Onze

[fmm]

Not good!

Well, we are back there this evening, so I will wait and see what happens in that case.

[Gary/Gaynor]

Have just returned from a few weeks in Carvoeiro and wanted to comment on two vastly different meals we had at Onze.
The first meal was excellent. The staff accomodated us though we had not booked. We had a lovely meal from breads through starters to main and desserts. The staff were chatty and charming throughout.
We went back just over a week later having booked on this occasion. The whole experience could not have been more different. We were not offered any bread/olives. The sizes of the portions had visibly shrunk compared to a week earlier (I chose a starter that my wife had had previously and it was just half the size!). The staff did not come round to top up the wine at all during the meal, and when we had finished mains, took so long to come back for our dessert orders that we had changed our minds by then and decided to leave.
Very strange really as the restaurant was no busier the second night than the first.
I think they will struggle to keep going if they are so inconsistent, and charge prices that would not be out of place in a central London restaurant.

Did you tell them you weren't happy with the service, maybe more people should speak up when this happens. What a shame though as the expectations of a good evening had already set in from you first experience. We shall try this restaurant out and see next week sometime.
Gaynor

[fmm]

If you do try it, make sure you book otherwise you won't get in!
Went back last night - service was great. Despite only having been once before the staff recognised us and were very attentive - exactly as before. The three front of house staff are actually the partners and are professional and friendly.
THe wine was good, the starters (had the mixed plate again) were excellent, the fillet mignon was (apparently) wonderful. My main course was lamb - it was good - not outstanding though. The desserts were, once more, fantastic. Overall the evening was pricey, but still value for money in its own way. THe cheese plate with the honey is delicious and worth having.
It was absolutely packed last night. Mind you, they don't hurry you (if you want to eat and get out fast, that is fine) but we had our table for over 2 hours and were not rushed despite the number of people waiting for tables.

[joanne]

We tried it last week there were 8 of us, the waiters were all really nice etc, but the service was really slow, 3 of us had pasta and we got 7 pieces each..............They started pouring the Wine before asking us to taste it, it was the House wine and we had ordered a really nice one as a treat.........we complained nicely, and when the bill came we had been given 2 free bottles of wine and the Coffee was free, they did say they were having a few little problems and were hoping to sort them out, we booked in again on the 22nd so will see what the next experience is like..........The young partner saw us in the Village the next day and was waving from his car etc, so will see

[onzerestaurant]

Hello everybody!

Thank you very much for your comments so far. We try hard to use your opinions to improve your experience at our venue.

I would like to comment on a_vasudeva's post. I am sorry if your secondary experience was not as you expected it to be.
If you feel unhappy with any aspect, make sure you advise us at that exact moment! We certainly try to improve, we are a young team,
growing with the task ahead. And our philosophy is completly different!

We do sometimes bring the orders out later than in other restaurants, but would like you to remember that everything you eat is made by us! Pestos, Sauces and bread - the things others get, we do ourselfs. It sometimes happens that demand outruns our stock and that we have to freshly prepare the items. In addition our staff is constantly changing, so things dont runs as smooth as we wish.

If you notified the above and add our desire to be more stylish than the competition, we classify the prices as adequate. There are far more expensive Restaurants in Carvoeiro.

@ fmm, the fish we served you was Corvina - I believe they are called Croaker in English.

Restaurant ONZE

[EMM]

We have nothing like channel bass in the UK.

What you refer to as croaker is a I think fish called wrasse which we do not eat.

[R.Wethereyet]

The English name for the corvina is 'Meagre' not well known in the UK as a fish for eating. It belongs to the same family as Shade-fish, Salmon-Bass or Stone Bass.

link-

http://www.fao.org/fishery/culturedspec ... _regius/en

During my time here in Carvoeiro, I have eaten it only once and that was enough. Very strong flavour and quite oily.

[Rayeileen]

Just returned from a wonderful 3 nights in Carvoeiro.Visited Onze on saturday night we did not have a booking but got a table inside.We really enjoyed the food and the whole atmosphere,the staff were friendly and the food was lovely,we will visit again when we are back in September.

[Algarve Eagle]

Ate there last night and had a really mixed experience.

On the positive side, the food was excellent - our group of five ordered a wide range of starters and mains - positive comments from all.

Unfortunately, on this occasion, there were a number of irritating negatives: no fish available on Wednesdays, boiled potatoes served when chips were ordered, white wine could have been cooler, 75 minutes wait between arrival at restaurant and service of starter, further 30 minutes between clearance of starter plates and service of main course, no condiments on table or offered, no dessert or coffee offered, no interest from staff as to whether the food or service at our table was good, bad or indifferent (but seemingly plenty of attention given to customers known to the staff).

