Zé Bota — Restaurant in Porto

First impression... this place packed with French people. There are 8 tables and 6 were French.

Note before coming... make reservation in advance before coming... unless you show up at the exact moment that they open... 7:45pm... or they won’t have room for you.

I went for the roast beef. Which was truly amazing. The roast beef was cut perfectly to be full of flavor and the sauce it was in, was truly heavenly. The side items (chips, salad and vegetables were okay... average at best).

I also got the soup 🍲, which was fantastic. I also got the bread 🥖 and butter. The bread was the exact type of french baguette which I love... and the butter was real creamy, salted butter. Not the cheap stuff.

The price point for a foreigner is fantastic for the quality you’re getting. Soup, bread, butter, roast beef and bottle of Coca Cola came out to €21.20. For such a highly rated restaurant... that’s great value vs quality. €21.20 is considered extremely high for the average local Portuguese (which make €600 a month).

Came back for lunch the next day and got the the veal steak in mustard sauce. All of their steak and beef options are veal (young calf). It was perfection. Good cut of beef, cooked to perfection... to be juicy, but not undercooked and the sauce complemented the flavor without overpowering it. The portion size is massive for me. 3...

Save your time and money, aviod! We went there via the recommendation of the place we are staying. The first impression was OK when we got there. Service staff seemed busy but was OK. The wine was fine, and so we're the starters. The 2 stars are for those starters. We didn't ask for bread, but they left some at the table, which we assumed were complimentary but not, euro 3.5. We ordered Sea Rice for main. It is a local thing, and you see it on restaurants' menu all over town. This is a traditional restaurant, so we thought to give it a go. The waiter delivered it as soon as we finished starters. I was surprised but thought its fine since they had prepared it earlier. Opened it, I can see the prawns were cooked from frozen ones, not fresh. They didn't bother to remove the intestine either. The portion was too big, easily to feed 4 rather than 2. It didn't taste fantastic or bad. Just blend. But it's GRITTY. When I told the service staff that, i was told that i thought it was gritty. The other waiter was visibly grumpy when we asked for bills. The service had been fast but not in an attentive way, more in a hurry you up way. And it finished off with a grumpy face, not ideal. We did not stay for dessert. Sometimes, you just have to cut...

Extremely disappointing. Don’t believe the hype. Tourist trap at best.

Pros: In a quaint area and had a cute interior. Good grilled octopus, roasted potatoes and veggies (see pic 1).

Cons: Extremely rude staff, not sure if it was because they were understaffed (only two wait staff for 15+ tables) but we felt very unwelcome and rushed. It made the whole meal very awkward and uncomfortable. Waiter would just rush past our table and ignore our attempts to ask a question and/or clarify a dietary restriction. Overpriced. You could easily find a better option at a more welcoming local place. Undercooked/raw veal chop (see pic 2). Asked for medium, the meat came out RAW (cold inside when you cut in). Was not edible, and not worth the 22€ (Which came with a side of sautéed cabbage/veggie mix and FRIED potato chips). So unfortunate because it had good flavor. Had to send it back to the kitchen and then in return received the meat over cooked and cut up into tiny pieces (rather than an...