Real Portuguese Cuisine — Restaurant in Lagos

The amazing reviews and easy to book online system lead me to this restaurant.

I was greeted by a very friendly waiter who was very helpful throughout.

I chose the Seabass dish which came with a delicious carrot puree and a passion fruit glaze. I thought these flavours were an interesting pairing yet on taste, I couldn’t find the flavour of the passion fruit and just had the texture of the seeds.

It also came with some super finely sliced potato on top of the seabass but it was covered in the sauce so became quite soggy.

For me personally, the dish needed another texture as it was all quite wet; some crispy potato or a lightly steamed vegetable such as asparagus would have been amazing. They do serve a side salad with it but it just tasted like vinegary leaves.

I chose to have a white port wine with this dish which really complimented it!

I was recommended a lime mousse for dessert which packed a real limey punch!

I really enjoyed my evening here, however the prices and flavour combinations of the food lead me to believe that it would be outstanding.

The ambience and service definitely was 5 star!

But the food is the most important part for me and I wanted to be super honest about...

Disappointing from start to finish. Having researched the highest-rated restaurants in Lagos, this was top of our list and we booked several days in advance, via the online system. When we arrived, we were shown to an indoors table, but, as there were two pavement tables vacant, we asked whether we could sit at one, to be told that they were reserved - but we never had the option to specify indoors/outdoors online. Our table was beneath an aircon unit, operating at full chill mode in front of the open doors: we had to ask twice before it was disabled. The food was good, although my pork cheeks were badly over seasoned, and her “duck and fries” arrived with crisps rather than fries. We chose a bottle of red wine, but were brought a bottle of white, which was readily exchanged. Finally, when the bill was brought after a long delay, we were told that we could only pay in cash, so, as the bill was over €100, I had to walk to an ATM (and given that the bill was handwritten, this felt pretty suspicious). Why did they not warn us when we arrived?! Nice looking restaurant, great menu, but fell well short on the expectations of all the good reviews: Maybe just...

We visited Real Portuguese Cuisine in Lagos, and overall, the food was excellent. The bacalhau, chorizo, and octopus were all delicious—authentic, fresh, and full of flavor. The tapas really captured the essence of Portuguese cuisine, and each dish was a real treat.

That said, the service was a letdown. The staff seemed disinterested and not very attentive. We had to wait a long time for even basic things like water refills and menu explanations. It felt like they were rushing through the table turnover rather than taking the time to make us feel welcomed or comfortable.

The ambiance was similarly lacking—while the restaurant itself has a nice enough vibe, the energy was off. We didn’t feel like the staff was making much of an effort to create a pleasant atmosphere, which was unfortunate because the food itself really deserved a better setting.

If you’re looking for tasty tapas, it’s worth it for the food alone, but be prepared for service that could definitely use some...