On the basis of the quality of food, we may try Onze again, but felt that the quality of service let this restaurant down badly.

[joanne]

Went again and service was ok and food, but think they need to up everything just slightly, the decor etc is great, but just needs to be a bit quicker, we waited an hour and we were only having Pizza?

There are a lot of people that go all the time like us, and a lot of comments on this site and word of mouth are important, out again next week so may give another try.

[e-richard]

We took the plunge and visited.

This is definitely not your usual Carvoeiro restaurant. Some unfortunate investor has poured bucket loads of money into a refurb job to create an incredibly chic looking establishment that would hold its own in Covent Garden in the Centre of London, or even yuppyville in Clapham or Highgate. From the posted menu and the look 'n feel, its the sort of establishment where one expects high class "vertical food" of superb quality and presentation.

It comes close. When I say close, I mean as close as Carvoeiro is to Beijing!

My starter of grilled prawns in oil and a "hint of piri-pri" was to use a Michael Winnerism, quite historic. Amazingly tasty. Things were looking up.
My wife's vegetarian starter was inedible and had to be exchanged for a simple salad.

I ordered fish of the day (Bream), which came split open, not filleted, grilled dry to extract all possible taste and presented on a trendy square plate. If it had not been for a spoonful of really tasty saute potatoes to drown the blandness of the fish, I'd be very hungry. She ordered stuffed mushrooms in a Gorgonzola sauce. Well "stuffed" was a euphemism for "lets pour some white sauce over a few chopped mushrooms". Gorgonzola is a very distinctive taste - how come it was so absent ?

Unlike other reviews here, we found the service was as good as you get anywhere in town, and our wait was quite acceptable (but this is now September!)

This pretentious restaurant breaks the mould of the many run of the mill eateries in Carvoeiro, and could be great.

But today it isn't.

[tricky]

Similar to our experience Richard. I thought the prawns were great, but the main course of
pesto pasta was really boring (I know its not supposed to be very exciting) but the pesto came out a a jar I felt and the pasta was sloppy. Fresh parmesan would've been a nice touch.

[mrs-b]

I too agree with you Richard.

We went a couple of weeks ago and managed to get a good table by chance as there had been a cancellation.

The restaurant is spectacular. It looks stunning - almost like something out of 'Sex and the City'! - nicely tucked in near Charley's, the bucket and spade shop and the GNR....We had a lovely welcome from the boys (I'm always a sucker for a smile and a pretty face) and drinks and bread were ordered and arrived within good time.

However, as other posters have mentioned, the service from then on was very slow. Normally when we are on holiday, this doesn't usually bother us as we are relaxed, we can chat as a family and I can people watch! We had to wait for about an hour for our food and when it arrived it was decidedly average. My husband had the prawns to start (delicious) - although he was disappointed there were only 4 and our younger daughter (8) had 3 of them! I agree with Richard regarding the Gorgonzola sauce - it was reminiscent of melted Dairy Lea. I have to say though, our daughter's burger was fab and they were fantastic with the girls.

All in all, I would currently review Onze as 'style over substance'. I really hope that this changes though, as this is no Via Italia. They have everything going for them - they are a friendly and welcoming bunch and the wine list is very good. However, the price of the menu does not reflect the quality of the food and they need to get the orders out quicker. Let's hope these are teething problems within the kitchen which can be sorted out as their confidence grows in their service. I wish them well!

[Damien F.]

Great Experience!

My wife and came from Monaco for a weekend in the Algarve. After A long day we decided to Stop in Carvoeiro for Dinner. As we were looking at the menu from Tia Ilda my wife spotted the restaurant on the other side of the cliffs and dragged me over to Onze. The terrace was completly full but my wife insisted try it. We waited at the bar for 15 minutes with a Botle of Prosecco.

The layout and the design of the restaurant was very élégant, it reminded me a lot of the cosmopolitan in Monaco. My wife loved the picture series.

As we got seated we were imideatly served by two waiters for drinks and food. As a starter we had the gorgoncola mushrooms and the carpaccio. As a cheese lover I have to complement the kitchen for the gorgoncola sauce. Délicieux!
The food took a bit long, but we were warned by the staff. I ordered a „Surf & Turn“ and my wife ate a Duck and Porcini Risotto. She is a very picky personality, So I was suprised the completly cleaned the plate. 10/10 for taste!
I was dissapointed by the cheese plate, by the limited variety. When I complained the staff offered a choclate cake as compensation, which i should have ordered in the first place, Magnifique!

A lucky pick, I will most definitly return!

[CM]

So Damien...you came from Monaco..and your wife nailed the location by her observation that it was opposite the very obvious tilda....so without me saying it...come clean sunshine..its a good effort but I reckon you might..just might have a vested interest?