Pizzeria Santa Chiara — Restaurant in Lisbon

Where should I start this review?

We came in around 7:10 pm and, after being "greeted" by the server (I use the word "greeted" very loosely here), we said we were a group of 4 ( with 2 people running a little late) and the server asked "Where are the other 2 people?".

We sat down and were promplty told "the restaurant would only start serving food at 7:30 pm." No effort was made to offer us drinks while we waited.

We're off to a great start here.

After our party was complete, we proceeded to order food and drinks. The server, having a hard time cracking a semblance of a smile, took our order and left.

Definitely, his first day in the office.

As for the only positive note of the evening, it didn't take long for food and drinks to be served.

The food was ok, but claiming this is the best pizza in Lisbon (as I've read in a couple of the other reviews) is a big stretch from people who know very little about pizza, and nowhere near the truth.

Not once was our table acknowledged (Something like "How is your pizza?/Would you like another drink?" would've done the trick).

This guy was focused on making our experience as enjoyable as his day at work.

And guys, own up to less than stellar reviews, instead of going off on non-sequitur scathing replies. Hubris comes before the fall.

(Edited to reply to your response):

Oh wow, where do I even begin? First off, let me just say—what a response! The sheer “grace” and “professionalism” radiating from your reply is truly something to behold. It’s not every day that a business takes the time to write a mini manifesto just to belittle a customer. Impressive!

Now, let’s break this down, shall we?

The seating situation – My deepest apologies for not instinctively grasping the “highly intricate” and “legally sensitive” nuances of your opening hours. However, I did a little thing called “checking your Google page,” and guess what? It clearly says you open at “7:00 PM”, not 7:30 PM. So which is it? Either Google is lying, or you might want to update that little detail before lecturing customers on their apparent ignorance.

The pizza – Congratulations on being fully aware that you serve the best pizza in town! That level of self-assurance is truly “inspirational”. Perhaps you should consider rebranding: “We Know We’re the Best—Just Accept It™.” I’m sure that’ll go over well.

The frustration in my review – Oh, don’t worry! I wasn’t frustrated with Lisbon, I was just baffled by the “stellar” attitude on display here. My review wasn’t about “envy” or some hidden vendetta—it was about ensuring that potential customers know exactly what kind of “customer service experience” they might be signing up for. Spoiler alert: It’s not just pizza being served here.

"Hard work and sacrifices" – Having worked in the hospitality industry myself, I fully respect the effort that goes into running a restaurant. But here’s the thing: respect tends to work best when it’s mutual. Maybe, just maybe, treating customers like they’re beneath you isn’t the best long-term business strategy. But hey, what do I know? I’m just a “keyboard warrior”, right?

"We’re a pizzeria, not a five-star hotel." – Oh, don’t worry, I never mistook the two. A five-star hotel would actually take feedback with grace instead of penning a defensive, passive-aggressive monologue.

But you are right about one thing—when you’re doing things this way, you’re bound to have enemies. Best of luck...

FINAL REVIEW Ok I decided that it would not be fair to give a negative rating without trying your pizzas. I also run a business that depends on ratings and understand the impact it has on business.

SO, I will change my review to 5 stars and will visit the restaurant to try the pizzas (i love to eat and make neapolitan pizza) and hopefully this rating will stay 5 stars.

See you soon!

P.S. I will go early to avoid surprises :)

FIRST REVIEW My review is to express my frustration with the management of the space. I went there at 13h30 which is peak lunch time. They informed me that there were no more pizzas because they had served a big takeaway order.

If you run a restaurant and don't want to have a margin to serve your walk-in customers just shut the restaurant and do online and takeaway. You seem to prefer loosing customers than loosing some dough balls.

Was going to try for the first time but now will not come back at all...

EDIT (response to the owner) I have never been your customer, don't know why you say that in your response.

Again, you decided to take a big online order knowing in advance you wouldn't be able to serve more walk in customers. So that decision shows your priorities. If you have been running for more than a year and have a booming business but still don't want to make more dough balls for days like this, please keep doing it and you will frustrate many more potential clients...

Took 2 pizzas home with my gf. At the 3rd slice, she felt something hard stuck on her teeth. She took it out: it was a larvae. Seriously? How can that happen? I've never seen that on a pizza ever, ever. Obviously the rest of our pizzas went to the trash. We got a strong sense of unease and disgust, since we don't know if we already ate some bugs on the previous slices...

I'm sad to leave such a review, since we go here every now and then, the pizzas are nice, you have such a great score and clearly a loving public, but I cannot just not say anything about this

Edit (response to the owner):

The larva was obviously cooked, and it is dishonest to imply I'm suggesting it was alive. If you find this impossible, then I'm sad for you, since you won't take action to change. Good luck, all the best

Edit 2 (response to owner's edit)

Denial is always the best way to deal with any problems right? I googled an e-mail or a WhatsApp number first, and found none. I won't solve anything in person since I will never go back there again. Why would I lie? My job as a customer is not to know how a problem happened, it's just to state the fact of my problem with the food. Anyway, as you are so sure to deny what I saw and lived with my own eyes, I'm sure you can just deny away any other problems like this review. This is my last edit,...