Via Graça — Restaurant in Lisbon

4 Stars – A View to Dine For (But Bring a Snack Just in Case)

We walked into Via Graça on a whim — thanks to a friend’s enthusiastic “You have to go!” And to be fair, they weren’t wrong… about the view. This place has a 15-star panorama of Lisbon that makes you want to write poetry and call your mom. Add to that the gracious, warm service — the kind that makes you feel like an old friend, even if you’re a walk-in in tourist sneakers — and things started strong.

Then came the food… and it was, well, fine. Just fine. You know that feeling when someone hypes up a movie and you’re left wondering if you watched the same one? That.

We were ready for a culinary love letter to Lisbon — bold flavors, local flair, a taste of history. Instead, it felt more like the food version of a polite email from a corporate intern. Nice effort, but lacking soul.

Highlights:

Veal croquettes? Delightful little golden bites.

Bread? Great. Would've happily just had that and the wine.

Fish croquettes and fish à Brás? Sadly, all aboard the Moosh Express — texture was a gentle puddle and flavor didn’t RSVP.

We didn’t finish half our dishes — not because we were full, but because we just didn’t feel like arguing with another forkful.

That said, we still had a good time. The wine was flowing, the staff was lovely, and the view made up for a lot. If you're here for a romantic sunset and some bread to nibble on while whispering sweet nothings, it’s perfect. Just maybe don’t come expecting your next Michelin moment.

Still, we’ll remember the night fondly… just...

The ambiance here is a solid 5 and reason alone to come here!!

The staff is great too. We had two waiter’s and they could not have been nicer and attentive.

The food: my dish of cod and chick peas was amazing. At first glance, I didn’t think the fish was cooked all the way through, but it was perfect. Flaky, buttery and salty.

My son really enjoyed his food and dessert.

My husband on the other hand wasn’t crazy about his lamb. He said it didn’t taste like lamb, it had a peculiar taste to it and he didn’t think it was a lamb, but maybe a kid which has a completely different taste. I am not a fan of lamb, and I did try it too, and have to admit it’s funkier then I have tasted in the past. At the end, my husband said it was the best tasting €40 something tasting potatoes (which came with the dish). When the guy came over to clear the table (not our waiters) he asked how was everything and my husband told him the better lamb was not my favorite or maybe something like, I’ve had better. He then asked what he meant by it, and my husband told him, I don’t think that was lamb-to which he shrugged and walked away with the dishes. Ok??

So, when our waiter came and asked for anything else like dessert or coffee there was no mention of-hey they told me you didn’t like the lamb, nor did my husband mention it again, because once said should have been enough. Well, we got dessert paid and left.

Aside from that, all was...

Food was great (bit pricey), view is great. The service was the worst we've had in a lifetime in this kind of place. Some of the moments: -asked for water, got laughed at for being a thirsty man, received no water for an hour repeteadly asked for wine and beer for some of the ladies at the table, was ignored for most of the night. The waiter served preferentially two men from our table (we were a group of 10) and ignored the rest -we were never asked if we want anything to drink - we had to ask for everything. And the waiter would take one order at a time, then leave the others unattended. Most of the times, he would return with the drink (singular) half an hour later or not at all -- asked for water again (2 hours in already, was begining to lose my temper). Some of the ladies at our tabled hadn't received but a glass of water for the entire evening, despite numerous complaints. I told the waiter the ladies are thirsty as well. He left, came back after ten minutes with an almost empty bottle of water. He poured about an inch of water in my glass from high up, splashing water all around. He dripped the bottle 2-3 times, then left. I am not kidding when I'm saying that Nothing made this man come back with more water for the rest of the night -our complaints were met with great arrogance, actually condescending.

We were all angry by the time the...