Dona Maria — Restaurant in Sintra

We reached Dona Maria after a fabulous tour of Pena palace and Dos Mouros castle. We were extremely hungry since we had not eaten anything after breakfast and were really looking forward to relaxing after a long day exploring the castle and the palace.

The restaurant has a fabulous view which is probably one of the best in Sintra. It was around 3:30 pm and the waitress told us there was no lager beer! When we ordered the caprinha, she mentioned they can only make 2 drinks since they are out of lime! Since we were really hungry we decided to order the food. The food for my husband and I came immediately and we had ordered the vegetarian penne pasta which was decent. My son and daughter ordered the octopus and the cod. They took forever to get the food for them - my husband and I had already finished ours and had to wait another 15-20 min for my kids food to arrive. My daughter tasted the cod and said it tasted very chewy and was very disappointed with the quality. When we mentioned this to the waitress, she pretty much said that’s the way it is!!!! Really lady - you work in hospitality and at the very least I expected you to apologize. That really turned our experience at the restaurant to the worst I have ever had, and I have travelled a lot! She did not offer to refund or get another dish for my daughter, who went hungry since she could not eat the cod! When the bill arrived we noticed that they had charged us extra for the bread and olives .. which we did not order and assumed it was complementary! When we asked her she said it was for the bread and we said we did not order it. She was like okay, and did not again apologize and got us the revised check! This is a tourist trap and please be warned of the abominable food...

Had a reservation for 19:00. Arrived around 18:40 and there was no one at the reception to welcome or take the customers to their tables. It took a little while to get the attention of one of the waitresses. Initially, there was only one waitress for everyone on the outside balcony. Ordered a Polvo a Lagareiro (octopus with olive oil and garlic). Waited for aprox. 10-15 mins, which is reasonably good. The food arrived right after the couvert, which was annoying (probably only to charge me extra for the bread & butter). The butter was warm and one of them was clearly stale, as if they were kept outside the fridge for a while. The food was bad: a lot of cheap olive oil and nothing else to season the dish. Not even salt. Could not manage to eat it all due to its generous size and dull taste. Spent around 35$ for the meal, the couvert and a pint of beer. The view is great indeed, but the food isn't good and the service is unwelcoming. A legitimate tourist trap. Won't repeat.

Note: the only reason I can think of a justification for the 5-star reviews here is that these people are tourists and haven't tried portuguese food in...

Shambolic. My family and I were on a tour that gave us 2 hours to see Sintra, we waited 1.5 hours here for uncooked, bland, and otherwise forgettable entrees and appetizers.

The worst of the worst was the duck, which was purple it was so raw. I’ve had rare duck before, but this was still quacking. The octopus was rubbery, bland, and served whole. The knives on the table weren’t sharp enough to cut through it. The burger was the only edible thing that was served aside from the cheese and meat we got as an appetizer, but the burger was overpowered by the cheese they put on it. We sent the duck and octopus back without touching them and they still charged us, too.

All in all, avoid this spot at all costs…it’s severely overpriced, it’ll set you back 2 hours, and the food is atrocious. Buy a sandwich and enjoy Sintra if you’re on a time crunch. Go to literally any other restaurant if you...