O Pote Velho — Restaurant in Porto

We arrived late for lunch and were greeted by the owner, who was very friendly and instilled a sense of trust.

He seated us and promptly placed Chorizo Bread and olives on the table—items typically complimentary.

He then asked what we would like for starters, offering cheese, ham, or both. We ordered a mix of the two and received four small squares of cheese and a few slices of ham on a small 15cm diameter board, totaling less than 100g of cheese and 100g of ham.

He proceeded to ask what we would like for our main course without ever showing us a menu, suggesting cod, beef, or octopus. Again, no menu was provided.

We ordered beef and octopus, and truthfully, the food was very good and the portions were satisfactory.

After finishing, we asked for the leftovers to be packed, along with a roasted apple and a coffee.

We were surprised when it came time to pay in a secluded street on the outskirts of Porto, far from the center.

The bill was €81.15, including charges for every item he placed on the table that we had not ordered. The "starters," the damned starters of bread and olives, were billed.

The octopus was a half portion but priced at least twice as high as in the more expensive places, the same for the beef.

The cheese and ham starter alone cost nearly as much as a good meat dish at any other reputable restaurant in Porto.

It was dishonest and malicious, taking advantage of our emergency and our status as tourists.

In summary, it’s a tourist trap with good quality. But good quality can be found in many other places in Porto.

I suggest visiting Buraco, Taberna do doutor, or...

I'm posting one star for everything because I can't use zero. We were recommended this place by our hotel, traditional food, sounded great. When we arrived we were shown to a table. The waiter from the offset ignored my wife and talked pretty much only to me. We thought, okay maybe that's the worst of it. It went downhill fast after that. I ordered the pork and vegetables, my wife ordered the baked cod. My pork arrived along with octopus for my wife, which she definitely didn't order. The waiter then inferred that was definitely what she ordered, but she definitely didn't. I then started my pork and thought someone had switched the meat for a rubber crash Matt. It was overcooked and probably reheated from god knows when. When my wife's baked cod arrived it was overcooked and about as palatable as eating the plate. The waiter obviously has a problem with females, as he ignored my wife and was surprisingly condescending when my wife paid the bill. We have really enjoyed the warm hospitality of the people of Porto, but I'd give this place a wide berth unless you enjoy being patronised and...

We were well received, ate good food and wanted to come back for desserts. We had no time so we went to pay. We asked the owner to split evenly by us (5). He divided 70,50 by 5, resulting in 14,50. I only realized the mistake when it was my turn (4th to pay). When I said that i would pay only 14 to make up for the mistake he started "jokingly" complaining that I was stealing his tip. So not only it was on purpose, he then started to say that he had many years of this, that I wasn't smarter than him etc etc.

To be clear: in Portugal, it's the clients that decide the tip and the tip is awarded for good service. Not the staff, and certainly not when you get this kind of "smart...