Cocheira Alentejana — Restaurant in Lisbon

Decision paralysis, that's what I'd call Bairro Alto when it comes to food. With it's narrow cobblestone streets lined with taverns and restaurants, this lively and energetic neighborhood springs to life in the evening . Once you've sliced through the choice overload, chances are you'll end up with a great experience no matter where you choose.

We wondered aimlessly for a good half hour before our stomachs finally took over and pulled the trigger for us. Cocheira Alentejana was already bustling with customers listening to the fado show indoors, so we sat along the sidewalk. Thankfully, the menu is multilingual, as are all the service staff it seems. Our meal of pataniscas de bacalhau, tomato mozzarella salad, octopus salad and vegetable soup was served surprisingly quickly given how busy the establishment was. Without exception, they were all tasty with nicely balanced flavors. We especially loved the blended vegetable soup, a popular component of every Portuguese meal I'm told (and also found in most restaurant menus as sopa do dia). Unless you have a big appetite, I would caution against ordering the usual starter/ main course/ dessert per person. All the dish sizes here were generous and are best shared with a few people. Pricing was moderate and won't burn holes in most people's wallets. A very...

We happened upon this restaurant while walking about the neighborhood were we were staying, and stopped in for lunch on April 5, 2023. We so much enjoyed our meal that we returned the following evening for dinner, which again was wonderful, so much so that we returned again the following evening! Ours is an "American" family of four, with a daughter age 11 and son age 13; both our children thoroughly enjoyed their meals at Cocheira Alentejana, and their enthusiasm for the place played an important role in our returning there twice. Each evening I ordered their cataplana, which is both reasonably-priced and delicious! Their house-infused grappa is not to be missed after dining! (Fwiw, the second evening Cocheira Alentejana hosted a large birthday gathering of Portuguese folks, who were clearly familiar with the restaurant and whose enthusiasm for the place helped validate our own!) A few things to note: 1) the service was great; 2) our children like to have chorizo as a starter; we ordered this in three restaurants in Lisbon, and the best was here; and 3) their vino verde house wine was the best we tasted in four Lisbon...

Busy and understaffed. Staff were rude when told things weren't going well. Waited 1h for starters and water. Had to ask twice for most things. We asked for a mixed cheese board, and they brought the cheese board, 5min later, they brought the chorizo and the olives + bread, and we had to ask twice for it to come to the table. After all this... The mains came while we were just beginning to dig in on the starters. Ended up cancelling the mains because I didn't feel like continuing the bad experience. Instead of apologising for the terrible service provided, the staff were more concerned in insisting for us to have the mains and then proceeded to argue with me and were terribly rude, raising their voice. Spoke to 3 different people just to be able to have the bill with only the things that were consumed!!! After all this, they didn't bring the bill to the table. I had to go to the counter and request to pay the bill. After checking the bill, they put a more expensive wine, and then we ordered on the bill. 10 euros more expensive. Overall, it was a terrible expensive. Never returning to this...