Noise review insights for Portugal

5 course meal that emphasises SLOW cooking. Service is inconsistent between diner groups. As a solo diner, I was seated at the bar next to a pair of friends. At first, the server that guided me to the seat was friendly but as the night progressed, it gets progressively harder to get any server attention except when they are serving food. For my 7PM reservation: 6.45PM - Arrived 6.53PM - served bread and spreads 6.58PM - explained about “surprise menu” and given the drinks menu. Asked for recommendation with the food. She offered white wine. 7.05PM - couple next to me arrived 7.31PM - served tuna tartare (very yummy) 7.44PM - served this pork & tuna meatball - like starter (interesting, I like the flavour) 8.08PM - served clams (nothing special, not particularly delicious) 8.30PM - served codfish with pumpkin purée (can get at any other Portuguese restaurant) 8:55PM - served braised beef cheeks (super tender, but not flavourful nor fragrant enough) 9:38PM - served dessert - lemon mouse (10mins after I asked for it, and it wasn’t great) From the timeline, they seem to serve food at 20-40mins intervals. Very inconsistent and for most part of the evening, it was spent waiting for food to arrive. Yes 5 courses, but manageable serving sizes (even for ladies). I really don’t understand the great ratings and reviews. Will not recommend for solo dinners. They seem to thrive off group energy. For solo dinners, they pay you no attention and it was hard to get their attention. The difference was striking to me as they kept making conversation with the loud girls next to me and when explaining dishes, the servers always want to do it for the group of 3 at the bar but the whole time, they only make eye contact with the 2 girls and chit chat with them. This felt rude and off-putting. Even asking for a small dish for the clam shells was challenging. Either the server’s English proficiency is lacking, or she simply could not care less to help. At checkout, the server asked for feedback but it only seemed procedural. I commented that food is good but was much slower than expected. She only replied that it’s a 2-hour dinner. (lol I got surprised when I saw the timestamp of my photos)… Also, the bar seat is a bad idea as your hair and clothes will stink of the kitchen smells / torches for cocktails.

A little gem this asian restaurant. I was sitting in front of their kitchen: a little noisy but I can see cooking my dish live. Cozy but not too fancy, everyone here is chill and helpful. They have a separate menu for gluten-free food: simply fantastic 😋

After eating ordinary food with a noisy atmosphere, on our last evening, we found a place with proper food, atmosphere, and the wine recommended by the sommelier was truly a trinity of food, service, and atmosphere. The bread served as an appetizer was unique, and the fondue (scooped out bread filled with melted cheese) was also excellent. For the main course, the baby octopus was grilled after being cooked, resulting in a perfectly chewy and crispy texture. The sea bass was finished with steam, and the resulting broth, which was not salty and carried the scent of the sea, was harmonious. The attitude of the service staff was also excellent.

5 stars for the quality and presentation of food and menu but unfortunately the waiter on the night bright the score down significantly. Very slow to take order...20 minutes before we got drinks. He dropped a couple of items in the restaurant during the meal causing a racket for all guests and towards the end of the evening he was seeing the restaurant for the next day and was being extremely noisy due to him rushing and not taking care. The management should seriously consider keeping this guy.

A canteen. Much noise . Poor service. We asked to change tables, which was refused despite there being more tables, simply because they don't even have the capacity to understand what customer service is. Friday night with a half busy restaurant. Poor value for the price. Not to return

Amazing food, rushed and contentious service. While the food was incredible, the service was not. We arrived and told our reservation had been canceled; we were able to provide proof through TheFork and a WhatsApp text that it was not, despite the manager attempting to show us a message to the contrary. We were seated and offered champagne without other drink recommendations or asks about what we were interested in. In the menu description it states “Please be respectful of all guests by keeping your noise level down and please don’t complain online as it doesn’t solve anything.” We thought the latter was odd; but were genuinely excited for our meal based off of prior reviews. We were approached by a waiter halfway through our meal asking “Ah, did you read the menu?” to which we acknowledged “yes” and the server remanded us that we were too loud and to please quiet down. Let me preface this with we are two 35 year old women enjoying a rather expensive glass of champagne. We acknowledged and acquiesced his request but felt uncomfortable as we found this to be quite passive aggressive. This was the first time someone asked us to quiet down and while as a 20 something I would have immediately assumed we were boisterous, this was seemingly unacceptable. The food was great, but not at the pace we were shuffled out and dismissed. The prices aren’t worth the abbreviated service and time you’re offered; there are far better restaurants in Porto to choose from to be shuffled out so quick and dismissively.

