Portugália — Restaurant in Lisbon

For such a wonderful building the restaurant was a real let down. We went here because it was open late and we arrived in Lisbon late. We got given a table without waiting which was great but it took very long to be served. The waiter apologised so at first we just accepted it was busy, but looking at it, it was manageable and so it shouldn't have been such a problem. It was also super loud and echoey which made it hard to have a conversation. When we finally got served he didn't take down what we said (two snacks, two starters, two mains, sides and drinks) so that was a red flag in itself because he didn't seem to understand the menu in English so didn't know what we ordered. Whilst the starters and snacks came right and fairly quick they were a bit lukewarm. Then our mains came and only one was right (the Portuguese steak) and no prawn stew. Everything was lukewarm. The fries were a small portion and cold, the rice was old and cold and had clearly been left under a heated plate as the top part was dry and hard. We asked for the prawn stew and bread but only got bread. The waiter then came to ask if we were finished when nothing was clearly finished and we said we were waiting for the prawn stew and he had no idea what it was. He asked his colleague who then had to explain in Portuguese which by this point we said just leave it, we'll have the bill. The only thing good was the bread and the two prawns we got in our fish soup. And to top it off, they made their sangria with BEER. Sagres beer to be exact. And our seating was also terrible with a side table next to us where the waiters were slamming things down in frustration. Honestly the worst start to our holiday in Lisbon but thank god we could see the funny side that it was just so awful. I can imagine that other people in the restaurant with better waiters had nicer meals but for us it...

In our European medieval past, not a crumb was wasted, and in very poor households there was no crockery to be had, so the mainstay of the peasant was hot pottage on a bread trencher. They rich also used them, as a way to utilise stale bread, eating out the middle, softened by meat juices and donating the used trencher to the poor begging outside. Bread stew and pottage in the modern world always alight my interest so I was delighted to see a whole loaf of bread filled with stew, sailing past at the Portugália Cervejaria Alimirante Reis, a no frills beer hall where Lisboans are happy to queue up to eat their famous rare steak in special sauce (we had that too, another day). ‘Açorda’ is a traditional Portuguese bread soup. The seafood variety is usually made with home-made corn bread and has a risotto-like texture – basically, pottage, my favourite. There are lots of versions but this one is made by sautéing garlic, coriander and onion, lightly cooking prawns, shelling them, and setting them aside while boiling up a broth from the shells. The bread is scooped out and the innards crumbled in the broth. Everything in then mixed together and the hot pottage is stuffed back in the bread and enriched with raw egg yolks which cooks into the stew. At ‘Portugália’ the waiter comes to the table and does the last bit of mixing in front of you with a proud flourish. It is so good. Amazingly good, considering the few ingredients involved but the fabulous Portuguese sour-dough bread has a lot to do with it. The bread is tangy, chewy and full of flavour and makes the seafood sing in this hearty and ancient dish. I scraped that bread bowl clean. I expected to feel very full after that but easily managed a flan dessert and felt hungry the next morning so it was surprisingly light though I don’t think you need anything to accompany it. It is enough. It...

Dine in date: 2024.12.30

We stayed near this restaurant and whenever pass by, it was full of people in the restaurant with the queue outside. Knew that it is popular restaurant so decided to visit for the last dinner of the trip. Here is the summary of my trip.

As more walk in than reserved customers, suggest to make reservation to secure your seat. (We made reservation but there were only three names above us).

Our server, Eduardo was very friendly and attentive. When I was cleaning my hands with used napkins, he pop up with new ones while busy operation. Besides, brought ice bucket at the timing that white wine bottle needs to be cooler.

Ordered more starter than mains and it was good choice. Couvert (bread, butter and olives)/ Crab stuffing/ 100g bernacles/ Octopus with garlic/ vegetable soup/ Cod "a bras" (only main). no seafood rice, grilled octopus or cod that you can find in other portugese restaurants. - more diversed experience and super filling for two pax. Had to take out the cod dish. All taste good but if you seek for lighter version of fish dish, "A bras" style may not fit as it is made with egg, onion, potatoes so is quite heavy in style.

Great value of wines. Allo 2023 was nice white with relatively lower alcohol (11.5%) and refreshing.

Vibe that a variety of customers create is positive for us (lots of big family grouo during our visit due to yearend)

I would highly recommed to friends and family. Not sure about other branches...