Quinta do Lourenço

I’ve taken time to reflect on the awful experience we had at a place we’ve previously more or less enjoyed. The food has always only ever been average-to-good. Never great. Often over-cooked. Almost always rather bland. But it has always been reliably average, and the setting is great. The restaurant is simply but elegantly set, with billowing white fabric on the matchesa poles. So, staying in Macaneta for my birthday, it was an easy choice for a birthday dinner. We arrived and asked for drinks while we watched the sun set over the river and swamps. My wife asked for a Margarita. What arrived was an abomination. A tall glass, brimming over with an artificial-looking yellow liquid, the glass stuffed with chunks of lemon, no sign of salt on the rim. We called the waiting staff to ask what we’d been given and were informed that there was no mistake. We sent it back, even demonstrating (via google) a selection of images of what a margarita should look like (not to mention its core ingredients). The young girls serving the table were very confused, huddled together and then plucked the courage to go and talk to the owner. A few minutes later, the lady appeared at our table and aggressively defended her ‘margarita’. No matter how we tried, the lady wouldn’t let it go. We got to the point of pleading with her simply to give it up and serve us something else (we weren’t asking not to pay). But no, the lady went back to the bar and returned with a bottle called ‘Margarita’, and even peeled off the label so she could show us the ‘recipe’! I don’t need to add more. We asked for the bill and paid. By then, the crab paté had arrived. Given that we were leaving, I asked for it to be wrapped. A few minutes later, one of the waiting staff returned to say that we’d have to pay for the take-away! We fell about laughing and left. This was a perfect example of how NOT to deal with a disappointed customer.