Valentina's Porto — Restaurant in Porto

What a disappointment. We went here with very high expectations considering the hype around this place. First of all, it does not feel like a real restaurant, you have the sensation you're actually sitting in the waiting room of an hotel, a nice one, of course, since furniture and lights are nicely designed, but without anything that might relate the place to food... Then, the food. It is a very expensive place, we ended up paying 80 euro for 1 antipasti, 1 pizza, 1 main, 1 bottle of wine. It might not sound that much for people not used to Porto, but for Porto, in order to charge 40 euro each for a meal, you definitely need to propose something special since it is plenty, everywhere, of fantastic local eateries where you can get amazing food for less than or around 20 euro. We had an entree of Sicilian olives (ok), truffle butter (not edible) and a small piece of focaccia which tasted horribly. Then we had a plate of fried calamari which turned out to be the best plate of the night (12 euro....) and then, the mains...A seabass with "point neuf potatoes" (which is basically french fries but it sounds nicer to put it in the menu this way) which was dry, tasteless, and costed 21 euro. A pizza margherita served on an aluminium plate, burned, with poor ingredients...also...I had the impression it was actually being prepared out of a pre-baked base, something you can't really check since all the food is coming...you don't know from where, it just appears on your table, pizza included. Last but not least: 20 euro for a bottle of wine that would cost around 4 euro in a supermarket. And, very disturbingly, 3 euro for tap water, something that I really can't accept. I will...

My boyfriend and I recently dined at Valentina's, and while the restaurant's interior design and ambiance were stunning, our overall experience left us a bit disappointed. We were drawn to Valentina's by its gorgeous interior design and ambiance. However, as we experienced firsthand, appearances can be deceiving.

I ordered the Spagnola Pizza, and unfortunately, the ham on it was incredibly dry, almost reminiscent of a frozen pizza. It was a letdown considering the lovely atmosphere. My boyfriend opted for the Pesto Pizza, but it was drenched in olive oil, which affected the overall taste and texture. Additionally, our drinks were heavily filled with ice, causing both the coke and the ice tea to taste diluted, to the point that the coke lacked the usual carbonation.

I must also mention that the knives they provided were utterly inadequate. It became quite a struggle to cut through the pizzas, and within just a few minutes, our hands were already sore. It was a disappointing aspect of our dining experience that added to our overall dissatisfaction.

What's more, our bill came to 45€, and that was without any alcoholic drinks. This price was quite steep for the experience we had, especially considering we are in Porto.

While we appreciated the friendliness of the staff and the gorgeous interior, the subpar food, long waiting times, inadequate knives, and relatively high prices make it unlikely that we'll return to...

Good restaurant with traditional Italian dishes that are taken to a bit higher level. The experience was not bad, but I think it's more about appearance than content. Judging from the people on some of the other tables, this is exactly what certain guests come for. They needed to be seen. But it's not what we came for. The quality of the food is okay, but it's just over the top. Especially since prices suggest more than what is actually delivered. The timing was also off. The couverts were taken away (which I didn't even realise at first) after a few minutes for the eggplant starter. This was delicious, btw. I hadn't even finished that when one main dish arrived. The other took 5 minutes more. Both main dishes were heavily oversalted. The risotto was perfect, but the carbonara was not. All in all a decent meal, but disappointing for its price. Staff were great, although they missed several things. Being nice and funny and flirty is good, but it's not first priority. No, I don't think I'll ever be back here. And I don't...