Marisqueira Valbom — Restaurant in Lisbon

First night I went it was great. Service was great and friendly. The steak was good and priced about right for the quality. The server offered up the starters instead of just placing them on the table. (In the US this is normally considered part of the meal at not additional cost not the case in Lisbon and I fell for that on my first trip here). Because of the experience I went back the next night to try a seafood dish. The experience was completely opposite.The server was more standoffish. I ordered what they had translated to swordfish by pointing to the menu at the item. I also agreed to 2 starters cheese and bread. When the meal came it was not swordfish. Mistakes happen especially with language differences so showed the server again the menu item I selected he took the squid and put in the order again for the the swordfish. When the dish came out again it was not swordfish but another type of fish. Long story short they had a translation issue in the menu. Understandable. The part of the visit that made it a bad experience was when the bill came. They had the wrong price for the fish. Turns out the price was lower on the English menu than the main menu but they would not honor the menu I ordered off of. The bread starter in the menu was .80 euro and they brought a basket with 3 buns. No mention that it was per piece, having to wait for the meal twice i ate three. Was shocked with the price was 2.40 when the menu stated .80. None of these are really that big but when they all occur on the same visit it makes for an unpleasant...

You know you’re in the right place when you walk in and see a counter with fresh seafood in front of a large grill lit with red-hot charcoal. The smell of slowly roasting meat confirms that yes, in fact, whatever the unassuming look of the outside, whatever you get at Restaurante Valbom is probably going to be excellent.

I ordered the grilled pork tenderloin. My wife got the grilled salmon. Both were fantastic. The preparations were simple, but well executed: salt, garlic, pepper, and smoke. The salmon (12.50 EUR) was huge - over half a kilo - and the pork (10.00 EUR) featured three flattened medallions. Every bite was delicious. For dessert we ordered fresh strawberries with chantilly cream and the chocolate mousse - both were simple, but excellent.

The restaurant was bustling the entire time we were there (approximately 1300-1445 on a Sunday), and I suspect we were the only foreigners in the place.

If you find yourself in the area - or even if you don’t - I would highly recommend a visit. Good food at a...

It was a Saturday night and we had no reservations anywhere in the Lisbon area and we had 8 people in our party that night. My wife and I searched and got turned down by every restaurant in the neighborhood we were staying at. BUT, Pedro, gave me a specific time to come back and stated he would accommodate me somehow. You enter into what is a seemingly small store-front, but this place quickly expands into quite a vast seating area.

We came back, he accommodated us and the series of food we ordered that followed was just cooked and seasoned to perfection. From the variety of seafood, including Grouper, Dourado (Bass), Mackerel, and then the sirloin steak which was just amazing. Let's not forget the absolutely amazing side dishes including the split long green beans which I couldn't get enough of.

Highly recommend this place for a fantastic meal with exceptional service. Considering the large, crowded space, the service was still amazing and everything was...