O Boteco — Restaurant in Lisbon

Serendipity is when you glance at the morning’s edition of NiT on your tablet and notice a piece about the reopening of a well-known chef’s restaurant that turns out to be right around the corner . . . And even more so when you decide, mid-afternoon, following a workout and a long walk, to stop by for a quick cerveja pequeno and a bit of scouting. Our homework had been limited to the NiT piece and having put Cevicharia, the chef’s notable venue up the street in Principe Real, on our culinary exploration list. Two hours later, we finally left after getting to know Chef Kiko Martins a bit and trying a few of the most delightful dishes we’ve discovered here in Lisbon—and, of course, downing a bit more than a cerveja pequeno.

First off, O Boteca’s location is stellar, facing the iconic statue on Praca Luis da Camoes in the heart of Chiado, with its high windows bringing in vast helpings of Lisbon’s incredible sunlight to dance around the playful bright red and green wine-bottle chandelier and the brilliantly tiled parrot hovering at the back wall. With the entry area’s wood-paneled bar serving an inviting sense of welcome, the restaurant immediately charms with its eclectic Brazilian vibe featuring tiled floors and a wonderful stamped ceiling complimenting the gentle division of the spaces, each with its own touch of individual flair.

But a restaurant is about food, so, charmed by the atmosphere and the friendly staff following Chef Kiko’s initial welcome, we decided, what the heck, why wait! So, let’s see the menu . . . Aha, no English version, so all the more reason to work harder on our studies of Portuguese. Of course, O Boteca focuses on beef—the logo is a magnificent steer’s head—and from a Brazilian perspective, so the staff guided us through the recommended choices, helping us determine just the right combination for our late afternoon snack. We settled on sharing a couple items: first, the Salada de polvo com gelado de pimento, a delicate plate of sliced octopus with a light dressing and a scoop of pimento ice cream! Right, a savory ice cream of roasted red peppers. What an imaginative combination of tastes and textures, that allowed the polvo’s simple, clean flavor to shine. Wonderful start!

Next, we weren’t quite ready for a steak, so we opted to split their burger de picanha com presunto, and were impressed when it was served just like a steak, with no bun, winning pride of place on the plate and topped with crumbled bread in a nod toward tradition, diced presunto, and a scattering of tiny, pickled baby red peppers from Brazil—yes, we asked for more of them! The beef was done to perfection on the rare side of medium rare, and the grind of the meat was the finest, most delicate and flavorful we have ever tasted. But no burger is complete without fries, so we opted for the batata frita com alecrim—with rosemary. The fries were of the smaller variety, dusted with the fresh herb, and, piping hot, they made the perfect foil for the rich beef.

We had no room for a dessert, but Chef Kiko stopped by again as we sipped our espresso and shared stories of his fourteen month travels around the world with his wife several years ago, where they spent time living with different folks from South America to India to Bali and even the US and Canada, learning about traditions and meals and the many flavors and approaches that now color Chef’s own cuisines.

So, our cerveja pequeno turned into just a wee bit more and we couldn’t have been happier. Next time you’re in Chiado—or in Lisbon, for that matter—it’s well worth stopping by O Boteca for a touch of the Brazilian vibe and some worldly flavors and preparations. Highly...

Ive never felt the need to write a review (good or bad) but good god our experience here was awful. First of all, we let our waitress know we were going to order drinks and an appetizer immediately upon sitting while waiting for our 3rd person to arrive. It took at least 30 minutes (I wish I was exaggerating) for her to check on us only for us to realize she didnt give us the wine menu. MORE time passes until we were finally able to order. Meanwhile she takes the orders of every other tables that arrived after us. Okay fine whatever, we’ll get over it since maybe the food will blow us away. Nope. We ordered the fried tapioca and tataki steak which were great. But also ordered the filet mignon steak tartar and carabinero and cod which left much to be desired. Ive never tasted such bland food in my life and im pretty sure the food I feed my cat has more flavor. Disappointing to say the least. Lastly when we got the bill, we were charged for the offered cheese bread that we had originally declined. This was taken off the bill after bringing it up to their attention. We also were charged for water at 3.75 euros for three small glasses of water for our table. Never left the bottle of water for us to refill ourselves, never even asked or made attempts to refill our waters despite my cup being empty within 5 mins of their initial pour. Lastly everyone around us got truffles or something with their bill. None for us though which I could care less about but definitely something I noticed. Oh and dont worry, they will ask for gratuity automatically when youre ready for check out, truly comical. All in all, this was a highly disappointing meal for allegedly being “fine dining” and for the amount of money we paid. Their service was absolutely abysmal and we werent even given the bear minimum service. We were close to eating somewhere else that night for dinner but decided to stick with this restaurant, what a regret. Maybe it was a one off experience for us, but seems like this isnt an isolated event judging based on other recent reviews. This establishment truly needs some work. I wouldnt waste my money or time here, go to kebab hut...

The official rating given is for the initial service we had received on a Thursday Evening (04/05/22).

This is the first time we came to Lisbon and wanted to treat ourselves after a long day of sight-seeing.

The décor was was lovely and modern and the menu had a good variety of different cuts of meats with a large selection of cocktails.

However the service did not match the environment which dampened and made the whole experience sour. When entering the establishment the waitress gave us a cold attitude and with hesitancy, seated us.

Not wanting to ruin our holiday mood we asked a couple of simple questions regarding the menu, such as do they sell Strawberry Daquiri or Beer as it wasn't shown clearly in the menu which the waitress then shoved a random gin menu and said it's there which it was not nor did they give any indication or guidance on whereabouts it was on the menu. We were surprised there was beer on the menu so we asked if she can show us where it was, but with a dismissive tone she answered "yes we have beer" as though we had asked a stupid question.

After a few hostile interactions and confusion on our end, we had a change in waiter to take our food order. We were under the impression that the first waitress did not want to interact with us and made us feel inadequate for asking simple questions about their menu. (which turns out there were a few printing errors as told by our new waiter.)

Once we had a change in waiter, (that wasn't requested by us) we had a much more welcoming and pleasant experience with recommendations.

Overall the food was well cooked and flavoured, however the initial interaction was a real let down of the overall experience of the evening. For the price you pay you would expect better service from the front house and it is a real shame that one person let down the team.

Ambiance: 4/5 Food:...