Why Only Half of Restaurants Make My List Now

Three years ago, about 70% of the restaurants I visited made it onto my recommendation list. Today, that number has dropped to just 50%…

Have I become more critical? Definitely. But that’s not the whole story.

For Hotspots Algarve, I visit restaurants with one simple question in mind: would I recommend this place to my friends?

A restaurant doesn’t need a Michelin star. In fact, some of my favourite places have plastic chairs and paper napkins. But everything has to feel right.

Good food. Fair prices. Friendly people. A nice atmosphere. And above all: the feeling that someone actually cares…

And that’s exactly where things are increasingly going wrong.

Over the past few years, the Algarve has seen a huge rise in new restaurants. Beautiful interiors, stylish logos, impressive Instagram accounts. Sometimes it feels like more attention has gone into the lighting above the tables than the food on the plate.

But a beautiful restaurant is not necessarily a good restaurant.

I regularly walk into a place and think: wow. An hour later, I think: what a shame.

Uninterested service. Nobody asking if everything is okay. A menu without vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or lactose-free options. Dishes that sound fantastic but taste average. A glass of wine costing €7.50 while the same bottle is €3.99 in the supermarket. Or a bill where you’re mainly paying for the location.

And maybe something else has changed too.

The guest has become more demanding.

For €50 to €100 for two people, expectations are simply higher these days. Not necessarily luxury, but attention. If the small restaurant 200 metres away serves fantastic food with a smile for half the price, why would I recommend the other one?

On top of that, I’ve now visited more than 750 restaurants in the Algarve over the past three years. Your frame of reference changes. Once you know how good it can be, “pretty good” becomes far less interesting.

And there’s another factor: staff shortages. In service, but also in the kitchen. You notice it everywhere. Sometimes it feels like the dishwasher has taken over the chef’s job. That’s how bad the food can be.

Hotspots Algarve only publishes positive reviews. No negative write-ups, no takedowns. If a restaurant isn’t good enough, I simply don’t write about it.

That means about half of my visits never make it online.

No drama. No angry review.

Just no green checkmark.

One thing I’ve also noticed: restaurants are noticeably less busy than last year. And I understand why. More and more often, I write in my notes after a restaurant visit: I eat better at home. And healthier.

Maybe that drop from 70% to 50% says something about me. I’ve become more critical.

But maybe it also says something about the restaurant industry.

There are more restaurants than ever. More beautiful places. More concepts. More choice.

But more choice doesn’t automatically mean more quality.

And in the end, my criterion remains surprisingly simple:

Would I send my best friends here tomorrow??

Three years ago, the answer was no for three out of ten restaurants.

Now it’s five out of ten.

And I actually think that’s quite a lot.

PS my new top 500 (!) recommendation list 2026 is almost ready! I will keep you posted! 500 great places to good