Café Império — Restaurant in Lisbon

Was the last day of mine and my partners holiday. We were looking for somewhere close to our hotel to eat before we departed for the airport and I stumbled upon Café Império on Google. I didn’t dive too much into the reviews or menu as such but purely off of the look on the building inside which looked great. Upon arrival we were greeted and seated on a nice table overlooking the stage area. I ordered a large beer and an orange juice and my partner ordered a cappuccino and an orange juice. The orange juice is completely freshly squeezed and delicious and the cappuccino and beer are as expected. My partner ordered the Chicken Stroganoff and I ordered the Chicken Parmesan. Firstly, the chicken stroganoff came out served with rice and fries and looked good and tasted pretty decent too, sadly the meat was very cold (assuming it was prepared before the chicken Parmesan and left in the window to die whilst waiting). We sent it back and received a replacement within 5 minutes or so which was much better. The chicken Parmesan I was particularly excited for as I hadn’t had one for a few years. It was extremely disappointing. The quality of chicken that is being used here is very sub par. It doesn’t flake off but is more like processed solid block inside the breading which was fairly tough in places and ultimately rather tasteless. The sauce and the cheese also lacked any kind of seasoning. The sauce tasted straight from a jar you’d buy at the supermarket and the cheese was purely texture with no flavour which indicates it’s extremely cheap cheese. I’m quite disappointed that the business quite obviously isn’t spending money on quality ingredients given the size and great look inside but instead opts to serve the customer extremely cheap ingredients whilst charging a fair margin still. I could quite confidently assume that my chicken was from frozen, as was my partners. If you’re stopping by for a drink I’d recommend as the staff are friendly and the atmosphere is decent but I would rethink your...

A legendary restaurant built on an ancient cinema and spectacle room.

Founded on 1955, the venue boasts a classic ambience with historical illustrations, masonry and decoration all around.

With an upper floor bar and the lower floor restaurant in which there's an immense theatre sized screen, tailor made to watch football games.

It's actually a perfect venue to gather some friends/family and watch footbal.

The food is mediocre though. Their signature stake is small for the 25€ price-tag, it was rare when i asked for a medium cooked steak and while the signature sauce does add some flair to the dish with its sweet flavour, it fails to impress.

The french fries also came in a very low serving size.

The parmegiana was stringy, lacking salt and a total dissapointment. The mashed potatoes was bland and also didn't carry a pinch of salt in it (what are they doing in the kitchens???).

The beer was expensive (4€ a pint) and wasn't properly pressurized.

The service also left a lot to be desired. I asked for a second plate at the game's half-time and it was well after the 70th minute of the second half when they brought me the food. Apparently the employee forgot to ask the food to prepared.

All in all, a very lukewarm experience, with unimpressive food, steep prices considering the quality.

The only redeemable quality is indeed the Café itself, the building, the furniture and the whole style of the place that makes it worth the visit just to see it.

In the end Café Império gets a 3 star rating for it's historical value, it's timeless, classic aesthetic but everything else...

THE EMPIRE IS NO MORE.

I went here twice, both at lunch time. I was with my dog so sat outside. Basically, nothing of an empire about it - mediocrity on all levels.

The first time I had the salmon with mashed potatoes and broccoli which was OK but nothing special.

The second I ordered the sirloin steak, from the Specialities section of the menu, but they were out of it. The Specialities section comprises three items, two steaks, (Sirloin and Tenderloin) and a fish dish, so I ordered the tenderloin steak with potatoes instead and a side salad. I wasn't asked how I wanted the steak cooked and it arrived medium rare, tepid and towards tough. Fortunately my dog enjoyed what I gave him of it. The salad and potatoes were fair.

I like Dijon mustard with steak. I tried to get the attention of a waiter to order some, and did get attention... apparently the three other waiters who saw me told MY waiter that I wanted something, but none asked me what I wanted. I was well over half way through my tough, tepid, tenderloin steak before MY waiter appeared and, after I asked for Dijon, brought me yellow mustard. When I repeated that I wanted Dijon mustard he told me they don't have any. There's a supermarket next door and I was tempted to get some for them, but decided just...