Meia-Nau Matosinhos — Restaurant in Matosinhos

This restaurant is located in the street of Matosinhos that is packed with restaurants selling grilled fish. Guess what is the main item in the menu... Grilled fish.

What differentiates this restaurant from the ones next door is the gastro-chic atmosphere and the slight gastronomic touch that they give to their dishes. We got petingas (small sardines fried) as starters which were nice and crispy, not oily. For mains, we got a grilled linguado (lemon sole). It was fresh and well cooked. The waiter shows you the fish before cooking it. When they bring it cooked at the table, they remove skin and bones for you. I don't mind at all doing it myself, but it's a nice touch. We also had the grilled lulas (squid). They were tasty, slightly chared, but in a good way. The way that brings caramelisation, a slight woody flavors, but not a burnt taste. It balanced very well with the onions and peppers salsa it came with. For the sides, we got legumes salteados (salted veggies). It was mostly cabbages with a bit of carottes. The cabagge was less cooked than what you usually find in Portugal, still crunchy but full of buttery and garlic flavors. It was very nice. At the opposite side of the spectrum, the fries were very similar to what you usually get in Portugal: soft... Overall it was a very nice meal. With a glass of white wine (Mural, quite nice) and a bottle of water, we paid 40€. It might be slightly more expensive than some of the other restaurants in the same street, but if you are looking for fresh quality grilled fish in a more modern and gastro setting, it's a...

Wednesday 17 May 21:24. 6 ⭐ service, Simply lovely 😍. Service exceeded expectations. Food exceeded expectations. Ambience is quaint. Wine opened just to taste.. delicioso. The Portuguese welcome that has been sorely missed in the tourist areas. The table moved to accommodate where I was happy and wanted to sit. The food was as if we were welcomed into their home and their Grandmother/Avó cooked. The whole fish ordered was shown fresh and once cooked how to debone, and every need was taken care of. Extra items of food ready if the taste was not to our liking. Truly one of the greatest hospitality experiences. The passion of the service that we received truly showed that they believe and love what they are doing, serving great seafood. (Which I loved) Outstanding recommendation from the hotel in old town Porto, like I said 6 ⭐ service is simply lovely. Must visit! I'm a tourist far from home and felt like I was home. Thank you.

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AVOID AVOID AVOID. There are lots of places to eat fish in Matosinhos. I strongly suggest trying somewhere other than here. The food was ok (nothing special) but it was the attempt to rip us off that gets them the 1 star. Having asked for the cheapest grilled fish at 40 euros per kg, the waiter said he had a special, ‘better’ fish that day and he could do it for the same price. So we went with that. He then came back, apologized and said, sorry, it would be an extra 12 euros per kg more. We weren’t particularly happy but said ok as we were in a bit of a rush. When the bill arrived, the fish was priced at 65 euros per kg. More expensive than any other fish on their menu. And clearly just a con. Anyway, we spotted it and told them they’d made a mistake. Their reply was that their English “isn’t very good” and that was the price and we had to pay it. So don’t go there and don’t let them try their...