Tasca do Elevador — Restaurant in Lisbon

sad excuse for a portuguese restaurant, our standards were already low cos it looked like a tourist trap, but boy did they disappoint even more. i wish i could give 0 stars cos this wasnt even worth half a star.

food was bad and overpriced, thought they would at least make up for it in portion but nope.

the fried calamaris were fake, in a sense that instead of actual calamari rings within the batter, it was ground-up paste, making every single ring taste like fried flour.

the so-called “garlic clams” arrived in a tragically small pan with barely 15 clams in it. too buttery and salty, not a hint of seafoody fragrance.

octopus rice was ok but not great. didnt have that flavourful seafood taste, but at least there were quite a lot of octopus bits in it.

also it is an outdoor seating situation, meaning the customers and passers-by could be smoking. being a table of non-smokers, it was a painful experience trying to eat while inhaling the cigarette fumes with every bite.

we only ate here as a last resort because all the other restaurants we tried told us “no reservation no table” :/ but i think we shldve put up with the 45 minute wait for those other restaurants instead of succumbing and dining here. really a pity as this was our last meal in...

We ran out of time that day to reach our restaurants we planned for. So we took a chance and sat down at this place, just by the Elevador de Santa Justa. You get a view of it from this restaurant. It's smack down in the middle of the action, so we didn't expect much from the food, since in this areas, most places aim for tourists like us (well...it worked).

In the end, the food was ok, nothing like freshly prepared or so. But edible and the portions of fair size. Prices were adequate. Ordered some baked spinach-cheese breads and a bunch of veggie tempura. The tempura were fine, crunchy inside. The toasts were probably a ready-made or even frozen product. But ok. We had a bottle of wine with that, priced at 15 Euros, which we found fair for the location. No hidden fees or taxes on our bill.

Surprisingly nice was the service. The waiter really took good care of us, fast and friendly guy. And our Bulldog was welcome as well on a table outside, which was nice. Not the worst place around....but not a place...

TITLE: Skip the Elevador, Have a Beer

WHEN: We ate there October 2019

WHAT: The place is smack on the street by the Elevador Santa Justa, a little tasca with street seating. The line for the elevador is just too long. If you want to get up to the hill neighborhood, sneak through escalators at the H&M, lol

MEAL: Eat lunch there. Have a beer, some olives. We had the calamari and the chorizo skewer. Ask for the piri-piri sauce - it's nice and hot! The place isn't about being fancy, at all. It's just a decent cafe, that will get you some hot food, a cold beer, with a street vibe, and it's not too much money.

SERVICE: This place has a happy crew, very nice if you're not a...