Abadia do Porto — Restaurant in Porto

The food was tasty (unless there was the situation I’ll describe in details below I would put 4 stars). The place was ok (unless there was the situation I’ll describe in details below I would put 3,5 stars), BUT the service (due to the waiter named Ricardo) was worse than terrible…he was extremely rude, extremely annoying and extremely offending to a point than all people of our group wanted to leave immediately but eventually we stayed because the kids were hungry and it was late to find another restaurant. I will explain below exactly how this “professional” has treated the (paying guests) of this establishment.

1. Right after we were seated at the table he came, he introduced himself, he explained the menu and made an offending remark about the jersey one of the kids was wearing (Paris Saint-Germain FC), specifically “this is a joke as a team” and “Porto is a better team”. We really thought that he was joking and replied (the adults) politely that indeed PSG is a new team compared to Porto, but there are other teams that are as old as Porto and may be better.

2. When he brought the salads and the starters, he continued to say things about Porto and how Ronaldo is the best player in the world. At this point we should have understood that this person has issues and we should have stop him to further discuss such issues or better to have requested the manager, but we though that he was trying to create some conversation and continue the joke. So I replied to him politely that yes Ronaldo is one of the best by to my opinion Messi has more talent as a player and also that despite the fact that Porto is a big team recently they lost at home from Olympiacos a Greek team which I support.

3. Since then, every time he was coming to the table (either for the drinks, or the food, or to check on us) he was talking disrespectfully especially to me personally with expressions like “I will not serve you the wine”, “I will not give you the main course”, “look this plain knife is Olympiacos and this special knife is Porto” and other offending talking. I did not reply to any of his offenses nor I called the manager even though I (and the rest of the group) were really annoyed by his behaviour. I guessed that he took that as sign of weakness and continued this offending talk the rest of the night…..

4. As for the rest of the service, he delayed to give to the kids (that were wearing the PSG jersey) their main courses on purpose pretending he was still preparing them. He did not took out most of the bones out of the grilled dorades we ordered, as he should have done. When my wife asked him where is the toilet, he ironically answered they don’t have toilet…….they have restrooms and when I asked him to bring the check, he ironically said “check? What is this?? you mean the bill?”

5. The worst thing he did though, was that, addressing to the mother of one of the children, he mocked it about his height (that he was too short for his age). That was the time that he crossed a line that no employee in the hospitality sector should have ever dare to cross.

After that, we decided to pay the bill and leave asap (we even left a tip for him also…..for his “good” service…) I regret not calling for the restaurant manager the minute I realised that this person is problematic, rude, offending and annoying for the customers. This is not our first time in Portugal and certainly not the last, but up to now we only found gentle and welcoming people. I guess this guy is the exception, but his behaviour was so bad that I had to write this review. It is really a pity for this restaurant to keep employees such this guy because it’s bad for business and a negative advertisement for this...

October 30, 2018 Update: We're back in Porto and of course we had to go back to Abadia, one of our favorite restaurants in Porto. This time we ordered roast veal and roast pork loin. Each dish came with potatoes, cabbage and rice. The food was delicious, portions are generous and the service was as excellent as before.

It is one of those restaurants that you can count on consistency both on food wishing and service. Every wine and water glass is polished by hand after they're washed through the dishwasher.

Original Review- Nov/Dec 2017: We went to Abadia at 2:30 pm on a Thursday. The restaurant, which can seat 280 people was not very busy and we were seated right away. Our server, who spoke English took our order when we're ready and the meals were served in reasonable time. We were told that they serve upward of 1,200 guests on a Saturday between lunch and dinner. So, you can imagine how busy this place can get. The restaurant is on two levels and it is handicap accessible on the first floor.

The food quality and presentation was excellent. The service was friendly and prompt. We had pork chop and roast goat kid and they were both delicious. Each entree came with vegetable and potatoes.

Unlike most European restaurants where tables are so small that there is barely enough room for two plates, a bread basket, and wine and water glasses, Abadia's tables are not only large, there is a smaller table to the side of each table, where they place the bottles of water and wine, etc..

Prices are reasonable for the quality of food comparing to other Porto...

Should be somewhere between 2/3 stars for the food, but I’ll bump it to 3 ONLY because of the service.

We ordered the traditional sausage platter as an appetizer and it was phenomenal. The selections were smoky and delicious, however it is a LOT of meat for just 2 people. Perhaps they can offer a 1/2 size portion for 2, as the full serving can easily feed 4.

The main course lost us completely. We ordered the fried cod noodles dish as well as the monkfish rice, and in both dishes the fish was VERY OVERCOOKED. It was a disappointment seeing this from such a well regarded traditional restaurant. We were pressed for time so we didn’t have it redone, but we were not confident in how it would’ve come out again considering how overdone it was to begin with. Also, entree portion sizes are HUGE, you only need 1 dish to easily finish between 2 people!

The desserts we ordered were good, nothing to rave about but nothing to complain about either.

The service is where they shine, however. The waiters were attentive, kind, and very thorough. They didn’t linger at the table in a creepy way, but they were definitely present in case we needed something. Assuming they can fix their main courses and figure out portions for their apps, this place is a complete winner. Not the best meal you can get for ~$60 between 2 people, but definitely...