Cêpa Torta — Restaurant in Porto

We were walking along the oceanfront promenade and decided to stop here for lunch to try the octopus. The dish itself was tasty and big, but for our taste it had way too much oil — everything was literally swimming in olive oil. We each ordered one portion and could barely finish, and ended up skipping dinner that day (maybe that’s a plus, we saved some money 😅).

When we came in, a waitress walked past us without saying anything. At the bar we asked if we could eat there, and she shouted the question to her colleague. We spoke in English and while the second waitress spoke quite well, the whole interaction felt a bit uncomfortable. There was some tension, probably due to the language barrier, and we didn’t really feel a warm welcome.

That said, the place itself is small but charming, with a nice authentic vibe. Inside it’s quite pretty and the ceiling windows looked great. Overall, an interesting experience...

If you’re the type of person who enjoys crowded places and loud noises behind you, kling-klinging and drinking, that’s the place for you. Or maybe you like the warm and friendly service. You’ll be treated like a regular here.

Now let’s get to the food. Ideally I don’t want my steaks to be sweet, the sauce in cepa torta and the mushroom are sweet. So be careful. But the meat itself is cooked very nicely, and the portion is large. I’d argue to avoid serving these kind of potatoes with steak. At the top of my head, oven baked potatoes are a much better choice. The legumes are a very nice acompanhamento. The red wine of the house is also very nice, sweet-ish, ruby-colored, smooth and low on tannins.

Overall, I’d say the...

I'm giving it three stars instead of 5 because I walked in 5 mins before another man and the other man got quicker and better service. Was treated more attentively than me and we where sitting right next to each other. I am an Asian man and the other man was white. The waittress that brought me my utensils and later my food also refused to make eye contact with me or give me the same courtesy as others around me. I won't go as far as to say they are racist but it definitely didn't make me feel welcome. Aside from that the food was great and I also had a good glass of wine in a nice small...