Costa Verde Toronto — Restaurant in Toronto

To start: Simply amazing food from a basic menu - what they serve they do exceptionally well. Portion sizes are fantastic, so much so that two people can comfortably eat one of their chicken meals and not be hungry.

The one star is because of a staggering inability to wait on and serve the clientele that sit in the restaurant. We ordered two chicken dinners for four people. One meal showed up, and then... nothing. We had to remind the server that there was a second meal that had been ordered. 25 minutes later, the second dinner finally arrived (she apparently forgot).

As well, their location is right on Oakwood and Rogers Rd. - an area reknown for bad traffic. Because they have no air conditioning, the front door directly off the street is left open. So we enjoyed our chicken - as did the flies and wasps that came and joined us at our table. Not to mention that smokers stand right outside the open door and the smell of cheap tobacco mixed with the usual city smells that then permeated the seating area.

Bottom line: if you want some of Toronto's best chicken, don't spoil it by sitting in the 'restaurant.'...

I preferred the old restaurant prior to the closure & reopening of the new one even if it wasn't perfect. I gave it 2 tries since they recently opened back up and both orders were 2 chicken's 2 Large rice & Large potatoes. Chicken is decent but not good enough to go back a 3rd time and food was cold/room temp both times. I asked if potatoes were better this time cause they seemed to be just boiled with little to no flavor the first time and I was told they are oven roasted but yet again potatoes seemed over boiled and no flavor. I believe they are boiling them, then tossing them in the oven for a short time ?.. Rice both times I ordered was also over cooked and no flavor, rice was not even mixed well and some rice was still white so I mixed in a lot of hot sauce... Not even close to the Portuguese rotisserie I grew up eating so I would not recommend this place unless you are really hungry and fine with a sub par meal. Prices are average but quality...

Like other reviewers have said: if you are not Portuguese DO NOT GO HERE, you mine as well be invisible. I've been here a few times over the years and it's the same routine every time, nobody behind the counter will even give you the time of day if you can't speak Portugese. What's frustrating is that all of the staff do speak English, they just have a policy to ignore customers who don't speak Portugese. A competitor caught wind of this policy and opened up directly across the street from Costa Verde (the competitor is called Galo Do Sardinha) and Galo seems to have now captured all of the local business. I think Costa Verde is on the verge of closing as this competitor seems to be crushing them. Galo now seems very busy all the time and Costa Verde looks like...