The only bad experience I had in Portugal.... My dish was really not good: 3 rubbery squids, boiled potatoes and 2 salad leaves all bathed in warm oil, my companion did better with grilled sardines (although very salty), and a small bottle of overpriced wine. The service was very unpleasant (on a Sunday evening I can understand that the weekend was long but at this point...) I don't recommend it, there are plenty of great little restaurants in Portimão

This was the worst dining restaurant experience of our life. Forte & Feio is Strong and Ugly translated from the Portugese, Strong arm it was and Ugly it almost became. Having been hooked outside the restaurant initially by the charming joint proprietor Julio, who we met standing at a wonderfully fresh and well presented fresh fish display, we were over the next two hours, reeled in, gutted and almost laid out to dry. What unfolded is unforgettable, sadly all for the wrong reasons. Having seen the chalkboard advert for fresh sardines we four (two adults, two kids-all fish and seafood lovers, connoisseurs even), we ordered some, but were dismissed by the waiter because he insisted again and again the sardines were not good at this time of year. Curiously the local clientele were digging into delicious looking sardines at a table not far away. He eventually returned and presented us with 3 nice red mullet, we chose two, luckily only two- as these ended up costing 43 euros. Eventually, after a long wait we were served the grilled mullet alone with some limp and overcooked vegetables. Meanwhile our boy waited and waited for his mains, while our girl enjoyed her plate of nicely cooked jack mackerel but without the rice side ordered. Meanwhile, we wondered and waited for the four tiger prawns ordered as a starter. Eventually after numerous attempts to attract our waiters attention we managed to, and our boy's mains arrived not long after along with our girl's rice dish. Where were our tiger prawns we wondered? A shrugged shoulder, a curious facial expression our water responded with. The next thing the prawns were served up completely over cooked and leathery. And, we did eat them as we were hungry. In eating these we made a mistake. A big mistake as it turned out, we were charged the premium at €62.10 for four ruined tiger prawns! Beware of this place fellow tourists, as we were presented with a bill at the end for 140 euros for this fish, some bread, pate and a half bottle of wine. We didn't have the total amount with us and what happened next was a complete disgrace being humiliating, embarrassing and upsetting at the same time. Julio played every card he had masterfully and insisted we pay the whole amount despite our protestations about poor service, misplaced orders and overcooked prawns. He had an excuse for every counter point we offered up as is the customers right. Some so absurd I do not want to embarrass him any further. We learnt a big lesson that night but returned the next day to discharge our bill -in good faith as we had promised, but not in full. I take no pleasure from writing this review but see it as a cautionary tale to other tourists. We had a wonderful time in many other local restaurants in the Algarve and we didn't let this ruin our stay.

Not many options, no seasoning, and not cheap. This is not the Portuguese cuisine you need.

Tasty food, pleasant personal, nice atmosphere.

Excellent option if.you are looking for authentic Portuguese fare. The fish is always done to perfection however many other option are available. Service is good and the location near the river is great for a post dinner walk.

Would not recommend especially given all the other restaurants nearby - it seems made for tourists and does not make justice to usual standards. Food was simply ok, but without a genuine traditional flavour you can easily find in the area. It also seemed overpriced the fish is sold by the kilo, somewhat unusual. Pleasant environment but make sure not to be seated right by the grill. Staff was friendly overall. In general, would say ok - but there’s lots of opportunities for improvement.

Amazing fish dinner and wine, this is our second visit back to Portimao and would not come back without sitting here for dinner! The brill is excellent.

I have been in their with my wife and our daughter and it was fantastic . We just arrived on the Portimão City and we are desperately to eat something and every single restaurant say to us the kitchen it’s was close excepted this guys ! First it was a very welcome from the staff second give as a very delicious fresh Sardinhas and a lot off tips from the city because he saw we are traveling with our little baby it was a must. Very entertaining and Easy going person the food it was very good but the staff it was the reason we go visit again . Thanks for amazing atmosphere guys See you next time .

Genuinely one of my favourite places to eat in the world, would give 6 stars if possible. Incredibly friendly staff, happy to recommend their favourite fish and help you to understand what they have. Super fresh fish, lovely wine, and felt welcomed and part of the family while we were there. Can't wait to go again!

Stay clear of this restaurant disaster from the start My husbands fish arrived warm not hot vegetables were cool & over cooked while potatoes were actually cold - my sardines didn’t arrive at all we ended up sharing a meal

The food was alright, although it was something you could easily do at home and overpriced food and wine. Apart from that the sardines were not all fresh

Delicious food.. we had grilled fish with vegetables and salad with grilled pepper. Well served.

Super expensive overpriced dishes ! And the and licor de medronho that normally 1 shot is on the house we paid 7 euros for 2 ! Pineaple as desert was green . I paid 65 euros for two and im still hungry! In general this is far too touristy with super touristy prices ! Bad choice

Excellent portuguese food. Quick and friendly service. Great atmosphere 👌🏻

Very good and fresh fish!! We ate a fish for 6 persons, was lovely!! A little expensive, but was good stuff!!

Lunched there in early june 2022. Squids were full of sand, waiter just murmured "you had bad luck". Never again to return there!

Wonderful food and superb service. Very nice choice of fresh fish.

Expensive with few options. No kids menu. Service wasn't the best for a restaurant that wasn't very busy when we got there. Our waitress tried helping us keep our kids busy by giving them markers to draw on the paper table cover. That was appreciated.

The staff was great, the food is tasty and the price reasonable

Awesome staff, and nice food. The only thing that's missing is more fresh fish options, but with that aside cool place.

The razor clam rice was tasteless and totally lacking on the namesake ingredient. The servant, although polite and apologetic, made no effort to amend the situation, nor any commitment to correct this in the future. Avoid.

Fresh fish, very traditional restaurant full of local dishes. The service was kind and efficient. We ordered 1.2 kg of pargo and 2 salmonetes, 4 coffee, wine for 5 persons. The bill was 100€, 20€ per person. Since we only ate fresh fish selected from the vitrine I cannot tell that was expensive.for me forte e feio and taberna da maré are the best places to eat fish in the area.

Overpriced for what it is. Keep in mind that kitchen closes at 22:15, after that only grilled fish, atl least till 23:00 when the restaurant closes. I would rate as a tourist trap. Around 75€ for 4 people dinner.

Pricey, slow service, ordered pork and was tasteless and not properly cut. Side of salad was warm, chips were made from frozen. The bill had an extra item, although corrected once mentioned. As much as I'd like to say something positive, it doesn't come to mind. Plenty of other options to choose near the area. Not recommended, sorry.