Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Bessa

    4.5 (33 reviews)

    Bessa Photos

    BESSA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Dogs allowed

    Recommended Reviews - Bessa

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Grilled octopus
    Darby C.

    We enjoyed an amazing meal at Bessa this evening in Lisboa. This restaurant is located on a smaller street in Praca da Figueira. The owner welcomes you at the door and they treat you like family. The servers are mostly young asians that speak fluent English. We ordered the grilled sea bass "Robalo" €18.20 and the grilled octopus "Polvo a Lagareiro €20.90. Both dishes were really good. The sea bass was grilled nicley with crispy skin served with boiled potatoes and veggies. The octopus was also really good and they give you two large tentacles. The dish presentation was also pretty nice. We also enjoyed a small draft beer which was refreshing and well balanced. The menu is simple enough but still plenty of options to choose. There's grilled meat, paella, risotto, and pasta dishes as well. I will definitely come back for a second visit to try some of their other dishes. 5/5 overall.

    Bacalhau a bras
    Victoria S.

    Restaurant was very close to where we were staying. Menu had good seafood options (as well as vegetarian). Overall vibe was cozy and warm. Servers were very helpful in answering our menu questions. Prices are moderate. I ordered the bacalhau a bras, an old-school Portuguese-style codfish dish with potatoes and egg. The meal was served in cast-iron dish and came out piping hot. The codfish was plentiful, could taste the tender salted fish in every bite. The potatoes and creamy eggs balanced the bacalhau well. Onions and olives also rounded it out. It was a very filling meal, but wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be. After the dinner dishes were cleared the staff offered us complimentary Port wine to taste. We both got the red. It was simultaneouly sweet and strong, a perfect way to end a great meal.

    Menu, Sep 1, 2024
    Dan D.

    An honest-to-god seafood restaurant serving regional dishes. Yummy, friendly, and tourist-friendly: Fully half the visitors on our Sunday night dinner were Asian, and the front of house is all confident in their English. My mom's paella craving was finally satisfied here: the rice was al dente, thick, and textured. I went light by ordering the seafood soup, and was happy to find and savor the well-developed, briny stock. The portions were a healthy size. I didn't see any diners who hadn't cleaned their plates. If you're looking for seafood options that go beyond the Portuguese standards, you should stop in!

    Bread
    Ryan M.

    Came and got the clams in garlic butter and wine sauce for an appetizer. It was amazing I got some bread to sop up all the sauce. The octopus was tender and came with sauted vegetables and some potatoes. They explained that it was braised, grilled then cooked in olive oil again. Youzin was a great server I had a great time Overall a great meal.

    Isabella L.

    Quality of food, service, and atmosphere are all perfect! Complimentary cherry wine at the end was the final highlight! Reasonable price as well.

    Lis Z.

    I would say this is the best sea bass I have had! Excellent cooked and it is so refresh. Mussels are also very flavorful. They recommended a white wine to go with the fish. . The restaurant has a big room to hold many people. And we had the window seat which is perfect.

    Fonseca red wine and white wine recommended by the server
    Brij C.

    Not a lot of vegetarian options, only vegetarian option I could find was Risotto. However, it was good. I was just bored eating risotto as the only vegetarian option at most of the Portugal restaurants. The staff here was very knowledgeable in the accommodated me with my dietary needs. The Bangladesi server we had knew the wines very well and recommended us the local wines based on our taste. He also gave us the Port Wine sampler on the house. Overall, it was a very good experience for me.

    Andy L.

    I tried the Octopus at Bessa in Lisbon for lunch a while ago. The dish changed my opinion of octopus...First of all, I didn't think octopus can be so tender (as if a knife wouldn't be needed). The sauce was rich, the veggies were refreshing, and both complemented the dish (sauce added extra flavour and veggies added an extra crunch). Service was great as well in that they suggested I stay inside after my meal as it was raining pretty hard then. Overall, I'd give it 9/10

    Black paella - the seafood was perfectly cooked
    Greg L.

    Wonderful local restaurant. The owner greeted us while the attentive staff gave us suggestions of what would be a good local dish to introduce us to Portuguese food. The seafood looks fantastic!

    Tracy L.

    A delicious and truly phenomenal dining experience! From the dishes to the service to the ambiance. I visited from California back in November 2023 and this entire experience was nothing short of amazing. Food: I ordered the garlic clams as a starter and the seafood "stew" as a main. The clams were plentiful and cooked in a white wine sauce with garlic and lemon. The seafood stew (which is one of their more popular main dishes), was a hearty dish with mussels, shrimp, squid, clams - mixed with rice and a savory red sauce that was packed with rich, flavor that balanced so well with the seafood.Both dishes did not skimp in terms of portion and the seafood quality was fresh; the sauces made perfect to each dish. Service: I believe my server was Krishna - she was extremely kind, warm, and informative! And she recommended the seafood "stew." The entire staff was extremely friendly. I would definitely recommend this to friends or family visiting Lisbon - a must go-to spot for an amazing price.

    Mixed Paella
    Tess B.

    Food is very good. Their paella is very good. Service is okay but if your going to order paella it takes abt 30 mins to 40 mins to cook so you have to wait. The spagetti bolognese is also very good. My son ate it twice. This restaurant is close to the Santa Justa Elevator. Ambiance is very nice.

    Paella Valencia plates, clams in white wine sauce, grilled sea bass.  All so yummy!!!!

