Esquina de Alfama — Restaurant in Lisbon

We read a bunch of reviews about the Fado restaurants in the Alfama area and all of them were similar. Many people gave warnings about tourist traps in every place, so we decided to walk around a night before and talk to owners, meet the people and pick a place by the impressions. The owners of this place seemed honest and welcoming so we chosed this place and we were 100% right to do so. The food was good, not the best we had in portugal but we were more than satisfied. The fado experience was incredible, all the artists were great, you could see they put their heart and soul in their work and they were communicating and interacting with the audience throught the night. Some people in the reviews complained about the appertizers that were charged and not ordered, honestly we had no issues they offered them politely and we told them we don't need them and that was it. In the end, everybody left the restaurant, it was only us and another table and they kept playing and singing in an intimate and friendly atmosphere. As for the food, I would recommend the octopus, you just can't go wrong with it in Lisbon, the other dishes seemed nice also but why take a risk? Overall, I recommend Esquina to everyone who wants an romatic fado experience...

I was prepared to leave a really good review, but alas I cannot. The food is good but a bit on the salty side. Seafood taste fresh. Waiters do their jobs, that's about it. Overall, good food (not great) and barely basic service.

The atmosphere is made great by the Fado performance. We really enjoyed the singing and guitars. Sit inside for best experience. The owner guy who sells you to come inside has a fantastic voice and expressive hands and body gestures while singing. The lady who sings is very regal and has a lovely, mature voice.

Now the bad part. When you sit they automatically bring you some bread, butter, cheese, olives, and ham. You don't ask for it they just bring it. We naturally thought it was free. Oh no, oh no. In the end they charged us 2.50 Euro for bread, 6.00 for butter!!!, 5.50 for the little bit of cheese, 7.00 for ham, 1.50 for olives. 22.50 in total. Just a total ripoff. Dishonest in a sneaky way. Please respect your customers and be honest with these charges up front. You've lost a customer and I definitely won't recommend to...

I don't like doing this but this restaurant needs to improve. I arrived here randomly but slightly desperate after not finding a table at other places, after a whole day out of town, tired, having already wandered up and down the Alfama streets to find dinner, I was hungry and just wanted a bite and wine. Here the house wines are basic (probably worst I've had in Lisbon), the food was barely edible (worried about the seafood quality to be honest but didn't get sick). As soon as I sat down I expressed I wanted wine and a bite, I was asked if I wanted to start with cheese and butter, I declined, but the main host whispered something to the younger one who showed up with a cheese platter which I had to refuse again. There was fado playing inside which I wasn't in the mood for after all this so I left. I would argue this is a bad tourist trap, some others do much better quality wise. Spare your cash and go anywhere else. You're better off on...