Beco a Sério — Restaurant in Lisbon

I really wanted this place to be good, but it wasn't. Cute alleyway, very well decorated interior, but expensive and not great food.

Table of 4, seated inside, on a Friday around 10pm. Busy but not packed. No waiting for a table, we were the only ones inside.

When we got the menu I knew it was probably not going to be great. The food was €13+ an entree (which is pretty expensive for Portugual!) and the wine started at €13 a bottle (also, very expensive for Portugual!).

I use wine as a barometer for food quality because it's the 1 thing all restaurants serve. I find here the mid-range wine price leads the the best food, the very cheap is not so good and the expensive is also not good.

Anyway the wine was €13 and I've regularly had better €2 bottles from Aldi. I'm not expecting to pay €2 in a restaurant but I've never paid more than €8 or so.

I got bacon wrapped chicken with salad and rice. The chicken was severely overcooked (the other person at the table said the same with his meal), the rice was plain rice with a tablespoon of chopped carrots mixed in, and the salad was 4 lettuce leaves with balsamic dropped over. It was almost laughable. And it cost €13.

To put it in perspective, the best bitoque I've had was nearby this place, cost €6.75 and €2.50 for a half bottle of wine. And was 5x better.

My partner got bacalhau ã Brás. Also around €10-13 for a bowl. She didn't finish and on the way home said that the microwaved version she had last week was better than what she had that night.

2 of the 4 of us got cake for dessert. The menu reads chocolate cake. It was €4-5 each. It's not a cake but a very small slice of cake. It doesn't matter if it was homemade, that's VERY expensive.

So we will not be returning. I know this review may sound harsh, but it was the most expensive meal I've had in a very long time while also being the east tasty. It was a terrible value for money. It's a shame because like I said the restaurant itself was done up quite cute on a nice alleyway. But don't be fooled the food quality was poor and...

Ok it was second time here but it will be my last! I recall the dining experience being much better last year when I ate here before, but it's likely because I wasn't served by the person I had this evening.

Honestly this restaurant is let down by an older man serving who is likely the manager/owner but who really shouldn't be working in hospitality at all. He was rude, obnoxious and didn't bother to greet me as I walked in (who does that?). He also totally ignored me and my friend until we flagged him down to order, told us, arrogantly, what language to provide our NIF number in at the end, and didn't say thank you at all when I paid. (Incredibly rude). He also refused to honour the Fork discount option. Everyone else's food also appeared before ours even though we had arrived before them.

As someone who writes about food and drink in Lisbon I'd say there are far better places to spend your money in the city if you want authentic Portuguese food. Our prawns were lukewarm and the bread was stale. The tomato salad was just chopped tomato with vinegar and no seasoning. The tuna was ok, but slightly undercooked and again, lacking in seasoning and flavour. The lime pie desert was edible, but extremely tart. Honestly, it was perfectly average food, but it was all dragged down to the subpar level by the rudeness of the server who made us feel uncomfortable from the jump, so I would say don't bother. Go to Tasca Baldracca, Taberna Sal Grosso, O Velho Eurico, or O Zé da Mouraria for incredible food and decent service instead...

We were tired tourists, footsore, hungry and a little cranky and not eager to fill up on typically heavy traditional Portuguese food in midday. We stumbled upon Beco A Serio offering a hint of high style in a sunny largo, and sat gratefully. We were more than revived by the selection of tapas offered, including big spinach croquettes and fabulous tempura green beans served in a sardine tin. If there's one thing I hate it's Lima beans - but here's where a bit of Portuguese tradition saved the day. Stewed with chourico sausage and served under a fried egg, these Limas were a wonderful new experience. Our waiter was friendly and patient with our terrible Portuguese and used his limited English to the utmost. After extensive bilingual conversation, we're still not sure how "beef balls" on the English menu translated to ham squares on our plate, but they were pretty darn good, too. No complaints! I wish we'd gone back for dinner - the inside looked like a romantic...