The River — Restaurant in Peso da Régua

Had lunch in this restaurant . There are so many great things about this restaurant. First: for a foreigner/tourist, it is very hard to reserve via a call due to the language barrier. I reserved our table using Google Maps (my first time and had no problem). Second, the place was amazing - high ceilings, nice decor, big but had a cozy vibe. 3rd- service was great - all servers were attentive and helpful. We had a packed house but servers always checked in on us. 4th - the food! We have learned that the servings of most restaurants are large so my husband and I share 1 main dish. We do make sure that we have appetizers and dessert. We had bread with Olive Oil to start - Olive Oil was very smooth. Then we had Sautéed Shrimps - they were large, firm and succulent. It was cooked just right not tough at all. For mains we had Lamb Chops. It was served with 2 sidings- we chose mushrooms and pork sausage ( It was puréed). Again the lamb was cooked perfectly it was yummy! It was soft and did not have a gamey taste at all. It was served with a sauce which added a different dimension to the dish. We ended the meal with the Régua Sweet with Caramel Sauce - it was cream in a crunchy pastry with caramel sauce on top. Perfect way to end the meal - not heavy and not to sweet. Enjoyed our meal very much! One last thing to note - we had a family with a toddler beside us - so it is child friendly. The bathroom - which was very modern also had a large changing table. So check it out and if you cannot call - reserve using...

My wife and I spent 12 days touring Portugal and experiencing amazing wines and local foods, that all changed once we arrived at to The River Restaurante on Saturday, June 01st, 2024. After a 10 minute wait, we were finally given the food menu.No one asked if we wanted a cocktail or if we wanted to see a wine list. When I inquired about local cocktails or aperitifs, I was told "we only have gin and tonic". We ordered olives and received black pitted olives from a can, no olive oil, no lemon zest, no flavor what so ever. My medium pink steak was as rubbery as the outsole of my running shoes and my wife's Seafood dish was an insult to Portuguese cuisine. When making the online reservation, I had mentioned in the "special occasion box" that it was my wife's birthday. Needless to say, it was a waste of my time. Obviously, we never bothered to order dessert, and abandoned the idea of trying a few of the local portos. It was Saturday, at 8:30 pm and the place was very quiet, that should have been my first cue to turn around and leave, so our mistake for staying. On a brighter side, the servers seemed perfectly happy as they spent most of their time laughing together and checking their phones. It takes special skills and commitment to equally under deliver on food, service, and ambiance but The River Restaurante makes...

The dishes were impeccable. Kudos to the chef. The sea bass was cooked to perfection as was the sirloin accompanied by the mushroom truffle risotto. No one flavor overpowered the main attraction of the fish or sirloin, which so often does with sauces or strong ingredients.

The service by Maria and Diogo was not only helpful, but highly personable and professional. The wine recommendations and presentations were excellent. The interior is open and airy with its second level mezzanine and big glass walls of windows. The tables are spaced nicely to contain conversations and are well proportioned for sharing dishes without crowding all the real estate and needing to constantly make room. We love to order multiple appetizers to try and the last thing I want to do is shuffle useless decor around the table to make room. These tables were at least 36x36 inch square with a small side table for accoutrements. This may seem frivolous to some but it makes the dining experience very pleasant.

I was surprised this restaurant didn’t come up more frequently in my searches for dining. It seemed many of the blogs and articles written seem to focus on the same handful of establishments. The River is a...