Algarve Bar & Grill

WOW!!! What a find, was hesitant to go in thought sign was intimidating. To me I projected a place that was loud and obnoxious. I drove past it and then said what the heck I’ll go in and check out menu. So I did a u turn up the street and went back. I was with my mom so we walked in and to my surprise the place is gorgeous. The staff was very pleasant, I am a soup type of girl. I ordered a Mediterranean soup that was amazing ordered calamari was the best I ever had. The food was done to perfection. Going back again for happy hour and then for a date night with hubby! Can’t wait. Definitely not a drive by place. Go in and enjoy order up and CHEERS.

We had no plans for New Year’s Eve and I decided to call Algarve after passing it several times in Rocky Hill and reading the reviews on Unilocal.They were able to seat us at 6 pm. I had a delicious pomegranate martini to start and then my husband and I each had a glass of the house cabernet which was very good. My husband had the Paella and I had the Portuguese bouillabaisse. I wanted to try something different that was a house specialty and it was fabulous! The dish had a lobster tail, clams, scallops and shrimp with a side of rice. I was in heaven. My husband also thoroughly enjoyed his paella. I had a combination of our leftovers for dinner the next night and I was in heaven again while the rest of my family had pizza! I will be back! The atmosphere is somewhat plain but the service was excellent and the food was very good. The only thing I didn’t love was the calamari appetizer — it was fine but I think it’s best to go with the Portuguese dishes here. I did enjoy my kale and potato soup appetizer!

Four of us recently went to Algarve, and after trying several great appetizers we were already planning our next visit. The food is outstanding — everything cooked perfectly, very tasty, and with excellent presentation. Menu features creative Portuguese meals, as well as more traditional American dishes. I had the Seafood Mix «Parelhada» which has shrimp, salmon, scallops and squid sauteed in a lemon garlic sauce served with vegetables and Portuguese fries. Wow — bursting with flavor, and each of the fish cooked just right. Can’t wait to try a half dozen other entrees that sound equally good.

We came here new to the area hoping to have authentic Portuguese food and were disappointed. The bife portuguesa had no sauce which is a crime, and the steak was too thick. I got the filet mignon and found it really boring. The calamari was ok and the sauce that came with it was really good. The prices were also higher than a typical Portuguese restaurant. We won’t be back anytime soon.

Stopped here after a day of hiking, after seeing the recommendations on the FindMeGF app. We were very pleasantly surprised. They have a nice selection of Italian and Portuguese items (including Portuguese wines), and with a couple of exceptions the entire menu can be made gluten free. They even have a dedicated GF kitchen prep area and a dedicated fryer for calamari, etc. They brought warm GF bread soon after we arrived. The service was excellent and the meal was delicious and unhurried. We had potato and kale soup (excellent!), calamari, paella and dessert. The food was unexpectedly good, for this area. They also seem to have a lively and friendly group of regulars at the bar in the afternoons. Overall, highly recommended, especially if you are GF or allergic to wheat.

Food was great. My table had the puttanesa with the GF pasta, stuffed salmon, 2 types of paella. All were great but service was slow. Would try again for the food but not the slow service.

Stumbled upon this place during a work trip. Amazing bruschetta and a great happy hour!

Tonight was a disappointment. I had the veal and scallops with a lemon saffron sauce over pasta. As the server brought over my dish, I caught a waft of a low tide spoiled fish smell and knew that I was in trouble. Against my better judgement I tried a scallop. The scallop was extremely rubbery and definitely not fresh. I pushed those over to the side and continued on with the meal. The rest of the dish was mediocore at best and not worth the $ 24 charged. I won’t get into my dish my wife but it was equally as bad. This is too bad because we are huge fans of the sister restaurant, Elizabeth’s. Live and learn. it will be a while if never that I go back here.

Casual place with good service and Excellent food! Just got back from Portugal and the paella here is authentic and perfectly prepared. Much better inside than out…
I’ll be back!

Algarve was exactly right. Casual, delicious, with good service, and good prices. The portions were more than ample, the bar was well stocked. What more do you really need?
I had the Portuguese grilled salmon and was quite pleased. Paired with a nice Portuguese wine.
Stop in and relax. I will do so again.

