Esplanada Cafe — Restaurant in Lisbon

Threatened With Arrest

This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. So, here’s the story. We came to the area on this Saturday morning to check out the Farmer’s market, which was dry nice, surrounding the lovely park where this awful restaurant is located.

We looked over the menu, decided on the Prato do Dia, found a nice table in the shade, ordered two glasses of wine and two sparkling water, and two Pratos do Dia, which consisted of a chicken breast stuffed with pork, white rice and a green salad.

The wines and waters came right away, unlike our meals which took almost 45 minutes to arrive at our table. The small salad of lettuce and tomato looked delicious, the white rice looked like white rice, and the chicken breast looked dry and way over cooked. With some effort I was able to cut into the chicken breast and take a small bite. It was dry as a bone, flavorless and totally overcooked. It had probably been forgotten in their oven for 43 of the 45 minutes we waited for our meals.

We immediately informed the waitress about the inedibility of the chicken, said we were not going to either eat it or pay for it, and asked for a check for the wines and sparkling waters. She informed us that we ordered the food and had to pay for the food, period. She did make any offer of another dish, apologize for the chicken being over cook, or anything. We declined to pay and asked to see the manager. A young woman came (not the manager as it turned out) who told us the same thing as the waitress and presented a check for the total meal. We again refused to pay for anything other then the wines and waters. Then a man came, again not the manager, made the same demand, and added that it was against the law in Portugal to refuse to pay a restaurant tab, bad food or not. It turns out that is MOL true, but there is much more to it than that. We then put a 10 Euro note on the tray to cover the wines, waters and a 2 Euro top. BTW, wines and waters are very inexpensive in Portugal. Rather than arguing further, we got up, collected our purchases from the Farmer’s Market and proceed to walk back to our apartment.

We had only gone 20 Meters, when we heard someone shouting at us to stop. This time it was the actual manager. I’ll try to cut to the chase at this point. The Manager and another guy followed us for over 1.5 miles as we walked toward our apartment. All the while, the Manager was talking to the Lisbon Police to come and help him collect the tab. We also had several brief conversations with the Manager along the way. He never apologized for the bad food and only repeated his demand for payment.

Finally, we reached the park across from Time Out Market. There was a beat cop there, the Manager spoke to him and he came over and stopped us on the sidewalk. The Police Officer spoke no English, and we speak very little Portuguese, so the officer called for English speaking backup. Two more non-English speaking officers joined us and, now a party of seven, we all waited around for over an hour for the English speaking backup to arrive. We were feeling like Bonnie and Clyde at this point.

Backup arrived and according to the very polite, higher ranking officer, it will be necessary for the restaurant to file a complaint, pay a fee and appear in court to collect the unpaid portion of the bill. IMO, it is highly unlikely that the restaurant owner will go to that much trouble to collect 22 Euros.

There are too many more interesting and laughable details to this afternoon adventure in Lisbon, to tell. What a memorable day in this incredible city.

I’ll sum up my review by saying, eat at this restaurant at...

The district of Principe Real certainly has a royal charm, with lavish shops, eccentric bars and its fair share of great restaurants… nestled among all of this is the superb Esplanada Café I found the perfect spot for your morning fuel. located in a beautiful garden in the district of Principe Real.

Much thought has gone into the planning of Lisbon, there is a great mixture of Miradouro (viewing points), Praça (Squares) and Riverside locations for people to hang out and enjoy, good conversation, a coffee, a cold drink or a snack.

Although the majority of these places are wonderful and provide great focal points and landmarks for rendezvous, recharging or refreshments, they can often be very busy with tourists. This is where Lisbon’s gardens fill the void, tranquil and magnificent. There is a modest garden on Rua Dom Pedro V, it’s called Jardim do Principe Real and it’s the perfect location to relax in a bustling city which is preparing for a busy day ahead.

The district of Principe Real certainly has a royal charm, with lavish shops, eccentric bars and its fair share of great restaurants, nestled among all of this is Esplanada Café. Visible from the main street this glass house styled café offers a refuge for you to take some time out for yourself. The large trees surrounding the café act as a barrier to the city.

The menu isn’t fussy and although the portions are generous, Esplanada is based on quality not bulk. Eggs on toast, pancakes garnished with edible flowers or Nata accompanied by fresh juice and coffee are some of your choices. If the weather is on your side, and it normally is, then try to get seated on an outdoor table.

When you are in the garden, check out the 100-year-old Mexican Cypress Tree, held up by an iron frame,...

Burned coffee, undercooked pancakes, and a bad attitude from all servers from start to finish. Oh, and they don't accept credit cards even though it's the year 2017.

The cafe has an ideal setting, in the center of the Garden of Principe, a verdant park with a pleasant mix of sun and shade. Other than the location, the place is an all-around failure.

This is the second time I came. Both experiences were below average, this last time was awful. The coffee is one of the worst I've ever tasted. The pancakes still had uncooked white batter in the center, and the fresh fruit was all bitter. The blueberries were almost rotten. We didn't drink the coffee because it was undrinkable - burned beyond taste. Like, really burned. I don't even know how one can burn cappuccino. When we asked to remove the coffee from the check - the head server just shook her head and walked away. They didn't remove it. I asked our server. He said okay, then came back 5 mins later and said I should speak to the head server. I did. She reprinted the bill with the coffee still on it. I said I didn't want the coffee. She said it was burned because I didn't drink it immediately. I said "it's burned and undrinkable, not cold." She reprinted it without the coffee.

When a restaurant has bad food and coffee but a good location they should at least treat their customers with some respect. To top it all off - they don't accept credit...