Frangasqueira Nacional — Restaurant in Lisbon

Although it is affordable and tasty hence the two stars. Though many other customers leave reviews of great experience, it seems only true if you are caucasian. It is a place run by one woman who does the cooking, serving, till and washing up all by herself. Though it seemed from previous reviews she had other staff. This place has so much potential but the lady puts you off.

We went twice during our trip, the first time we got lucky there was not a queue like others claimed, just two other customers and us. When we ordered she assumed we would eat out and when we told her we are eating in she said ‘where are you eating?’ Which obviously there is not a lot of other people and there were plenty of seats available. I could understand if it were really busy maybe she forgotten, but it wasn’t. On observation, I could see she is not as cheery or friendly when faced with oriental asian customers. It as though she tries to act friendly, but for some reason she cannot hide her hostility. She definitely picks and chooses who she is friendly and welcoming to and how well she will treat you. Which is a shame as the food was good on the first night.

During our second visit, we thought although the service was bad she tried to redeem herself a bit but trying to interact with us, sort of on the first night (although seeming a bit forced). But unfortunately this night the food was overly salty and dry, plus she didn’t put all of the sauces she usually puts, she also gave other customers also eating out extra servings to the point the take away container was almost overflowing coming from a fresh pot that have not been on display (some weren’t regulars either, it was their first time) while we were given a barely filled under the rim container of food that was old and scraped from what was left on display.

We arrived there around 6.30pm, just 30mins after opening, there was a short queue inside the shop so we decided to wait, but for some reason she ran out of sausages because she had reservations? She would also serve locals first and basically cutting in line. And she shouted at one elderly male customer “NO! You cannot seat I have no more food I have reservations” who wanted to eat in.

When it was my turn to order, as I had a big order she said my order will take long, and she decides to serve others first. I ended up waiting 3 hours to get my food as she kept burning and dropping what seemed to be my order. At one point she seemed fed up as she kept burning the whole rack of ribs, she tried to salvage it (mind you it was BURNT BLACK on one side) and tried to scrape it off and try to serve it?? And dropped on half of the chicken I ordered. Good thing she didn’t serve it otherwise I would have definitely made a scene. One asian lady who was behind was served last, as she served the people behind her fist.

To be fair she seemed under pressure, as she is a one woman show, kept burning food and dropping things, at one point she burnt my order pretty badly, tried to scrape off the burnt bits but then she realised she couldn’t save it and threw it away.

She is bit rude to us and NOT APPROACHABLE we can tell how she serve other customers. Looking other reviews maybe she has problem with asian people like us and how she treat us. On the second we visit we waited for 3HOURS! to finish our order and

TLDR; yeah the food was good and affordable. But the taste and quality of her food definitely depends on her mood, so be warned. The lady definitely plays favourites and serve you food according to her thoughts of you whether it is friendly service or under portioned food definitely this place could do better actually the manager/cook/ server could do better, so...

I don’t often write bad reviews, especially as someone who has worked in hospitality for most of my life. I understand the stress of running a restaurant and empathise with servers doing their best under pressure. HOWEVER, this place was absolutely appalling. I wish Google pushed one-star reviews to the top so more people could see the abhorrent treatment. Not just towards customers, but towards the young staff working in this woman’s establishment.

The food? Great. Chicken, great. Potatoes, great. Rice, lovely. Salad, fresh. But was it worth the absolute recursos humanos (HR for the UK)? Absolutely not.

When we arrived, there were no seats available. That’s fair, it’s a small restaurant. I happily agreed to take the food to go. A polite young girl, who looked about 15 or 16, was handling orders while her boss loudly and aggressively bullied her. She was clearly new and doing her best. We waited in line for around 45 minutes, and in that time I witnessed shocking treatment of both customers and staff.

Two customers before us had sat down but were later told their table was booked. Fair enough, mistakes happen. They were polite and asked for takeaway instead. But the owner was incredibly rude. A clear language barrier existed, and she mocked them, shouted, sniggered, acted sarcastically, and huffed when they tried to clarify things. She even told them they ordered “too much food,” as if that’s for her to decide. Naturally, the customers became defensive, and she escalated things further.