I ended up trying to find a restaurant at the last minute (Friday) for Easter 2015 lunch/​dinner. All of the main restaurants that I would think of going to in the area required reservations and were already booked.
I thought to myself, why do we want to spend $ 30-​$ 40 a person for a buffet when we can go to a normal restaurant and order a meal for $ 20-​$ 25 each. Immediately I thought of Elizabeth’s restaurant in Rocky Hill. We have been there many times and the food is always perfect. The way it’s cooked, portion, taste… all excellent. So I called them to see if they were open. I was told they were not, but the owner opened Algarve on the Silas Deane in Wethersfield recently and that restaurant was open on Easter.
Upon checking out the Unilocal reviews I thought this was a no brainer. They even specialize in seafood, which is near and dear to my heart. I never thought I could be so wrong.
Plans were for my wife and I to meet my mother there at 4pm. We arrive and see very few cars in the parking lot. I thought that was good because we won’t have to wait for a table and we can get our food quickly. Upon entering there were already 3 families sat. I believe two 4 tops and an 8 top.
Everything went mostly as I would have expected it to at the beginning. My mother likes her food very plain, so she ordered sirloin with no toppings of any kind on it. She explained to the waiter she would like it cooked somewhere between medium and medium well. She ordered a hot tea to come with the meal.
I ordered the Frutti de Mari, hopefully I got the spelling right. It comes with about 6 different types of seafood with a light red sauce and angel hair pasta. My wife ordered Vegetable Paella.
The waiter immediately came to the table with the drinks and brought my mother’s hot tea even though she wanted it with the meal. He apologized and said he would more when the meal comes out. The salads were a decent size. I had some of my wife’s clam chowder. It was very good. The clams were not rubbery like most clam chowders. The taste was above average.
Then it took nearly 40 minutes more to receive the main entrees after we were done with the salads and soup. Let me repeat, 40 additional minutes. In the meanwhile I only recall seeing the waiter only once in passing and he did not comment on how much longer it would be. Very surprising since at this point we were only one of two tables now in the restaurant.
As soon as the meals arrived I saw a thick layer of cheese on my mom’s steak. I mentioned this to the waiter. He apologized again and took it to the kitchen to «fix» it. He was gone for a good 10 minutes before bringing it back while my wife and I had to eat in front of her. My mother finally cuts into the sirloin and the steak was well done. Not a hint of pink at all. Very frustrating. Back the steak goes with an apology. Now my mother is sitting there watching us eat our food yet again. Her baked potato and freshly made potato chips (which were very good) were left on the table to get cold while she waited another 15 minutes for her new steak to return.
In the meanwhile I began eating my Frutti de Mari. I can say there was PLENTY of seafood in the meal. The problem being, it was absent of flavor. The sauce had very very little flavor, but what I had a big problem with is the seafood was devoid of flavor. The seafood was cooked well however, but if I was blind you could have told me I was eating chicken and I would have believed you. The pasta was over cooked and like «moosh». I was only able to eat about ¹⁄₃ of it and asked for a to go container.
My wife’s vegetable paella was very large. It was cooked well. Mot much to say about it. Basically rice and vegetables with safron. I did not try it but my wife liked it and the portion size was great.
By the time my Mother’s steak came back for the second time, my wife’s and my meals were both in to go containers in a bag at the table with us. Now was our turn to watch her eat. My mother is not a big eater and she did not want us to sit and watch her eat, so she asked the waiter for a to go container. We waited about 10 minutes for him to come back. He started clearing the table, so we asked for the container again. He acted as if he didn’t get asked the first time.
My wife and I were not asked how we liked our meals, or I would have told them. Full time from getting sat until leaving: 1 hour 45 minutes. We are not ones to sit and talk at a meal for a long time.
The reason for giving 2 instead of 1 star is that the basic groundwork is there. The food was good for the most part. The help really screwed the pooch on this one. Definitely do not plan on EVER going back after this. It’s even giving me second thoughts about Elizabeth’s now.

We order the shrimp appetite. It was different and good
Than we order stuff salmon. It was very American
We also order seafood it was fresh and light

Good, solid Portuguese food. Loved the calamari and the creamy shrimp.
Feels like a good place for families

The Portuguese salad and side of fries made a tasty lunch. Looking forward to returning.

While driving home between NJ and Boston, we used Unilocal and found this place. I don’t know why there are haters of Unilocal,because it almost never steers me wrong. We stopped about 5pm and the place looked busy, but really there was a large party in the back. It was early for dinner. The Bartender was also our host, so I decided to sit in the bar and watch TV while we ate. The Bartender was really nice and helpful. Since we were driving, we just ate without drinks. We shared the quesadillas and wings. Both was great. My husband ordered chicken parm, which was huge and yummy. I ordered the traditional portuguese «Bife a Portuguese» which is steak with prusciutto and fried egg. This was done just right and had a really nice taste. We were in a rush, so we did not have dessert, but we will be back when we are traveling in that direction again.

I was staying at the Hampton inn across the street from this place with my girlfriend and we decided to give it a shot.
Our waitress was perfect. She was friendly, made great recommendations for someones dietary restrictions, and she even brought out gluten free biscuits for someone at the table without even being asked. Perfect! It is the thoughtful, little things like that which make eating out delightful.
We all went for lunch so unfortunately, I can’t really rave about their specialties here. But I can comment about the following:
New England clam chowder = delish (7.5÷10)
Chicken Cesar Wrap = acceptable (⁶⁄₁₀)
Steak Sandwich = acceptable (⁶⁄₁₀)
Bruschetta = Oohhh yeah! (⁸⁄₁₀)
Again, this was lunch, and it all was quite good, but it wasn’t unbelievable (which is fine for lunch)
If I ever come back here (which I sure I will) I would expect dinner to be excellent (the menu looks it). Give this place a try, it looks to be one of the best options in this area.

Very good new restaurant. It’s a mix of Portuguese and Italian classics that will not disappoint. Portions are ample and the quality is very good. The appetizers leave a little to desired variety wise but the entrees are very unique and tasty. Give this place a try and you’ll be coming back.

Excellent stop for lunch specials, I had a bifanas de Carne (ribeye sandwich) with Portuguese fries was in and out in 20 minutes for under 10 bucks. Glad no one knows this spot

The food was great! There are 2 different menus. One for the bar with lighter meals and a dinner menu. My husband and I got dinner, our meals came with a salad. My husband got a steak dish with a fried egg on it and I got the paella. Both meals were amazing! The service was exceptional as well. I hope this place does well, not many restaurants make it in that location?

Food all tasted good. Food portions solid for the price. Family friendly quiet environment. The deserts were delicious. Waiter was great friendly and very informative. Nice to have a Portuguese taste in the area.