Zé dos Cornos — Restaurant in Lisbon

We arrived around 2:00 p.m. on a Thursday and we did not have to wait till along to be seated. This restaurant was recommended by our tour guide for an authentic local Portuguese cuisine. It's a small casual restaurant and you'll be seated side by side with other customers with the small tables pushed next to each other. Because of this, it gets very loud.

They were sold out of the pork chops so we opted for their popular spare ribs and the sea bass. They both were grilled and tasted good. The entrees were pretty big portions so they were filling. We both couldn't finish our dishes. The spare ribs comes with of your choosing, either beans or french fries. The french fries were perfect, crispy and not oily. The sea bass was a whole medium-sized fish with bones in and lightly breaded. It came with boiled potatoes and salad. Salad was large pieces of romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, tomato slices, sliced onion. They served the salad with bottles of extra virgin olive oil and white vinegar to use as a salad dressing.

We ended the meal with creme brulee. It was more liquidy compared to the typical creme brulee found in the U.S. The top center was way too charred and it wasn't as caramelized as it should be, otherwise, the flavor was decent.

We also had a glass of their green white house wines, which was okay. My partner enjoyed it.

They have free Wi-Fi and it was convenient that they framed the password on the wall. There are also little black chair hooks on the wall for you to hang your jackets and purses. The small bathroom is for both men and women and has toilets for both genders. For the life of me I could not figure out how to lock the bathroom door, but maybe you'll have better luck.

And heads up, as part of the Portugal culture, be prepared to spend about 2 hours for your...

Great authentic local food for affordable prices, that's what I like in any capital city! Because this place is so popular and has extremely limited floor space, be prepared to wait a little for a table. We were told to wait 5 minutes which turned out to be more like 15, but then we finally got in!

We were seated on tiny stools at a tiny table in a tiny corner of the restaurant which was also a delivery window for all the food, so there was a lot of involuntary body contact with the staff. I even got a pat on the back and shoulder a few times! How friendly!

What I didn't like was the excessive noise, be it shouting or plates crashing against one another just a few centimeters from my ear. I don't mind crowded or lively places but this was a bit uncomfortable.

The food was great, simple but strong flavors, pork steaks juicy yet crispy and sea bass likewise, they definitely know how to use the grill here! Oh and the grill is in plain sight so you can see the food being prepared and it also warmed my back the whole time. Fortunately not too much!

Would go again and probably recommend to make a reservation at least half an hour in advance,...

We were there for the last day of our Portugal vacation and it was a great memory to take back home: more than a great meal but an awesome experience. The whole place is really small- just a few tables. We were lucky to get the table next to the kitchen and the grill. You can see your food being prepared, feel and see everyone's involvement in the business: the lady in the kitchen, the guy at the grill - they help serve the food, clean the tables, whatever is needed to seat and serve the next waiting costumers - and be sure there will be a waiting line outside. I had the cod fish with greens and boiled potato and my husband ordered the squid-like fish: the portions are absolutely huge. The food was very tasty, flaky and moist, the greens were drizzled with an aromatic oil. The squid-like fish- drizzle it with olive oil before eating- they showed us how to eat it- ; makes all the differece. Also try the ribs if you get the chance - amazing! Congratulations guys and many thanks for this experience!...