Algarve Restaurant

This review is for the North Ave location. Last Saturday delivery took 3 plus hours, because the driver couldn’t find the location! Wait, what, how?! They are literally here every week as my coworkers and I order from this location frequently.
When the driver finally arrived 4 calls and three hours later. He looked confused, smelled like a chain smoking vagabond, couldn’t work the credit card machine they carry to process card payments, and he had the nerve to request a tip!
The food is ok, but there are better options out there like Firepit. I won’t be ordering from there again. Good riddance Algarve!

Very dissatisfied„ service was slow and terrible. The food was bland and overcooked. Save your money and go 2 blocks over to Valencas a real Portuguese restaurant. Never again.

Dining in or carry out, Algarve always comes through. The food is good and I’ve found dine in service to be faster than takeout, but thats understandable; I’ll be returning again.

Great food. I always order to go — not that I have anything against dining in but all the times I have gone I was in a rush. The service is good and again the food is great. I have ordered all different dishes and they have all been nice portions and very filling.

This used to be the neighborhood jewel. We have been patronizing this place for the last 25 years or so, since their start as a hole in the wall with a huge grill and two sweaty employees. Their meats are deliciously seasoned and expertly grilled, served with excellent fries or rice.
They also opened up a real restaurant, with other Portuguese dishes being offered along with their grilled meats. Some favorites were alentejana, a pork and clam stew, shrimp and garlic appetizer and mariscadas. Nowadays things don’t taste the same anymore. The steak tonight (December 2015) is no longer seasoned well. The paella had a few peas thrown on top of the rice and seafood, with the overcooked lobster. But the desserts and caipirinhas were great! We had tiramisu and serradura. They also no longer carry Campari for my Negronis. Oh well, things are known to change. We will not be rushing back to our old hood.

Also a good place to eat and get some drinks and relax with family or your significant other, i have come here a couple of times even tho sometimes its packed its worth the wait also, came here with family to have dinner for new year last year, food was good, sangria was good and the atmosphere was great, will be back for dinner this new year also if i can get a reservation!

Went here for the first time. Placed our order for appetizers, which included garlic shrimp and chorizo. I also ordered my entrée, a skirt steak. Appetizers never came out, which was disappointing. My skirt steak was also disappointing. It was tough, no flavor, and overcooked. The only saving grace was the waiter was honest and bought us an after dinner drink. I won’t be back.

They have the best grilled chicken ribs and steak. I lived in the city for many years and never went then someone suggested I try it. Next I will have to get seafood and rice.

Been here twice too many times. CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS if you are not a Latino male!!! Either my order was overlooked foe other orders or I was made to wait for some other reason. There is an older lady with a parakeet nose and glasses who’s the Dingiest woman on the planet whom I’ve had the pleasure of been waited on the 2 times I patronized this place. She has no common sense, and if a man walks in you can hang it up she loses any sense she does have. On top of this bullshit… it’s been told to me this place was closed then reopened… why for a roach and rodent problem ! You have been warned.

I always enjoy the food and service. Long term customer.

The meal was delicious. Ordered the whole chicken with two sides and a caesar salad. It was plenty for two people with some leftover. The place is very clean and the staff friendly. Also very close to the airport.

I really enjoyed the chicken and ribs. The food was delicious. They delivered the food to me at the schedule time. I’m a very very happy customer. The staff was professional and polite.

I have been going to Algarve for over 20 years as I have resided in Elizabeth all my life. I recently threw a surprise party for my mother and had Algarve cater the food.
The experience was exquisite! I anticipated over 60 guests in which I ordered ribs, (which are divine) chicken, garlic shrimp with yellow rice, penne and vodka, and salad. Algarve supplied me with extra rice and fries which also go with the chicken that I ordered. The total price for all of the food was less than $ 600.00, which was the price for half of the food at other nearby establishments. *Side Note: There were over 7 trays of food*
Everyone enjoyed themselves and the food was a hit! The food was fresh and piping hot that I didn’t need to use the sternos I purchased. I am used to dining in or taking out that this is the first time that I had Algarve cater an event, but will not be the last.
Thank you Algarve for making my event a success!
Ashlee Lynch

I have been coming here since I was a kid and I can truly say Algarve is the place to come when your craving the portuguese staple of rice, fries and ribs. their ribs are tender and juicy, and the rice is just cooked to perfection. i honestly dont know how they do it but they have me as a regular customer! I can only speak for the Take Out, I have yet to try dining in!

Pegamos um transporte gratis oferecido pelo nosso hotel para este restaurante e tivemos uma grata surpresa! Restaurante portugues com otimoRestaurante portugues com otimos precos e comida farta e saborosa (tem pratos q da para dividir). Atendimento rapido. Preco justo. Recomendo a todos bacalhau ao bras e a parte de especialidades da casa no cardapio.

