Restaurante Real Balcão 5 — Restaurant in Caldas da Rainha

Reservations highly recommended. My husband went in the afternoon to check it out and we went back with a reservation for dinner at 7. By 8pm every table and the whole bar was packed with people. On a Tuesday. There’s a bit of a dearth of fine casual dining in Caldas da Rainha and this place really nails it. The atmosphere is trendy and cool but also feels comfortable and familiar. It’s located in the an old, locally beloved hardware store and they’ve kept some of the elements as decor. The food was delicious, and the sangria was absolutely amazing! The service is very European in that it’s not super attentive, but it is very friendly. They could definitely take a couple pointers from the American system of assigned server sections and more attentive service. We got the sausage and cheese platter as an appetizer which we loved. The prosciutto and other meats were very dry…in a good way, and very flavorful. My son and I shared the aged steak, and my husband had the duck rice. We loved them both. The only negative thing I can say is that dessert was disappointing. We will definitely...

Table with toilet view. We arrived there just after 8. There was several empty tables. Waiter said need to wait. We had two drinks while waiting.20 mins later. We got a table next to the toilet. Starter Prawns Guincho. The inners were in it so not very nice. It's was rather tasteless .I had rabbit and my partner quail both was supposed to be grilled but seem to be fried still had oil in it we asked but were told it's was grilled. This come with chips and bread crumbs and cabbage 🥬. All very dry. Overall not a great experience. Especially when they told us couple tables booked but the they moved 1 table to join other 4. There is much better out there. In 11 days in Portugal was...

This restaurant offers a different kind of environment a little different than the rest of the options in Caldas. It brings back the spirit of a "Cervejaria," and that is, you don't find easy in Caldas. For that I give 5 stars to the atmosphere because it is really nice, especially for a more informal occasion where you expect to have some life around you. Coming to the food, I would say it's not bad, but it does not bring any excitement, so I would not come for the food despite it's not bad either. Prices are quite fair and reasonable. Service is also good and friendly. So it's recommended for certain occasions where you feel like you want to be in a place with some...