À Capella- Casa de Fados — Restaurant in Coimbra

Our guide took us at this amazing location for an unforgettable opera like Fado performed by a three guys, one on Portuguese guitar of course, one on classic acoustic, and the third being the singer. The singer is a former graduate from the historic University of Coimbra there and was adorned in the traditional cape of their uniforms. It is a small venue in a former church so highly recommend making a reservation if you're going on your own. The acoustics inside are amazing, the band had no need for sound amplification. There is a 10 euro entry that includes a drink and the show, so from there you can order more from the menu such as appetizers as well as a few entree options. The cheese and meat tray is really good and if you like fish, I'd try the cod fillet over steamed vegetables. You may also order bottled wine. They're able to split the bill of bigger groups if you go pay at the register. It was a great time if you're looking to immerse yourself in more of the culture and music of this...

Terrible, I strongly advise against it. After having regularly booked a table for three people, expressly saying that we wanted to attend the Fado show, when we showed up they candidly admitted that they had overbooked, and that therefore there was no table for us. After making us wait standing in the middle of the room, they took us upstairs to a small room without heating and from where, above all, you couldn't see the stage where the Fado musicians performed, and they made us sit at two tiny folding wooden tables. For the orders they told us that we could only take 1 dish each because they were having trouble in the kitchen. Once they had taken the orders, they disappeared and the waiter reappeared with the dishes after 1 hour and a half of waiting. The stew had raw pieces of giardiniera in vinegar as a side dish, straight out of the supermarket jar, the steak was full of nerves and had pre-fried chips as a side dish and the cod was tiny and covered in julienned potatoes. We listened to the concert from afar, beyond the wall, except for the last 10 minutes when we looked out from a small balcony to at least see the faces of the artists. A steep bill and no excuses. To forget

Pessimo, sconsiglio vivamente. Dopo aver regolarmente prenotato un tavolo per tre persone, dicendo espressamente che avremmo voluto assistere allo spettacolo di Fado, quando ci siamo presentati hanno candidamente ammesso di aver fatto overbooking, e che quindi non c'era il tavolo per noi. Dopo averci fatto attendere in piedi in mezzo alla sala, ci hanno portato al piano di sopra in una saletta senza riscaldamento e da dove, soprattutto, non si vedeva il palco dove si esibivano i musicisti di Fado, e ci hanno fatto sedere a due minuscoli tavolini pieghevoli di legno. Per le ordinazioni ci hanno detto che avremmo potuto prendere 1 solo piatto a testa perchè erano in difficoltà in cucina. Una volta prese le ordinazioni, sono spariti e il cameriere è ricomparso con i piatti dopo 1 ora e mezza di attesa. Lo spezzatino aveva come contorno pezzi crudi di giardiniera all'aceto, usciti direttamente dal barattolo del supermercato, la bistecca era piena di nervetti e come contorno aveva patatine pre fritte e il baccalà era minuscolo e sommerso da patate alla julienne. Il concerto lo abbiamo ascoltato da lontano, al di là del muro, salvo gli ultimi 10 minuti in cui ci siamo affacciati da un balconcino per vedere almeno la faccia degli artisti. Conto salato e zero...

The service we received was excellent. The fado performance was even better. We had the privilege of listening to Fábio Borges, who is an excellent singer, accompanied by Ricardo Dias and a student of University of Coimbra (forgot his name). This was perhaps the best experience of my time while in Portugal. The acoustics in this venue (old church) permit for an exceptional fado experience. I wanted to wait until after we had experienced other Fado concerts before leaving this review as I wanted a more broad experience. I can safely say that this Fado experience was better than both the ones I had in Porto and Lisbon, which make up for the 3 centers for Fado in Portugal.

Also, get the hot chocolate! Hands down the best hot chocolate I have ever had.

TLDR: Great venue makes for an exceptional...