Zé Mota — Restaurant in Arouca

Bring your appetite! Big portions and great value at this traditional Portuguese steak house. The grilled steak and roast veal were excellent. The half portion size is more than enough per person, especially with the fries and rice that come with the meat dishes, plus the tomato and onion salad we chose as a side dish. Appetizer, main dishes, side dish, large beer, small bottle of wine, and one shared dessert all for the equivalent of £25 per person! You could never get a deal like that in the UK. Our server Bruno was a top man - friendly and he really looks after you. Highly recommended if you're ever...

We were traveling to the area to cross the Arouca bridge and looked for a place with a vegan option. Nothing popped up in our search but Zé came so highly recommended here that the onmivores wanted to try it. To my happy surprise, our server spoke great English and understood vegan! He offered the vegan burger, rice and fries. The "burger" was just two veggie patties on a plate with sides but I was SO happy to have a yummy option in the Portuguese countryside (as an vegan expat here I can tell you that is a rarity). The service was so kind, I would highly recommend visiting if you are...

We went there two evenings in a row, that’s how good it was! Very authentic place. Huge plates (if you order half the plate, it’ll still be plenty!). A lot of the food is homemade; eggs and some of the veggies are from their own garden. Not that many options for vegetarians though. Staff is very friendly. Make sure you call in advance to have a reservation. All in all highly...