Have been here many times and I consider it the best restaurant in York, by far. My fave dish is the Surf & Turf Mesa Moreira style, featuring the garlic shrimp and picanha. I always ask for Spanish fries instead of mashed potatoes. If I had to pick a meal to eat every day, forever, this would be it. read more

I've eaten here three times and the food has been ok. The first time the chicken was cooked well and seasoned great. The second time some of the food was good and other parts were too salty. The third time the salad was great, the chicken Cesar wrap was tasty but the wrap was the major part. It was wrapped in a way that you'd get a few pieces of chicken and croutons but mostly flour wrap. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and looks very clean. I've enjoyed the live entertainment and the outdoor grilled chicken! The service is excellent. read more

Mesa Moreira - Chicken Cesar wrap - Portuguese Near Me - York, Pennsylvania

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Ate here last night and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and fast service! The only major downfall of this restaurant is the acoustics. It is completely open, and therefore VERY loud. Unfortunately, I would choose a different venue for a large group for this reason. It was impossible to hear the conversations at our table. The service was great. Everyone we encountered was friendly and our waitress was very attentive. They had a full bar, as well as a list of specialty cocktails and mocktails. The food was FANTASTIC! Everyone loved their dishes! I had the chicken parm sandwich and the bread was fresh and homemade marinara was delicious. I would definitely order this again! My husband got the Portuguese steak and loved it. I would absolutely return here for a date night! I just probably wouldn't recommend this venue for a large group, due to how loud it is inside. read more

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Where We Bout To Eat At Because what's #SundayFunday without brunch, right? This is @themesamoreira York, PA This Portuguese Cuisine cafe is perfect for a Sunday Funday brunch with your friends or dinner with the family! They also have a bar if you just need a nightcap after work. The food was flavorful an ld the staff was excellent! What We Had: Ham & Cheese Omelette 8.5/10 (was just a tad too salty) Bacon 10/10 Potatoes 9/10 Baked French Toast 100000/10!!!! Mimosa Flights -Porto Citrus 8/10 -Winter Berry 9/10 -Amarguinha Vanilla 10/10 -Licor Beirao Lime 9.5/10 Thank you @themesamoreira for your hospitality! I will be returning! #brunchblog #yorkpa #yorkrestaurants #yorkbrunch #brunchinpennsylvania #yorkfoodie #pennsylvaniafood #foodblogger #itsdgl #danigirlliving #boujiebudgetblogger read more

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The inside decor is calming with the colors, design, and the spacing layout. My friend and I were the first to visit this day, and maybe even simply being the first ones inside only helped contribute positively to that aura as well. The unstained window border, while maybe not noticeable even to me at first, add a nice touch to add an authentic vibe to the restaurant. Oh, and how dare I not remember the Portuguese tile style right away! The blue plates are styled after the Portuguese tile style. If you're not familiar with this style, but if you're a board gamer who has played Azul, you can begin to appreciate the tile design that would be nice, but possibly, arguably unnecessarily expensive to add on to too. It is a beautiful style even though I am not so keen on the tile "craze" myself. But I can arguably respect and give some appreciation to the tradition itself. The picanha was the highlight of this meal for me. Very homemade like and the fries were not fried in a lot of oil but still reasonably tasty. It had a "raw" or cleaner taste. Not necessarily a bad thing but is it normally served like this or are there Portuguese spices that could be used that I am not aware of? I forgot that piri piri was another Portuguese classic style, but I like that it is mentioned on the menu promptly. The peri peri chicken I had in Portugal, it wasn't all the special to me even though people raved about that place and even though it was roasted with much effort. But I felt I could get something similar enough in the US. I just looked up piri piri again just now and it refers to a spicy pepper rather than chicken that is used so often in this with piri piri. For the food snob in me, something with roasted chicken and piri piri where I can taste enough of it for the flavor rather than to wipe me out with heat would help a lot- in a rice mixture, or mixed with a lot of other healthy vegetables stir fried or similar maybe. For the writer or reviewer in me, I sometimes type these reviews on a computer instead of a convenient mobile because I get (too much) detail in while potentially unintentionally "competing" for a top reviewer ranking that I never even knew or thought about the year before. I think the "overly done" claasic Francesinha in Portugal that tastes like a Big Mac would actually serve well here in York and be a big pull. The appetizers I had, Portuguese Croquetes, didn't feel like they had a lot filling but were good for what they were. The flan was good but straightforward. The sawdust is graham cracker, vanilla pudding I believe, and maybe something else. I went for this one because another review raved about it and I do like graham cracker. I liked it a lot but the food adventurer in me would have gotten more out of trying the Aletria personally. Aletria is the dessert to try if you are going for authenticity. My friend and I thought pasta seemed a bit unusual for a dessert ingredient (from a typical American perspective.) Waitress was on point. This place has the staple cod and staple pasteria de nata or custard pastry as well. Maybe some other Portuguese staples that I am not familiar with. One of the reviews says they need to work on their seasonings. So, that may be the case in some cases. As decent as this review sounds, I had to look up stuff to remind me of what was what but at least I had some sense of what to look up. Do I get points for wearing a shirt on this day with an octopus on it that says Abraco? (see one of my profile pics!) read more

