Café DelMar

Our waiter Daniel was great. He took lovely photos and managed to make the evening enjoyable, despite the mediocre food and terrible service from Rachel. She’s the worst manager cafe del mar has had, in my view. She is racist and makes a real effort to cater to her family and Portuguese-speaking people only.

Our server was lovely, kind, and helpful, and the view was beautiful. Those were the only good parts of the evening. The food was lukewarm, the steak was tough and chewy, and the vegetables tasted reheated. It felt like the restaurant just wasn’t ready for New Year’s Day, and someone dropped the ball. The manager seemed to be training staff while service was happening and was going around responding to complaints at every table. We felt bad for the bartender and waiter, who seemed to be working overtime.

The venue is gorgeous and has some of the best views around. We also loved the olives they served as snacks, I’ve never tasted any quite that delicious. It isn’t the cheapest restaurant in Ponta, but the service was exceptional, the food was good, and there was a varied drinks menu.

The restaurant is much more spacious than I expected, and the staff were very friendly. The seafood was good, though not great. For a restaurant that isn’t cheap, the food presentation was disappointing. There were cheap paper napkins, and they didn’t serve water or bread, so we didn’t feel especially looked after.