Martróia — Restaurant in Setúbal

My wife and I took an Uber to Setubal. We moved to Portugal a month ago. We decided to that we needed to take some time out and visit the sea. I originally intended to go to a different restaurant but as we were on the Marina and were near Martroia, decided to go here. On another app, it indicated that the restaurant was pricey but I must admit that it wasn't. It was indeed reasonable and you pay for what you get. So indeed you get value for money. We has a fish samoosa for starter, be careful it is hot (as it temperature hot), boy this was a delightful morsel of deliciousness. I felt like fish and decides to go for the grilled tuna and lime scented rice and a mixed salad. the grilled tuna tasted like a peace of steak and boy it was a delight. The chef knows his stuff. I ordered the tuna "mal passado" which was rare (Which I feel is the best way to have it), and it was on point. This dish is highly recommendable. My partner in crime had the prawn risotto, the loved it. It was creamy, not over done and the prawns was a generous portion. Again another hit. Than came the dessert, we were stuffed tot he gills but had to try their recommended chocolate mousse. Let me tell you about this mousse. It was one of the best I have had in such a long time, My partner actually wanted to dive in and I jokingly said that I would hold her hair back ... the waiter jokingly brought a large spoon so that she can have larger helpings than I would :-). So overall, it was a delightful experience and the food really good.

I would have given 5 however, there were very little shortfalls which made me decide on 4. If I give 5 out of 5, the service and food would need to be spectacular. In this occasion, the service, however good, just felt a teeny weeny short. When we arrived, the server went right past us and ignored us as we waited like idol toads, we actually went into the store next door who basically took us to the restaurant. I suppose this was due to the fact that the waiter was busy running off his feet. However, he should have sat us down and given us a menu while he did the run around. I do think that management should have two waiters there as one could not handle everything by himself. He did try his best though. There was another and he was not always there. But that did not deter from our experience which was still awesome. Overall, very...

We've dined at quite a few restaurants in the Setubal area since we arrived six weeks ago. The prices, quantity & quality of the food here do not compare with other places we've eaten. The prices are very high for what you get, quantities are tiny and quality is average. We started with the crispy breaded shrimp (10 euros). They were overcooked. You get five medium fried shrimp.

Next we had the seafood soup (5 euros). There is no seafood in the seafood soup, just the base soup that falls somewhere between a bisque and regular soup in consistency. While the flavor was good, again no seafood! For our main course we shared the grilled tiger prawns (15 euros) and the scallops with hot sauce (16 euros). For 15 euros you get three average size shrimp! We've eaten elsewhere and had 10 shrimp of that size for cheaper. We expected larger shrimp for this price. Same with the scallops. Five tiny scallops for 16 euros! The scallops were maybe 4 cm each.

We ordered a side of vegetables and that ended up being a warm "slaw" of carrots, cabbage and onion. Tasted good but was expecting whole or sliced veggies. We also had a 12 euro bottle of wine. What we've experienced is a mark up of double for a bottle of wine in restaurants here compared to what you can buy it for in a store. So for a 4 euro bottle, you pay 8 euros in a restaurant. Here they triple the cost on the bottle!

In summary, you can do MUCH better eating elsewhere and get a lot more food of better quality for less cost. The only reason I gave it an extra star was for the waitress. She was very nice...

Excellent Local speciality Choco Frito served with fries, a nice salad and a delicious picante mayo. The choco here has a really nice, crisp crumbed coating but is lovely and tender inside.... definitely one of the best Choco in town. Service is a bit surly, depending on who you get and this, for me, is the only thing missing. As a cafe/bar owner my staff welcome everyone with a smile and genuinely enjoy hospitality....and their tips reflect this. (Must mention that the owner here is a great guy, very friendly and approachable) The food, though, is the star here. Every dish looks amazing, and the place is definitely...