in. Great fish or vegetable soup, best we have tasted, good wine, ice cold beer, good service and prices too. So I agree just a little further out of town and you can eat like a king with the locals. Most are really friendly and interested in stopping and chatting a little. Silves has some nice restaurants too.
It's great that these lovely little restauranats also get some of the money coming in don't you think?
Gaynor

Wonder? Do you mean the Classique 21 Gaynor...the one in square by little park?..
Only I've had some nice lunches there too and not expensive....the people who own that (Joaquim & Maite) own the Casa da Pao in CVO..I enjoy my food there too..
whats that rest.by gas station in Lagoa..I keep forgetting..is it Lotus? had nice food in there also..
But my friend Luis ..who had the Taberna31 in Lagoa closed down after less than a year....
he was very cheap too...and you got the whole works including wine for 6 euros..
probably why he went bust!
ellie

Bruxinha wrote:It is a fact of life isn't it...you go to a tourist resort, you pay tourist prices?

If you able, perhaps considering going inland a bit to eat. I can eat at one of my local restaurants (20 minutes from Carvoeiro) for € 6,50 a head and that includes starter, main course, pudding, wine in jugs, coffee and liquor!!!

Good point Bruxinha....I spent the best part of the 80's in Florida (the whole state is a tourist trap) and the price of EVERYTHING went up 20-30% during the "season".
It's the nature of the beast....they have to make enough money during the "season" to tide them over in the slack season.

You are so right about getting off the "beaten path" to find good prices.

For instance, in Lisbon, I could go 4 or 5 blocks off the main street and find a fine meal much cheaper.
(I look for places where the locals eat....If I see any tourists there, I look for some place else)

Works every time in every place I've ever visited.

Hi Ellie

Yes Gaynor did mean the Classique 21 in Lagoa, though we have not been to any of the others you have mentioned but may give them a go in September. Gaynor is at this moment 33000 feet above sea level on her way to New York (so called company business !!). Its a tough life !

Gary

Thanks Bruxinha, we are out next weekend so will give them a try, do love Silves, it has to be the nicest town in the Algarve.

Thanks again.

yes agree with you Lesley..we love Silves too
I've often sat by the old Roman bridge..on hot summer days its lovely to sit in the shade under the trees there..
but we've never tried the Ponte Roma restaurant..the menu looks quite good tho
only taken lunches in Silves..usually at one of the pastelarias..
another place never tried is Cafe Inglese but its always appeared busy..
wonder do they still have the 'jazz' there on Sunday afternoons?..
Gary..I always said Gaynor was a high flyer..good luck to her..bet shes having great time! ..
Have you tried the A Fonte in CVO up the steps the side of Safari bar?...had a nice sardine meal there May..found it nice little relaxing place..cataplanas supposed to be good there so I've heard!
nice English-style 'fish& chips'.. in fish&chix too..
ellie