We came in for a late lunch/very early supper tonight. It was our first time here. We tried their…read morecod fish cakes which were good but would have been better if there was some Serra cheese in the middle of them. The smoked and grilled portuguese chorizo sausage was small for $14.00 and not sliced up but rather had the appearance of hand torn pieces then thrown into a plate. The bifana sandwiches had good slices of pork, not very much though Overall, the flavors didn't appear to be authentically Portuguese in flavor, like the lack of garlic. Food was very muted and tame, plus there was no mustard at the table nor was it offered. Service was friendly and we were asked twice if we were doing okay or if we needed anything. We felt kinda welcomed when we came in to the restaurant but it seems to be more of a place most people get food to go. There were some tables so you can choose to dine in. At a guess there is about 12 tables for up to 3 people and four tables placed together to make a longer table for those who had a party of 8 diners who were together. There was no radio or music on tonight, but there was a tv playing a soccer match in the background. It was decent place, wish it was more authentic portuguese flavors but overall it was a 4 out 5.

Absolutely spectacular Half bbq chicken, tasty Portuguese rice, and perfectly cooked vegetables. I…read moredon't know what the sauce was, but it was a perfect vinegary blend which accented the chicken wonderfully. Friendly service by the waiter and his mom who cooked the food, fun inside with soccer playing and comfortable table setting. Would go back!

The food was delicious. The Perri perri sauce is really good and actually spicy…read more The chicken was well done and their ribs are fantastic but the potatoes take the show. They take their time and grill their chicken fresh right in front of you. The staff was friendly and they have space to dine in. The next time I'm in the mood for Portuguese cuisine... I will definitely come back here!

This is a great find in Waterdown. My daughter and I found this restaurant when we were out…read moreshopping, and loved it (chicken cutlets in mushroom sauce, great, fresh cooked vegetables, salad for her, bifada pork cutlet sandwich with sauteed peppers and onions for me and a plate of spiced olives to share, AND a tartes de natas). GREAT lunch and lots left to bring home. I took my husband there for lunch later in the week (grilled half chicken with potatoes, Caesar salad for me and cod and potato dish for husband, and more of those fantastic olives. We are not big eaters and had enough left over for another lunch. We all swooned over the egg custard tarts, highly addictive. This hidden gem is near the Shoppers Drug Mart.

Greate place for a nice reasonable prices real food meal. Toped with a beer and a nice dessert…read more Prices are great you can eat in take away. I try there catering next. Friendly people.

The food(periperi chicken) is fantastic. and the little potatoes are addictive. the dessert counter…read moreis phenomenal as well. highly recommend.

Went to this place as it was recommended to have a better portuguest custard. Totally agree 100%…read more Not much choices on dessert though other than that, our go to place now for portuguese custard.

Rotisserie chicken is good, potatoes are kind of bland. Sauce on the side is great. I don't like…read morethe rice so I usually make my own to eat with this meal. Only downside is the price, personally feel like it's way overpriced

(Back-to-back Portuguese food in the GTA (is Hamilton included?) - 1 of 2)…read more I was planning to look for a casual Portuguese diner or bakery but it was nearing the hour that they'd all be closing. This meant I had to eat at a regular Portuguese restaurant. I looked on my phone and found this one - Toma-La. I thought it was a weird name. Toma-La sits in a shopping mall along a big north-south artery from Hamilton out toward the airport named Upper James Rd. There is a good sized area of parking right in front of the store. I assumed you went up to the counter to order because I saw other people doing that. There is table service, too. Still, I ordered at the counter and the food was brought out to my table. I don't "do" chicken piri piri and I couldn't settle on anything from the regular menu, as it was later in the evening and I was tired. I looked at their specials menu, which changes (almost) daily, and saw they had salmon. I saw that it came with potatoes. I asked that they not be fries and the platter came with boiled potatoes. Now, being in the "Maple Leaf Country," I didn't worry too much about ordering salmon. (For that matter, I once had a surprisingly good salmon platter at a Denny's near the beach in Jacksonville, FL.) They delivered on the salmon. It was a nice filet and it was very tasty. With the platter, I had a pastel de nata and a bottle of the Sumol maracuja flavored soft drink, which I order often. I liked the ambiance of the restaurant. It's a little boring on the outside, but, inside, it's sort of modern rustic and industrial at the same time. I received very good service and there were other patrons in the restaurant as well as people coming in for Door Dash and Uber Eats. Who does that, anyway? I've never done this Door Dash or Uber Eats thing. Would it be those reasonably well-paid people who tech remotely and have a penchant for Thai food to counterbalance their often accurately profiled personalities? And, along with this service, I got a mini-seminar in culture because I asked about the parts of Portugal and its diaspora that the ownership and employees hailed from, and they were glad to oblige. The prices are standard for a mid-priced ethnic food eatery in a conventional suburban outdoor mall. Also, consider the exchange rate (divide by ~1.33) to arrive at American dollars. Note that the specials are nicely priced and they feature some interesting ones over the course of the week. As for the name, the word "toma" is also found in Spanish and is a verb meaning take. It was told that "toma-la" is a Portuguese expression meaning "take it" and I've also seen it as "toma-la da ca," which means "take it from here." The moral of the story is live and learn ... and eat.

Spectacular. We here for lunch with my dad today. Got the marinated chicken dish which comes with…read moretwo sides. So much flavour and fantastic portion of meat they give you! The seasonings and flavours are out of this world and stay with you the entire day. Couldn't help but eat everything entirely off my plate. The potatoes are so delicious as well as their piri piri sauce. We also shared onion rings and they were the most flavourful, and crisp crunchy onion rings I've ever had! 10/10 highly recommend!

