Paiva à Vista — Restaurant in Arouca

I rarely write reviews but I felt the need to leave the comment for this restaurant for other people avoiding the deception.

We came for lunch on a public holiday, the lady (owner?) greeted us and said there were 3 plates to choose from (meat stew, codfish and something else), she did not present us the menu. We went for the meat stew for 3 of us, not worrying about checking the prices in the menu for it, because I saw the price list on the wall next to the entrance and it stated 8€ for a portion and 5€ per 1/2 portion, quite reasonable. The meat was OK, definitely not 3 1/2 portions (we just came from the North of Portugal and we know how generous 1/2 portions can be!) but we were satisfied. The surprise came with the bill where we were presented with 43€ to pay for the meat (25€ per full portion and 18€ for 1/2 portion). And of course, they do not accept cards, very convenient knowing that the closest ATM...

We climbed that damn hill by foot to eat at this restaurant and luckily it was 100% worth it. We were greeted by a super nice lady who poured us classes of port wine before we could even say 'hello'.

I gotta say we were a little worried about the bill because of some reviews saying they charge freely but that didn't happen to us. We were charged reasonable prices and fed delicious food.

My brother-in-law said it was the best salmon he's ever had. I don't know, bc I ate the pork but it was indeed...

After a walk on the Arouca Bridge, we stopped here and it was the best decision! The service was amazing, they welcomed us like family) The steak was so good, with a unique homemade sauce you can only try here a special family recipe. The view is stunning, very romantic and peaceful. Highly recommend...