XXL by Olivier Lisboa — Restaurant in Lisbon

Reservation: Upon our arrival, our reservation was not found. The head waiter initially denied that we had called at all, even though the restaurant was empty. He requested the phone number to check if we might have called the wrong one. When we showed him the number, he claimed it was incorrect and asked us to call it to verify. His phone rang when we dialed the number, at which point he quickly provided us with a table. This embarrassing situation could have been avoided, especially given the restaurant's ambiance and class. Service: The service was mixed. There was an excellent waiter who did not always serve us. The waitress who occasionally replaced him dropped my friend's bag from the chair twice, which contained glass items. Fortunately, nothing broke. Food: The food was mediocre compared to the price. The Café de Paris sauce was average, the lamb was overcooked and dry, and the tartare had too much sauce, overpowering the taste of the meat—although the sauce itself was tasty. The magret was very delicious, as was the wine, but the snails were also dry. The salad was insufficient in terms of ingredients, but the dressing was tasty.Conclusion Overall, this is the worst Olivier Restaurant in Lisbon. While the price-performance ratio is acceptable compared to the other Olivier restaurants, there are better alternatives in Lisbon that might offer more...

We visited XXL by Oliver in Lisbon with high hopes, especially since it was my birthday dinner. While the service was truly exceptional—our waitress was incredibly kind, professional, and attentive, especially in making sure all my boyfriend’s dishes were gluten-free—the overall experience fell short, mainly because of the food.

Let’s start with the couvert: €7 per person, yet they bring just one bread basket regardless of whether you're two, three, or four people. That just doesn’t make sense.

For the main course, we ordered a €75 dish for two, which naturally set high expectations. Unfortunately, the taste was underwhelming—just average at best. I had the Wagyu steak with truffle pasta. The steak was okay, but far from extraordinary, and the pasta tasted like plain cream—no hint of truffle whatsoever.

It’s disappointing, especially given the price point and the occasion. I chose not to order dessert, not wanting to be let down again.

In short, the service was outstanding, but the food simply didn't live up to the hype...

We were deeply impressed by this restaurant. Its classic decoration is simple and cozy, and everything looked nicely organized. The service was very professional and friendly from the start. They recommended a nice wine for our meal, not a crazy expensive one, and served it throughout our meal. The food was really good, what you'd expect from an Olivier restaurant. The couvert includes a small chickpea salad which is very tasty. We ordered two starters (spinach croquette and The Egg which is delicious mix of mashed potatoes and mushrooms, very filling). For main course we ordered monkfish picanha for 2, which was also amazing. For dessert we ordered one soufflé, which was very tasty and enough to share. Overall, very nice experience and delicious food, and we paid a bit over 150EUR for two people. I'd love to return to try the lobster steak, although its price is a bit over the top (89eur) and I'm also not sure if it's the right place...