The bifana sandwich was very good because the bread was soft and fresh. The pork was flavorful and…read more would be nice with some more peppers though. Packets of the yellow mustard was a nice condiment along with the mayonnaise. Good price of $9.00 and they also had the Francesinha sandwich with fries and a fried soft partly runny egg on top but was $25.00 which had thin sliced ham, chorizo sausage and bifana , It was very good but a bit pricey and small in size compared to the European version. They had the 3 flavors of Sumol and also beers but were out of Super Bock. The Natas were good but were not fresh out of the oven rather it was room temperature and $2.50 each which is also the same price for the juice. The service was top notch. Order taker was also the server was very nice. Food came at a decent waiting time. We were the only ones there but she was still very friendly. Ambiance was a simple cafe with seven sitting areas with mostly table for two and a couple of tables for 4. There was the Portuguese radio station playing in the background with some music. They also had the Portuguese news from PT playing in the background. Overall it was very good.

I really wanted to love this place because the atmosphere is fantastic--it has such a great vibe…read morewhen you walk in. However, the actual experience of ordering has been a massive letdown. My biggest issue is reliability. I've placed orders ahead of time, only to arrive and be told they aren't ready until much later than promised. It makes it very difficult to plan your day when a "guaranteed" pickup time isn't honoured. To make matters worse, the customer service is disappointing. When I tried to politely voice my concerns on their Facebook page, I wasn't met with an apology or a solution--they simply blocked me. It's pretty unprofessional to silence feedback rather than address the underlying service issues. Pros: * Beautiful shop and great atmosphere. Cons: * Unreliable: Orders are rarely ready when promised. * Payment Restrictions: They don't accept debit or credit, which is a huge inconvenience in this day and age. * Poor Communication: Unwilling to handle customer feedback online. Overall, while the bakery looks the part, the lack of professionalism and the "cash only" hurdle make it hard to recommend. I'll likely be taking my business elsewhere

We were for a somewhat more unique dining experience in Hamilton, and we stumbled upon Wild Orchid…read more The decor inside felt a bit dated, and the restaurant didn't immediately catch my eye. However, service was friendly and our food tasted great (and visually approved by a Portuguese friend)! Without having a comparison point, it's hard for me to say whether this was "authentic" or not, but we enjoyed our food. Pricing was a little high for the paella, but it's not often that I get to try Portuguese food, so I was fine with it.

Good spot for Portuguese seafood in the Hamilton area. Large restaurant with lots of tables and a…read morefull-serve bar at the back. Portion sizes are quite large and hearty. Salada Portuguesa - Comes in small or large size. Pretty nice salad with mixed greens, cucumber & tomato slices, red onion, and drizzled with olive oil vinaigrette. You can opt to add goat cheese. Mixed Seafood in Pimento-based Sauce & Garlic Bread ("special" appetizer of the day) - Large portion for an appetizer... comes in a large bowl with 2 different types of mussels, clams, scallops, tiger shrimps, and 4 large toasted garlic bread. You can ask the sauce to be non-spicy. Pao (Baked Bread) Stuffed with Cod - Best dish in the restaurant. It's quite large and best to be shared. The Pao is freshly baked, crispy on the outside and soft, tender, and very aromatic in the inside (cod mixed with garlic and other spices). It's so good that it can be a filling meal on its own when paired with salad. Bacalhau Da Casa - Cod loin is quite salty, but comes in a nice big chunk with bones. The grilled vegetables are over-cooked and very mushy. The roasted potatoes are ok. Grilled Pickerel - Portion size of all the fish and seafood dishes is quite big. This one comes in 2 large & long pieces of grilled pickerel, topped with a delicious tomato-based sauce. The seasoned rice with peas is very yummy! It also comes with grilled vegetables (zucchini, red pepper, eggplant). Arroz De Marisco - The large size comes with a good amount of shellfish and rice. It's more saucy and has more liquid / broth compared to the more mainstream Spanish paella. It's best to let the liquid / broth evaporate first (it keeps warm really well), to give time for the rice to soak in the sauce. This dish is quite flavourful and I like the mix and amount of shellfish (king crab legs, lobster, mussels, clams, black tiger shrimps, bay scallops, etc.). Dessert: Portuguese Tart topped with cinnamon & ice cream - The Portuguese tart comes out warm, with crunchy crust and soft topping. It's one of the best Portuguese tarts I've had. The cinnamon sprinkles just take it to the next level.

A new downtown restaurant with a great selection of meats and fishes. I had the francesinha which…read moreis a sandwich with all the meat. The menu doesn't mention it but it comes with an egg on top. I could have tried more. It was a bit busy since we went opening night. I hope things will smooth out as the shop gets going. Friendly staff and you can tell it's authentic because there were guys there with leathery skin & tattoos.

We were looking for a new place to try for dinner, and the photos on the website looked amazing, so…read morewe decided to give it a try. The staff were friendly, and the service was great. The food was tasty, but unfortunately, the actual presentation didn't come close to what was shown in the photos, especially the grilled octopus. Considering the prices, we felt the overall value didn't meet our expectations. The restaurant is a bit overpriced for what you get. Unfortunately, despite the good service, we won't be returning.

The wings!? Fantastic. The staff!? Friendly AF. The vibe!? Immaculate. This is a must try venue in…read moreHamilton. Marta is a wonderful server who's attention to detail is uncanny. The regulars are always down for a friendly conversation and very welcoming. Gotta eat here