Alfama
New York, NY 10014
Phone: (212) 645-2500
07/16/2008 Posted by Amilas
I have never had Portuguese food before, so I came in with zero expectations. Their wine list does seem good. Ordered the prix fixe meal (Taste of Portugal) of an appetizer, main course, and dessert. Everything was incredibly salty. Even my salad (appetizer) was encrusted in salt. The pork was dry, overcooked, and salty. In fact, it was so salty that it parched my lips and I spent the next half an hour drinking water and using the restroom. The chef needs to learn that excessive salt does not make good food. Someone else had the grilled steak, which was terrible. It was burnt, flavorless, and hard. The dessert (tart) was passable, but not 'good' by any means. Like a previous reviewer had mentioned before, it was difficult to get the seat changed due to 'reservations' but this was clearly false. Also, the wait staff took their sweet time with everything. I expected the meal to be an hour and a half at the most, but it dragged to almost three hours. It took an hour to bring out the entrees. I can appreciate a fine meal, and I understand that the quality of the prix fixe meal may not be indicative of the establishment as a whole, but this was an atrocity. They have got a nice space, but that's about it. For the amount of sodium I must have put in my body that night, I could've gone to McDonald's and had a better tasting meal at a sixth of the price. Definitely skip this place, unless all you want to do is share a bottle of wine in their outdoor seating area.
Pros: Wine, decor
Cons: Everything else.
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