Ponto Lago

We came here after seeing photos of the churros and had a weekend reservation. We were seated promptly, and the setting is definitely one of the restaurant’s strengths—the view and atmosphere are very nice, and valet parking was convenient. Unfortunately, the food and service didn’t match the setting. The churros we had been looking forward to tasted as though they had been previously frozen or fried more than once. They were fairly mediocre, and I’ve had much better from local churro stands. The octopus was extremely tough and was honestly one of the more disappointing octopus dishes I can remember having. The kampachi ceviche had a good texture, but there was a noticeable fishy taste and some skin still left on the fish, so the preparation didn’t feel particularly careful. The biggest issue was the service. The restaurant looked to be only about half full, yet it took a long time to have our order taken, and our server was often difficult to find. I had to flag her down multiple times, and a few things I specifically requested were forgotten. From start to finish, the meal took exactly two hours, which felt excessive for the amount of food we ordered—especially with a child. Both the food and the service moved very slowly. This easily could have been a 60- to 90-minute meal. If you have plenty of time and mainly want a nice view and atmosphere, you may enjoy it. But based on our visit, the food quality and service did not live up to the restaurant’s overall rating.