Dom Pipas — Restaurant in Sintra

Food was hit or miss but service was beyond terrible.

Starting out we had to flag someone down to get a table. Our waitress was in such a hurry she literally ran from the table before we could complete ordering, on three separate occasions!

They were out of oil and balsamic for the bread, so we ordered the flavored butter instead. We received two pats of plain butter in little plastic containers (no exaggerating) tossed on our table as the waitress sprinted past. Yes, we were charged for the "flavored butter".

The red wine I ordered showed up as white wine. No problem, mistakes happen. 10 minutes later the red appears on the table. My second glass of wine required two reminders.

Dinner took a very long time to arrive, but when it did, my wife really enjoyed her mackerel but my liver was bitter and not edible. Nobody ever stopped by to see how we liked our meals, so I had to get up and ask for a menu and order something different. No questions about what was wrong, no offer to make it right, no fast turnaround of the order. Just about the time my wife finished her dinner, my salad arrived.

This is a...

We came here as a quick change to our original plans. We mentioned heading out to a different restaurant to the front desk attendant at our hostel when he recommended this as an alternative. I’m certain the original restaurant was delicious, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try a local’s favorite.

A lot of the other reviews mention speed of service as a negative - sure, it’s a little slower, but this is a European tourist town; expect the delay and enjoy your company. We were never neglected, but left in privacy to enjoy our food and family.

Speaking of, the food was fantastic. This is my family’s 6th day in Portugal, and this was our best meal by a long shot. I had the Caldeirada de Peixe served in a copper pot, and my wife had the stewed lemon chicken. Both were great, but the Caldeirada de Peixe was next level and bright.

Apologies for the photo after my first few bites (it’s always a tough exercise in patience for me). Do yourself the favor and check out this small restaurant if you want real...

Appalling slow ignorant rude service. Nice food,

Arrived and one waiter pointed us to one seat. Upon going to that seat a different waiter pointed us to another. Ordered a main with the intention of getting a desert and got a 1/2 bottle of wine. Said no to bread and olives as we didn't want to fill up on bread. Waiter poured a drip of wine in each glass and walked away without asking us if we were happy with it. 40mins later the waiter came back to see if it was ok. Still no sign of food kebab(15 mins max to cook) and squid (3-5mins to cook). Shortly after that the food Arrived and tasted good. Compliments to the chef (Only reason it's not a 1 star). without asking how our meal was the waiter came back and took the plate from my wife and she initiated saying how she liked the food. Desert menu put on the table and waiter walked away again. Asked the other waiter what the specialty was and he just ignored us. So I just asked for the bill. If you want to get treated like dirt in Sintra I highly recommend this...