Taberna Marginal — Restaurant in Alcobaça

The layers of flavor in everything from the Siracha mayonnaise with the French fries to the Tom Yummy, to the hummus. No one flavor overpowering, but every one detectable and delicious!

I had the Tom Yummy shrimp (Warning to my fellow Americans, the shrimp come with their heads and tails attached, but the middle is peeled so they’re easy to eat.) and the only negative thing I can say is that it should have come with a side of rice to eat with the amazing coconut Thai curry sauce they were served in. Flavor, presentation, portion size, not a single thing was overlooked.

Until dessert. Even though I don’t enjoy floral scented foods, I decided on the lemon honey lavender crème brûlée. The flavor was divine. All 3 flavors came through, but none overpowering. And it didn’t taste like a bowl of perfume, which is how I usually feel about floral foods of any type. Unfortunately, the consistency was so wrong. It was just a bowl of yummy cream. It’s like they forgot to bake it. Having said that, I ate the entire thing. That’s how great the flavor of it was.

Lastly, the service was very good. Being an American, I’m used to a much more attentive wait staff than is normal in Europe, and this staff was attentive enough to satisfy that. They were also professional, courteous, and were apologetic when the main my husband ordered wasn’t available after we’d placed our order. The food came out promptly even though there was a table of 9 or 10 beside us with just 2 wait staff.

This taverna earned every one of these 5 stars, and I will...

I really wanted to like this place as they are clearly trying to do something different in SMdP. The service is friendly (though painfully slow) and the decor is hip, but the novelty really stops there. The kids lasagna was horribly dry, and the fish sticks bland. For the adults, the vegetable samosas were just ok and the shrimp soup was also ok in terms of flavor but the broth just too thick especially if trying to evoke the lightness and sharpness of a tom yum. The fish tacos were flat and depressing, and the duck was just plain bad - gamey, greasy and just confused in terms of flavor and texture with the pear purée and chocolate and whatnot. Even the wines by the glass were disappointing. We tried to hang on and try dessert but they were just too busy so we gave up and ended the night feeling very disappointed. I give two stars for the effort towards creativity but the execution was just...

☆☆☆☆☆ (0 stars if I could)

We walked in with our children after a long day at the beach, simply hoping to enjoy a coffee, some water, and light snacks. We were polite, quiet, and respectful — yet we were turned away in an extremely rude and disruptive manner, despite the place being more than half empty. Even more upsetting, the children were not allowed to use the restroom.

While we didn’t get to try the food (and frankly, wouldn’t want to anymore), I can only comment on what was visible from the street — and the hygiene conditions looked far from acceptable.

This experience was shocking and deeply disappointing. If you value basic kindness, cleanliness, or a welcoming atmosphere, I strongly suggest you steer clear. One of the worst hospitality experiences we've ever...