Papa — Restaurant in Coimbra

Exquisite rustic industrial interior but the overall lighting was a bit off, I felt light-headed the entire time. The waiters seemed unhappy and weren’t so keen on putting up an obligatory smile at the very least. They weren’t rude, just not friendly-looking. Manuela, however, was oozing with warm and welcoming spirit. She should be promoted and teach everyone there a thing or two about hospitality. The food was mediocre. It wasn’t bad but I couldn’t say it was good either which weren’t a value for what we paid. I suggest, the restaurant owner should order everything in the menu by phone, have it served in a table altogether and arrive unannounced and taste test every single one of them. This place has a massive potential of becoming an “it” place due to the location and aesthetics. All it needs is a huge revamp in the kitchen and service crews. At the end of the day, a restaurant is judged by the food and service it serves. Everything else is secondary. There’s one small detail that I appreciated a lot- the washroom had a kit basket containing lotions, cologne and lint remover. I think it’s a very thoughtful personal touch. At the moment, I’ll give this 3 stars. To the restaurant owner, please let me know if you’ve made any changes, my friends and I will be glad to come back...

I just have to share my most recent disappointing experience at this place. We have been here multiple times to dine and watch football at the same time but every time we visit, the service keeps deteriorating.

Our last visit was on September 17, 2025 between 8:30 and 10:30 pm. As soon as we got down to the main dining area, I asked the waitress if they can give us a sit for 2, she brushed me off and told me to wait, my Portuguese friend I was with told me to let him ask because he thought the employee was rude cause I'm not Caucasian or Portuguese. Eventually, a hostess came up to us and sat us and took our orders. The waitress seemed busy but she was not really visible in the service area.

Most of the staff in the dining area were doing other things (bussing, table prep and hosting and order taking) but only one person is serving the orders, the aforementioned waitress (sadly I wasn't able to get her name). Food came almost around 40 to 45 minutes after we ordered (delivered by said waitress) and disappointingly, I had to remind her about the drinks we ordered, which she apparently forgot. Sadly, the wait would have been fine if we got our drinks (Sangria and water) quicker than the food. We normally spend between EUR 80 to EUR 150 here...

We placed a reservation through Google the night before. It was accepted and we arrived afternoon. They had no idea who we were. Nevertheless, PAPA was mostly empty so we had a table inside. The bottom level (mostly seen in the photos) isn't available in the afternoons.

We ordered 2 meals: 1 Hamburger with Portuguese sauce and an omelet on top, and the grilled chicken. Both came with hearty amount of fries and some balsamic salad.

The Hamburger was sans bread - they don't do the bun thing in Portugal, apparently. The meat was well-sized, but poor in quality: dry and crumbly. The potato fries were stale and tasteless, probably from the freezer. The salat was also tired and mushy. I barely touched my dish.

My partner enjoyed their chicken. Not amazing - but not bad.

The fresh lemonade was decent but too watered-down. The fresh orange juice was indeed squeezed but also from old oranges.

The service was mixed: hostess and main (?) waitress was super kind. The occasional waitress who took are order was as curt as possible. It was hard getting their attention...