Once they left, we stood for 15 minutes without acknowledgment. That didn’t bother me as much. I was too anxious, rehearsing my order and desperate to avoid confrontation. It felt like being a child, afraid of being scolded by a nasty teacher. Multiple people paid before us. Eventually, she snapped at the young girl and said, “Serve these two.”

We ordered large potatoes, small rice, tomato salad, and half a chicken. Around 10 to 15 minutes later, we were told it was cash only. My partner ran to get cash. During this time, the owner berated her young server for giving us large potatoes, yelling things like, “LOOK! If they ask for large potatoes, you say NO. IS IT THAT HARD?” She repeated herself over and over, shoved the box in the girl’s face, got into her personal space, and wouldn’t let it go. The girl stayed silent except for saying “OK” several times, which made the owner even angrier.

She then demanded she clear plates and shouted again, “LOOK AT THIS!” It was clear the girl hadn’t been there long. Despite all this, she stayed calm. The owner weighed our food and questioned how much I was ordering, implying it was too much for one person. It was for two, but that’s not her business. I paid and left, feeling anxious and shaken.

I assume there is no HR in this place, but there should be. These young employees are being verbally abused, humiliated, and micromanaged to a disturbing degree. The owner is incapable of running a respectful workplace or treating others like human beings. This is not about a bad attitude. It is about workplace abuse. The customers being treated poorly is one thing. But I write this for the employees. I hope they find better jobs, and quickly, because not every place is like this.

To the owner: shut your business down and get serious help. Learn basic people skills. You are a disgrace to hospitality, and I have never met anyone as vile in all my years of...

I'm writing this review a few months after I visited because I think it's important for other people to know about my awful experience before they go. Firstly let me say, the food is bangin. Genuinely super juicy and flavorful chicken, I can't speak for the sides though because we weren't served any... And here comes the reason for the one star.

The woman who runs this place is at best extremely rude. After waiting politely for her to take my order she rudely put her hand up in my face numerous times, talked over me, and spoke in a condenseding tone. She wouldn't let me finish speaking to order everything we wanted (hence I never got to order sides). She continuously served other guests over us (like she was ignoring us). Once she finally came over she kept insisting my chair was too short for the table and when I said I was fine she said "your chair is too small do you understand?!?" in such a harsh tone I was taken aback. Not only is English my native language but I am also a speech therapist so I do believe I am proficient in the language lmao (anyone with a solid grasp of English should be able to tell by my Canadian accent, not that I am suggesting it's okay to be rude to non native English speakers, just wanting to point out the hypocrisy of someone assuming I don't speak English while herself not speaking well enough to clue in that I am a native speaker and then shouting at me for not understanding English).

In another instance I asked if I could order drinks and she huffed and in an almost shouting voice said 'I can't read your mind, you have to say what you want. If you want something say it and I'll bring it. This is not a formal place' which is such a strange response for someone asking if they could order a drink.

What's the most upsetting for me is reading the other reviews of people describing this woman's behaviour. It's quite clear she's prejudice. I was willing to pass it off as cultural differences but I've lived in many European countries and I was with my French boyfriend. We witnessed ourselves how she treated us differently to the rest of the customers because she had clearly seen me, assumed my race/ethnicity/background and decided she was going to be rude as hell. And at no point was I rude to her, I was on the verge of tears from the first time she basically shouted at me. I had patiently waited 15-20 min for her to take my order and was super sympathetic to her being the only one working there. When a couple walked in she immediately asked them for their order and they looked at her dumbfounded because I was clearly standing next in line I still didn't say anything because I was super confused. I was not expecting or demanding speedy service, but I won't excuse her clear prejudice having seen her behaviour towards her Portuguese and white American customers.

Anyway it's a funny story now that I share with my friends and family, but I do think it's best for others to get their chicken elsewhere. What a sad life someone must live to spend her day being bitter towards customers she knows nothing about, good...