    Great good, excellent service by Prabhat. He was the one we made reservations with. When we arrived, he took my father's wheelchair so it was out of the way, and spoke to us about the menu. We ordered the sangria and the owner served this to us. We had a salad, 2 paella Valencia plates, clams with white wine sauce and sea bass. Everything was delicious. The place got packed quickly with big groups. Definitely make a reservation! Must visit

    Sea bass. Beautifully arranged.  Fantastic!
    Rey H.

    Very good food, the service is exceptional. I was feeling a bit under the weather, so I didn't have much of an appetite, but I wanted to try the food. The owner Birendra was worried that I did like the food, and he was very attentive. The food was amazing. I had the soup of the day, and the sea bass. That was my favorite meal, the sea bass. Finished off with some port on Birenda....it actually made me feel better...thank you Birenda for the excellent service.

    Sea bass

    See all

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 3

    2 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 0
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Kimi L.
    30
    68
    12

    8 months ago

    Loved this place! Food was wonderful! Atmosphere was wonderful! Really friendly staff! I would come back!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Brij C.
    502
    76
    44

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tracy L.
    605
    14
    14

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tess B.
    0
    22
    30

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Leah P.
    0
    19
    19

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Amy G.
    0
    91
    3

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rey H.
    47
    52
    40

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Good food, good service, and a decent amount of tables, so your odds of getting in are greater than some other smaller places.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Lisa C.
    0
    36
    18

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Traditional Portuguese restaurant, Well decorated, nice and clean. Decent service. Perfect place for nice food.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Our server named Prabhat was very kind and knowledgeable. We appreciated his service. The food was some of the best we had so far.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    14 years ago

    very good food but the treatment does not like me to

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    Review Highlights - Bessa

    We were immediately greeted by Prabhat who explained all of the menu options.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Taverna Alfacinha - Seafood soup

    Taverna Alfacinha

    4.4(65 reviews)
    0.2 kmRossio - Baixa - Chiado, Baixa

    We were looking for a place away from the loud restaurants near our hotel and decided to try…read moreTaverna Alfacinha based on positive Yelp reviews. We were so glad we went, it was an outstanding meal. The restaurant is not large and mainly has seating for 2. Other reviews complained about waits, but it would be worth it. We ate early and were lucky to arrive when another couple was leaving. Service was quick and very friendly--and like many places here they spoke good English. They do not have a wide drink list, but we had a bottle of the house wine that was really good and complemented food perfectly. For appetizers, we had bread basket, miss cheese, and the caprese. Get the bread basket if you get either. I had not heard of that cheese but it was great, semi-soft with a nice flavor. The caprese salad was nice also, fresh tomato's and mint as opposed to basil. For the main course, I had the seafood paella that was served in a hot pan right from the stove. This was excellent with rich saffron flavor and a nice mix is seafood--the calamari and mussels were particularly good. I loved it. With the said, my wife's sea bass might have been better. The whole fish was served, nice and fresh. It was cooked and flavored absolutely perfectly. The skin was crisp while the fish was moist and just melted in your mouth. Completely wonderful. It came with potatoes and some steamed vegetables, a superb dish. Definitely worth a visit!

    Very small and local. Very inexpensive. Service was very nice. Definitely a step up from the many…read more"tourist restaurants" with people urging you in and plastic food pictures a few blocks away. We especially liked the soup, bread, and wine. Nothing fancy but good.

    Photos
    Taverna Alfacinha - Restaurant bar

    Restaurant bar

    Taverna Alfacinha - Bacalhaou Brás

    Bacalhaou Brás

    Taverna Alfacinha - Outside signage, tiny place

    See all

    Outside signage, tiny place

    Bastardo - Milhojas de bacalao.

    Bastardo

    4.1(40 reviews)
    0.1 kmRossio, Rossio - Baixa - Chiado
    €€

    Located at the end of Rua Augusta, it had a pretty view of all the Christmas lights. We ended up…read moregetting octopus rice, gravlax salad, codfish dumplings, and a seafood pasta soup. The codfish dumpling fusion was a pleasant surprise, creamy on the inside and a nice chewy gyoza wrapper. The octopus rice was good too. A decent amount of octopus with rice in a smoked bell pepper sauce. I was disappointed by the seafood pasta soup though. I liked the mussels, but the shrimp and the clams weren't the freshest. The clams were a little mushy. It had a nice seafood stock flavor, but definitely could have used more salt and seasoning. We had mixed service from one of the female servers.

    Last day in Lisbon, treated to a nice birthday lunch. Nice open and bright space and thoughtful…read moreservice, had a booth looking toward the plaza. Not too busy for Sunday lunch. We started with a glass of wine and a specialty cocktail with gin and cherry liqueur as a base. Perfect balance of herbal and tart and sweet. We shared the amberjack ceviche which was fresh and bright and then the rich & creamy prawn risotto. All beautifully executed. We each ordered a glass of 20 year port to celebrate my birthday and the staff overheard and brought a complimentary rich chocolate dessert. Very enjoyable meal all the way around.

    Photos
    Bastardo - Bastardo windows onto Rossio Square, lit up for Christmas.

    Bastardo windows onto Rossio Square, lit up for Christmas.

    Bastardo - Ceviche

    Ceviche

    Bastardo - Moscow mule.

    See all

    Moscow mule.

    Bessa - restaurants - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...