A Ribalta - Silves

Our friends invited us to have dinner at Ribalta because they had such a lovely experience the last 2 times they went and wanted us to get to know it. A little... read more Our friends invited us to have dinner at Ribalta because they had such a lovely experience the last 2 times they went and wanted us to get to know it. A little difficult to find but worth the trip, what a lovely place! It is like you enter a typical house, where they sell many kinds of tea, home made things and accessories. The restaurant is very cozy, decorated with antiques and every time I looked around I saw something new. The food is traditional food from the region, very well prepared and very tasty. We could choose between a couple of different plates but we decided to try a bit of everything, so we had a bit of a tapas dinner or petisco in Portuguese. We loved it! The service was very pleasant and the owner was very friendly trying to make us feel at home. We will come back for sure!, great experience!

We visted boxing day evening. We had heard very good reports about this restaurant and have been looking forward to trying it. The couvert was lovely. The rest... read more We visted boxing day evening. We had heard very good reports about this restaurant and have been looking forward to trying it. The couvert was lovely. The rest is negative. The rice was cold. The meat was barely warm. The chips were nice .. hopefully this was a one off as everyone else has raved about it. But i wont go again :

Sunday 8 September 2019, we arrived at 1pm the restaurant was still empty the waiters was still lunching, we ask if was possible to lunch, one of the waiters to... read more Sunday 8 September 2019, we arrived at 1pm the restaurant was still empty the waiters was still lunching, we ask if was possible to lunch, one of the waiters told us that the restaurant only work by reservations 24h advance.. we even say the restaurant was empty she simply did not care about it! Awesome service!

So, this is a very different dining experience. We arrived at O 'Ribeira (same restaurant) half an hour late for our reservation as the location on TripAdvisor... read more So, this is a very different dining experience. We arrived at O 'Ribeira (same restaurant) half an hour late for our reservation as the location on TripAdvisor is totally wrong. A little stressed by the misdirection we entered the premises and thought, we 're in the wrong place, doesn 't look like the photos and it 's in the middle of nowhere! We were greeted by a lady (the proprietor) with no English so out came Google translate and with a little more stress we discovered that we were in the right place but we had entered through the bar! All out of the cars and in through the other entrance to the restaurant (looked much more like the photos on TripAdvisor) Seated at a fine round table we were treated to the complimento which was absolutely delicious, a little pricy for the area at €11 but plenty for all to enjoy. The menu offers mainly rustic dishes, slow cooked meats, fish, game and variety of cataplana. Eg: one of the specials last Sunday was wild boar and prawn cataplana for 2 people exceptional! The menu is available in several languages but clarification on detail is challenging, thank you Google translate The decor is eclectic to say the least and the teenagers in our party enjoyed exploring the garden with it 's range of highly unusual handcrafted decorations, with much speculation about their origin or meaning. Once we got over the misdirection and the language barrier we settled down to what was a really different and enjoyable dining experience,topped off with a lovely assiete of deserts and complimentary cherry liqueur. This is definitely a restaurant we will return to.

Great place to try some seasonal wild game- wild boar- rabbits- hares- partridge are all on the menu with a fish selection as well. You need a car to visit as i... read more Great place to try some seasonal wild game- wild boar- rabbits- hares- partridge are all on the menu with a fish selection as well. You need a car to visit as its out in the country. Cooking is good but the wine is well over priced.