A Lanterna - Cataplana & Arroz de Marisco — Restaurant in Nazaré

I had a solid first impression of the place. It was a rather cozy, family-owned restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere. The waiter/owner was a little off-putting. It all started when he handed us wine. We didn’t get an opportunity to taste it, it was supposed to be his “home-brew” and it tasted appalling, like sour vinegar. Before drinking any more, we asked for something else because it was undrinkable. We got a sense that the owner got slightly offended by the remark, saying how it’s home brew, that he made it etc etc. We sensed a slight frustration as if he took the comment personally and couldn’t accept that the wine he served us was very bad. Immediately after then, the atmosphere became tense. He comes with something else, pours us a cup while spilling wine on the sides. This one is passable. The worse is yet to come when the main dishes come out. We’re a family so we ordered two specials, shareable for four. At a first glance, the food seems okay but there was an odor coming from the dishes. We had ordered monkfish with rice and shrimps. My mother bites in one of the shrimps and they’re sour, and taste rotten. My sister does the same thing and spits the shrimp right out. Naturally, we were anxious of getting food poisoning. After the experience with the wine, we were hesitant in telling him about it because of how defensive he got. I respectfully go up to tell him by the side, telling him the shrimps are sour and asking him if he can try them out for himself to see in the nicest way possible. He again gets agitated and frustrated, insisting his shrimps are fresh, he goes as far as getting raw and cooked shrimp from his kitchen to show how they’re fresh and insists I try them. My mother tells him they’re sour and worried that she’ll get sick. He’s in denial about it and tries the bad shrimp and again denies saying they’re perfect. We take out several shrimps from our plate for him to try, he tries all of them so grotesquely, putting them in his mouth without savoring them, manifesting dramatically how they’re perfect and that there’s nothing wrong them. At this point, we see that we can’t reason for him, his ego is way too much in the way for any talking. We were okay with just paying and leaving our plates full but he started getting disrespectful, calling us names, raising his voice at us. He was causing a scene, everyone was looking at us. All this time, we remain calm and express genuine concern. Even his staff look confused, as if they’ve dealt with his temper before. My mom and sister walk out. He stops me and my dad, exclaiming we pay or else he’ll call the police. We tell him we’ll pay for the wine and appetizer but can’t pay for the food because it’s not good and could get us sick. He starts calling us a “GARBAGE MAN, GARBAGE FAMILY” and so many other insults. At one point one of the waiters tells us to go. We walk out and he’s pushing out to the street, continuing to swear at us. I saw he was trying to throw something at us, him and his waiter. A complete and ego filled man, unable to accept that his customers have issues with the food, we didn’t even touch our plates! We felt scared, as if he would follow us. STAY CLEAR FROM...

This place is probably one of the hidden gems in Nazaré. The wife owns the restaurant, and the husband is her waiter - literally, and perhaps also in their relationship, haha. In any case, we received a very personal service from Mr. Antonio in the best possible way, and he even shared a bit of history about himself and his family. There are photos on the walls of him from 50 years ago, and of royalty who have visited the family’s spirit.

Now, to the food: it was flawless and incredibly tasty - some if it was served in copper. We were full and had to give up - unfortunately, that meant skipping dessert, even though they bake fresh cakes daily, which are displayed and decorated in the kitchen.

The lighting and acoustics are lovely. It seemed like only locals were dining the evening we visited, but don’t worry - Mr. Antonio loves speaking English and providing top-notch service. We were shocked by how well he spoke English, especially considering that even some younger locals in Portugal don’t understand a word of it.

Thank you for this time, Antonio, and best of luck with...

Great seafood restaurant. We enjoyed everything: excellent food, the atmosphere and the attitude of the staff. This is the first time we’ve tried cataplanas and the dish is delicious. We highly recommend it: you’ll be happy and full and the taste is exquisite. We’d like to say special thanks to the chef Ludmila. She helped us choose dishes and cooked fantastic seafood that we’ll remember for a long time. The restaurant is not a tourist hot spot and you feel like you came for a dinner to your friends’ or relatives’ place. The owner greeted us, chatted with us and made sure we’ll leave happy. We were celebrating an anniversary and due to the cordial atmosphere of the place we couldn’t have chosen a better option. Thank you very much, Antonio, Ludmila and all the attentive staff members that took care of us during...