The place is very pleasant but the service is terrible!!! When we sat down, the floor around the table was dirty and it took a long time for us to be attended to. When they finally came to our table, they were unfriendly and it took about 40 minutes to bring the order, a bottle of natural water, a Pedras sparkling water and a lemon balm tea! 😡 I asked for ice for the water and I noticed that the lady serving was leaving the food waiting for a long time. I do not recommend this place at all, but, however, I recognize that it seems like a great place to study. I did not try the terrace but it did not look good and was very cold, besides being very noisy.

Review rating: 1.0

Porto Top Accommodation on the river we got two rooms one in a building facing the Douro river, just on the docks you walk for sure once in Oporto. Stunning view on Gaia (the area in front of the old centre of the town, where the porto caves are located...try a porto tasting!!), the river, the lights, boats from two big windows (second rooms, for the kids, was facing inside but same furnitures, very nice). furnitures (both rom and bathroom were new), wi-fi perfectly working. The manager is a really kind and helpful man. When we walked through Oport we constantly said that was the best part to sleep. ah, important note, we had no troubles for the noise during the night..

Review rating: 5.0

5 course meal that emphasises SLOW cooking. Service is inconsistent between diner groups. As a solo diner, I was seated at the bar next to a pair of friends. At first, the server that guided me to the seat was friendly but as the night progressed, it gets progressively harder to get any server attention except when they are serving food. For my 7PM reservation: 6.45PM - Arrived 6.53PM - served bread and spreads 6.58PM - explained about “surprise menu” and given the drinks menu. Asked for recommendation with the food. She offered white wine. 7.05PM - couple next to me arrived 7.31PM - served tuna tartare (very yummy) 7.44PM - served this pork & tuna meatball - like starter (interesting, I like the flavour) 8.08PM - served clams (nothing special, not particularly delicious) 8.30PM - served codfish with pumpkin purée (can get at any other Portuguese restaurant) 8:55PM - served braised beef cheeks (super tender, but not flavourful nor fragrant enough) 9:38PM - served dessert - lemon mouse (10mins after I asked for it, and it wasn’t great) From the timeline, they seem to serve food at 20-40mins intervals. Very inconsistent and for most part of the evening, it was spent waiting for food to arrive. Yes 5 courses, but manageable serving sizes (even for ladies). I really don’t understand the great ratings and reviews. Will not recommend for solo dinners. They seem to thrive off group energy. For solo dinners, they pay you no attention and it was hard to get their attention. The difference was striking to me as they kept making conversation with the loud girls next to me and when explaining dishes, the servers always want to do it for the group of 3 at the bar but the whole time, they only make eye contact with the 2 girls and chit chat with them. This felt rude and off-putting. Even asking for a small dish for the clam shells was challenging. Either the server’s English proficiency is lacking, or she simply could not care less to help. At checkout, the server asked for feedback but it only seemed procedural. I commented that food is good but was much slower than expected. She only replied that it’s a 2-hour dinner. (lol I got surprised when I saw the timestamp of my photos)… Also, the bar seat is a bad idea as your hair and clothes will stink of the kitchen smells / torches for cocktails.

Signal: 0.0%

A little gem this asian restaurant. I was sitting in front of their kitchen: a little noisy but I can see cooking my dish live. Cozy but not too fancy, everyone here is chill and helpful. They have a separate menu for gluten-free food: simply fantastic 😋

Signal: 0.0%

After eating ordinary food with a noisy atmosphere, on our last evening, we found a place with proper food, atmosphere, and the wine recommended by the sommelier was truly a trinity of food, service, and atmosphere. The bread served as an appetizer was unique, and the fondue (scooped out bread filled with melted cheese) was also excellent. For the main course, the baby octopus was grilled after being cooked, resulting in a perfectly chewy and crispy texture. The sea bass was finished with steam, and the resulting broth, which was not salty and carried the scent of the sea, was harmonious. The attitude of the service staff was also excellent.

Signal: 0.0%