DOP — Restaurant in Porto

Dop: A 10-Course Tasting Menu of Suffering

If you’ve ever wanted to drop a ridiculous amount of money to experience the culinary equivalent of a practical joke, Dop is the place for you. This isn’t just a meal—it’s a psychological test to see how long you can pretend to enjoy food before you break.

Ah, Dop. A restaurant so stunningly bad, I can only assume it exists as some sort of elaborate psychological experiment to see how long diners can pretend to enjoy themselves before breaking down. If that was the goal—congratulations! You broke us.

Let’s start with the food. Or rather, the art installation posing as food. Out of 30 dishes, we managed to eat exactly three. The other 27 were so unpalatable that they might as well have been placed on our plates as a cruel joke. There was a dish that looked like it had been scraped off the bottom of a boat. Another that smelled like it had been prepared inside a running sneaker. And the fish? I’m convinced it died of natural causes sometime in the ’90s.

The first course arrived, and I thought, Oh, this is the amuse-bouche! No, that was the course. A lonely, flavorless smear of something that looked suspiciously like it had been licked off the plate of a previous diner. The second course? More disappointment, beautifully plated.

Then came the fish. Or at least, I think it was fish. It had the texture of an old sponge and the aftertaste of regret. If this fish had hopes and dreams in its previous life, they had been brutally crushed, much like my appetite. And the meat? Imagine taking a cheap leather wallet, marinating it in saltwater, then setting it on fire just enough to give it a smoky essence of despair. That’s what they served. I chewed for so long I started rethinking all my life choices.

And let’s talk value—because for what I paid here, I could’ve walked into McDonald’s, ordered a full meal, supersized it, bought food for the entire restaurant, and still had enough left over for a McFlurry. And guess what? I would have actually left full and happy.

Now, most restaurants would see nearly untouched plates being sent back and think, Huh, maybe something’s wrong. Not Dop. They saw it as a challenge. They graciously (and by “graciously,” I mean with all the enthusiasm of a hostage negotiator) agreed to reduce our bill because, well, we quite literally did not eat the food. A reasonable move, right? WRONG. Because imagine our shock when we later got a email from Dop that they went ahead and charged us the full amount anyway. That’s right—they hit us with the ol’ “Sure, we’ll adjust the bill!” followed by “LOL, just kidding.” I have to respect the confidence. That takes guts. Too bad they used all their courage on credit card fraud instead of fixing their food.

But wait—there’s more! Not only did they steal our money, but they also decided to police our conversations. When we casually started discussing the meal with our own friends at another table, Dop staff told us we weren’t allowed to talk to other customers. That’s right—apparently, reviewing the meal in real time is a violation of Dop’s very fragile ecosystem. The best part? A completely separate table of five people approached us to ask if we were also experiencing the same horror show. We didn’t seek them out. They found us. That’s how bad it was.

The only thing I can compliment is the water—it was cold and refreshing, a nice contrast to the burning rage I felt when the check arrived. If you enjoy overpriced suffering disguised as “fine dining,” by all means, book a table. Otherwise, save yourself the pain and just set your money on fire at home—it’ll be a more enjoyable experience.

Now, if you’re wondering how this place has any good reviews at all, let me clear that up for you. Those reviews either (A) were bought, (B) were written by people who think price and presentation matter more than taste, or (C) were posted by diners who suffered so much they had to convince themselves it was good just to emotionally recover

If you want some better food at the same pricepoint,...

In summary falls short of what is promised, OK but overpriced. I will explain.

The staff are very welcoming and attentive, from start to finish.

The decor and atmosphere on the ground floor looked very nice, unfortunately we were placed on the first floor which is nothing special, and where the air conditioning was blowing too hard (despite it having been reduced to a minimum on asking the staff).

Now to the food:

The amuse bouche served in the reception area was delicious. A little Thai inspired shrimp seasoned and wrapped in a leaf, accompanied by a small coup of white rum with lime juice and jalapino oil. As described just to awaken the taste buds...