I came to Algarve on a Thursday night for dinner with some co workers. So we enter into the massive bar area, that I may add is very well stocked with some nice choices of alcohol. We were greeted by a friendly hostess who sat us. Then twenty minutes later finally our server shows up to take our order. My group and I were not pleased. Service is extremely slow. Our food finally comes. We started off with the «Fried Calamari» Nothing was fresh about It, reminded me of eating rubber bands. For entrée I went with «Tuna Steak Portuguese Style» Made with garlic, white onions, broccoli and potatoes sautéed in masala wine and tomato base. That I actually enjoyed. I also tried some of the «Chicken and Shrimp in brown sauce» that is chunks of chicken and whole shrimp sautéed in a brown sauce with masala wine. Both entrees I had, I truly was pleased. Double espresso was ok, but I have had better. Why two stars? service. Its horrible and none attentive what so ever.

Great food! Blonde lunch bartender is an unpleasant nasty person!
Needs to go!
Otherwise great food and drink price is good!

I am a recent discoverer of the wonders of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Required to come here regularly for court, I have started to wander around town with my Unilocal navigator and begun to find some great spots for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This week, while waiting for a flight to arrive at Newark Liberty, and learning it would be a few hours late, I sought a place cool my jets and grab supper.
I found Algarve Restaurant in the Portuguese section of the city with the help of a guy sitting out front of the North Avenue Bakery smoking a large Cubano. He offered three suggestions, and Algarve sounded best. I walked the couple of blocks to it, and spied its neon welcome quite a distance away. Upon entry, the bar was full of folks eating dinner, with the host sitting on the last stool keeping everyone entertained. He got up and took me around a wall partition to a quieter part of the joint where the glass wall separated us from the streetscape.
The menu was large and multicultural, with food prepared in Portuguese, Italian and French styles. It had the feel of a diner, but with more character. I started with a glass of Red Sangria. I liked it. Refreshing. Next I ordered the Flounder Francaise, with Veggies (Carrots & Broccoli) and Potatoes (thick cut homemade chips). There were three nice sized pieces of fish, nicely breaded and sautéed in butter and olive oil. The golden finish on the flounder captured the apex moment in the pan, and was mildly lemon and white wine flavored. It was easily cut with fork, and had an excellent taste. The veggies were substantial, if not imaginative. The Chips were fine and filled the rest of the large plate.
I enjoyed my meal at Algarve, and would certainly return given the opportunity. Service was fine, but a little slow in spots. I still made it to the airport to pick up my friend.

I’ve eaten all over Elizabeth, but I believe it was my first time here yesterday.
First off, they have a parking lot (although, the lines are drawn rather weird lol).
Next, the servers and hosts, etc are all cool. Not all are Brazilian or Portuguese like in other spots, so you get more of a mix.
On to the food, I shared the quail dish with spanish fries and steamed veggies with a model friend of mine. We both left satisfied and no guilt from extra calories. LOL
My buddy had the flounder and scallops and he was thoroughly satisfied, too. You should have seen his face when he saw the bill, «That’s it!!!» He fell in love on the spot. hehe

First time eating at Algarve a little over a week ago and I was very satisfied. I went with a friend specifically to try the frog legs since I never tried frog legs before and I knew I was going to be in the area. They were quite good and they actually taste like CHICKEN as they say! For the main course I ordered the Salmon and it was delicious. It was a whole Salmon not a filet. Probably the best I ever had honestly! I also tried the Sangria and that was pretty good.
The location has limited parking especially on a Saturday night so best to make reservations and/​or arrive early. However, they do have (free) valet parking which is awesome. I tipped the guy anyway, not to mention is was about 20° outside. My only complaint was it was super cold in the restaurant. I know it’s winter but that’s what heat is for. I sat at the small table diagonal from the entrance and I was shivering at times. Plan to spend around $ 85 – 100 for an app, two meals, drinks, and tip. You could probably spend less if you ordered non alcoholic drinks but just be prepared. Other than that, the staff is pretty friendly and the food is great! Will definitely be back when it gets warmer outside.

Algarve has great food. Super delicious! My job has ordered from here on several occasions and they never disappoint. Something that always stands out to me is their baked chicken is NEVER dry. It’s always so moist and juicy. Finger licking good! Literally! I’m not really into carrots, but algarve’s freshly steamed carrots are a must have! They’re so tasty. The broccoli is yummy. The rice is mmmm good!
My only complaint and disappointment (hence the 4 stars instead of 5), if you decide to dine in they have these stupid restrictions on how to order. For example, you can’t order a regular portion of an entrée. You have to order everything whole (whole chicken, instead of a quarter or whatever the other normal amounts are). That’s ridiculous! You can’t assume that everyone in your party or at your table will want the same thing. What if certain ppl have allergies or whatever, I just think its an unfair requirement. We decided to dine in one day and felt forced to get up and leave because i wanted chicken and my cousin wanted steak. Why would we be forced to order such big portions of food for just one person. Who’s to say we wanted to spend that much?! It was upsetting to say the least. And the server was very non-​chalant and showed he didn’t care in his words and body language.
For that reason, I’ll only order take out going forward!