If you take anything at all from this review let it be this - NEVER, EVER EAT AT GOURMET NO BAIRRO…read more
I cannot even begin to describe the events that took place here. It is hard looking back to pick out the worst part - was it the freezing cold tapas, the main course that arrived an hour after the entire table had finished eating, or the waitress wishing the wrath of God (yes God) upon us as we vacated the premises.
When we arrived at the restaurant we were immediately offered "fresh" bread and olives. Our own foolishness accepted this offer and our evening began. Naturally neither of these were complimentary, so we ended up paying for over-priced, stale bread. In any case we proceeded to order a rake of tapas and one main course. A take on Prawns Pil Pil served with garlic rice - a simple classic known for its great taste and speedy cooking time. We specified while ordering that we would like the whole meal to arrive at the same time, to ensure nobody would be eating alone. The waiter obliginged.
Fast forward 45 minutes and our tapas arrived - cold. Mind you at this point we were hungry and so began to eat. When we enquired about the main course, the waiter ensured it would be out very soon. Our friend in the meantime sat patiently, nibbling away at the stale bread.
An hour and numerous enquiries about our main course later, the Pil Pil arrived. To be completely true to the chef, it was delicious (and hot surprisingly). On the downside, everyone else had long finished their meals, no acknowledgement to the late service had been made, and it was 10:30pm.
When the bill came, the waitress announced that generously, we had not been charged for our cocktails. Lucky for us I thought, considering no cocktails had been ordered or drank ... At this point I turned and explained that while we were happy to pay for the cold tapas, we were very disappointed at how late the Pil Pil came out. Immediately on the defensive, "well what do you want us to do about it?", she barked. Taken a bit aback, we explained what had happened and instead of the mere acknowledgement we were looking for, she started listing out "Portuguese Rules" (which she could not list and had seemingly made up), claimed Pil Pil took at least an hour to cook (another lie to add to the list), and told us we had to pay because otherwise she would have to fit the bill herself. The conversation quickly turned sour - when we asked for the manager, she refused to call him, told us we couldn't pay with card (despite the card machine being in her hand), and then went so far as to threaten to call the police.
We paid as hastily as we could before being threatened again by the waitress (and God himself apparently) and ushered out of the premises. It is safe to say that when we left, our view of this restaurant was almost as stale as their bread.