We selected the 6 dish option, with me taking the wine pairing in addition. Whilst waiting for the first dish we had a glass of sparkling wine, which was quite nice, slightly yeast nose, light and crisp on the palate.

The first dish was a trio of (with the ordering in which to eat given by the waiter): small cones of cod, very nice; trompe l'œil oyster shell which was edible and to be spread with the ball of oyster infused butter served as a small ball in the center of the "shell", this was greasy, the shell lacking flavour, so not a success; and finally spinach and wild garlic puree with a fried thin potatoe disk on top, the flavour of the puree was good, but the disk moistened by the puree was difficult to cut through so I folded it up to eat it, it added nothing other than frustration to an otherwise lovely dish.

While waiting for the next disk we were served a sesame cracker (nicely spiced) with an artichoke puree, with olive oil and sourdough bread. All of this was delicious, the olive oil exceptional.

The second dish was their "standout dish" (guide Michelin terme) of squid carbonara, squid tagliatelle, quail egg yolk, and smoked squid cubes. Indeed this dish stood out from the others, refined flavours, great textures.

The third dish, langoustine with yellow Thai curry sauce and kafir oil drops, cauliflower toasted disk and cauliflour puree, this was lovely. Bright distinct flavours, just the cauliflour puree that in comparison was bland and added nothing other than volume to the dish.

The fourth dish of cod and a vegetable spaghetti topped with shell fish and served with a spinach sauce was a dish of contrasts, the vegetable spaghetti was superbly seasoned, so much so that the cod in comparison whilst perfectly cooked was bland. A shame.

The the fifth dish of quail, nicely cooked with a delicious sauce and lemon flavoured rice shaped pasta, was spoilt by serving it with fried cake which completely overpowered the other delicate and sumptuous flavours.

The sixth course desert of chocolate with a vanilla and black garlic ice cream was excellent. And the wine pairing, of a sweet desert wine excellent. Thus in contrast to the wine pairings of the other dishes, not that they did not complement well, but that there was so little flavour in the other wines that frankly I would have been better off with water (I do not recommend taking the wine pairing offer because of this and the very small servings with each dish).

And after that we were served a pair of sweets (chocolate truffle and an almond...

This is my fourth time coming to this restaurant, and it will also be my last. The restaurant aims to get a Michelin star, and they’ve changed the menu to a tasting menu. Having been to Michelin-starred restaurants, I can regretfully tell you that at your current level, it’s impossible for you to earn a Michelin star!

1/ The biggest issue is the service attitude. The server attending to our table made me feel more like I was being addressed by a school principal than a server. When we made the reservation over the phone, we had clearly specified which table we wanted and received confirmation. However, upon arrival, we were not given the table we requested, and there was no apology. Instead, the server casually pointed to two undesirable tables and said, "These are the only two available; choose one."

2/ Our table was made up of two single-person tables pushed together. When the bread was served, the server placed it on one side of the table. My husband asked for an additional portion of bread for the other side, and she astonishingly replied, "No, we only provide one portion of bread. You can get more once you’ve finished! Just put the bread in the middle!" Such a response and service are truly infuriating! In the first picture, you can see the bread. We’re paying 85 euros per person, 100euro for the wine, and they make us wait until we finish the bread before they’ll bring more! How do they expect to earn a Michelin star with service like this?!

3/ Billing trap! In Porto, tipping is not mandatory, and many restaurants don’t even show a tip line on the bill. If service charges are suggested, they’re listed separately, as an option, even at Michelin-starred restaurants. However, this restaurant sneakily included the tip as part of the itemized bill and calculated it as 10%! This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a thing in Porto! It’s completely taking advantage of tourists!With such a level of service, I don’t think I want to pay the tip. We informed them of our decision not to pay, and they agreed.

Michelin inspectors don't just focus on the food itself; service, atmosphere, and attention to detail are also very important. It’s clear that this restaurant still has a lot of room for improvement in...