Cafeé Nelma — Restaurant in Porto

I felt like we were invisible to the restaurant. We went in and waited at the door for 10mins. No one makes an eye contact with us. So, we didn't know what we were supposed to do. I asked a staff behind the bar "English?" And he pointed at a very busy looking server. We tried to get his attention. 5 mins after, I managed to ask him if there was a table available for 2 people. (There was 1 empty table) he said "in about 10 mins," so we waited inside and just outside of the glass door. In the next 40 min, we saw several pairs and solos going into the restaurant. We didn't know if they were there for take out or eat in or have reservations. Finally, we were seated after 2 pairs who came in later than us were seated. Right after we were seated a pair and a trio were seated. They all ordered before the server left. All 4 tables got drinks. And one table who sat just before us was seated got their food. 5mins after, someone came to take our order. He apologized sincerely. But the feeling of being ignored remained.

Someone who was sitting beside us shared their fries with us as we had been waiting for our food for a long time.

About 25 mins after we ordered, We got the food. The food was good. They forgot to bring us napkins and it wasn't nice to eat franceginha without napkins.

We believe that we just caught them on a bad day judging from how everyone's reviews. It was a Catholic holiday and many restaurants were not open, so they had more customers than usual. But I don't think they don't deserve 5stars from us. We felt rude, but it was our first time not to leave tips in Portugal.

My suggestion to the restaurant is to let customers know it will be a "long" wait if they know that it was over their capacity.

The food was good. The steak inside was very nicely done and my partner liked the combination of 2 sausages they used and the bread. The picante sauce was good. But, I would have liked it more if it was a bit more vinegary. In Portugal, it looks like they like soft fries. This place had crispy fries and soft inside and...

Nun ich möchte den oft erwähnten älteren Mann mit Glatze hier ausdrücklich in Schutz nehmen. Vielleicht weil ich in sein Sympathie Portfolio passe?! Oder er an dem Abend einfach gut gelaunt war?! Nun ja... Ich habe dieses Restaurant besucht weil ich einfach dort vorbei kam. Also bin ich nicht vorbelastet oder befangen. Ich hatte den Teller mit viel Grillfleisch, Würstchen und Pommes. Überbacken mit viel Käse. Ich habe den Kellner gebeten es nicht so scharf zu machen. Er hat zwar die Nase gezogen, schlussendlich aber doch die sanfte Variante mit einem Kännchen extra scharfen Soße gebracht. Es war lecker bis himmlisch gut. Nur ein wenig zu viel für mich. So ist mein Fazit ich bin begeistert und ich komme gerne wieder. Ferner erteile ich dem Restaurant dem Koch und der Bedienung eine absolute Empfehlung. Vielen Dank. Update vom 28.03.2025: Dieses mal hatte ich ein Francesinha mit Pommes. Die Portion war wieder viel zu groß für mich. Aber der Geschmack der Francesinha war entgegen aller Jubel eher verhalten. Naja es ist einfach zwei Toast's mit Schinken belegt und dazwischen einfach ein gegrilltes Steak. Dann mit Schmelzkäse ertränkt. Als Toping kommt ein Ei aufgeschlagen drauf. Die Flanken dann mit dieser Bier-Tomaten Soße gefüllt. Seih es drum, wenn manche das als eine kulinarische Errungenschaft betrachten! Das Steak war einfach faserig und gar nicht durch. Ich habe jeden Bissen mit dem Messer mir absegen müssen. Und ohne lange kauen ging das Stück nicht herunter. Alles andere ist einfach nur "ich bastel mal was zusammen, mal schauen was ich finde" hier war nichts von Gewürzen, raffiniertem kombinieren, oder ein besonderes Rohmaterial zu finden. Die Pommes sind einfach TK. Gut seih es drum. Aber der Wein war erste Klasse. Und der Ältere Glatzkopf sehr freundlich und nett. Trotzdem sage ich eine absolute Empfehlung aus. Es kann auch sein dass der Koch heute eine...

An unassuming and fun spot for a reasonably priced meal. I enjoyed my first (and likely last) francesinha here. As it was my first, I cannot fairly evaluate the quality of the dish, but by all other accounts it seems to be well-made (and rather large - we split just one between the two of us). However, I can say with good authority that the fries were delicious. I can also say that the service and atmosphere were nice and fun. Though the local customers seemed rather disappointed by Portugals losing performance at the Euros which was...