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You know what, four stars despite some timing challenges from the kitchen, because it's new and working out the bugs. Servers were pleasant though seemed a bit frazzled with timing challenges from the kitchen... the fried calamari was nice, and a larger portion than I've ever seen elsewhere. The chicken wings were quite nice, though the name of the sauce was quite exotic and they really tasted like (very good) wings I've had elsewhere with a conventional title. Because things were coming out so slow they offered us soups on the house - the calo verde - but brought two bowls for the two of us, saying they could only carry two at a time, then never came back with the other two. The Portuguese steak (Botoque) was nice, as were my family's other entrees. The Hefeweizen I had was good but it took twenty minutes for my second one to show up; again, both the front and back end of the house seemed a bit clunky still, but I bet that work that out. Probably the best option in downtown York now; and once they work out the kinks, probably the best option by a big margin. Happy that it's here! read more

I really wanted to like this place but I was a bit underwhelmed. Not to say I wouldn't give it another try. I had heard good things about this fairly new restaurant and I have never had Portuguese cuisine before so I don't know if that's how it is suppose to be. We ordered fries because the Paella can take 45 mins. The fries were dropped off but they didn't ask if we wanted ketchup or anything to go with them, and our server was busy with a large table so we were half way thru until she came back and offered something. Had I known the Paella was going to be so huge I would have now ordered them. So much rice. Good amount of seafood but it was all pretty bland in my opinion, not much flavor. We barely put a dent into it and they boxed up the remaining which I'm still working on 3 days later with my spices. My white sangria was good. It gets pretty loud in there also They have some things on the ceiling that looks to try and help with that but it doesn't seem to do much. Maybe I need to try another dish. read more

Mesa Moreira - Paella - Portuguese Near Me - York, Pennsylvania

Absolutely fantastic! The ambiance and service was great, and the food was to die for! We split the assorted meat platter and some appetizers, and everything was so so good. read more

Mesa Moreira - Meat platter - Portuguese Near Me - York, Pennsylvania

The atmosphere was good but we came in a night they had music. It wasn't Portuguese or that good. Distracting and took away from the attempted Portuguese atmosphere. Our food was good. Some was authentic and some was an affectation. None of the staff spoke Portugues, which was a disappointment. Overall service was decent but not attentive enough. The place is hoopin'. Not a bad experience nor a great one. I would give them another try but I think this is less authentic Portugues and more Portuguese/American fusion. Definitely not impressed as a Portuguese person. read more

Mesa Moreira - Portuguese Near Me - York, Pennsylvania

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Definitely an enjoyable experience! The restaurant was sparkling clean, with great decor and a beautiful mural on the wall, and the service was wonderful. The owner's MIL was our server and she was lovely. I hope she wasn't run ragged by our large group. My parents and I got the mixed grill that serves 4-6...yes, it was 3 of us, don't judge! It was a massive platter of chorizo, ribs, chicken, steak, and short ribs. It came with huge servings of fries and rice, and a much smaller serving of black beans. Oh, and their house piri piri sauce. Dude, this was totally worth it. The chorizo was outstanding, as was the picanha (steak). The chicken and ribs were really good too! The only thing I didn't try were the short ribs - my dad got to them first. There was a LOT of food! I liked the piri piri sauce, although it was a bit different than what I had expected based on all my Nando's experiences. But different is good, right? For the sides, the fries came out somewhat cold and didn't have enough salt but were otherwise tasty. The rice was...well...rice, and the black beans were great. I thought there should be more black beans and less rice, personally. The only thing none of us liked was the rice pudding. It was super thick, not creamy at all, and not sweet enough. Such is life. As I mentioned, we went out with a large group, so there were a few hiccups in service, but overall they handled it really well. Great experience overall! read more

We came here with a large group (about 20) of people to try this new place in downtown York. Such a large group can be a challenge but the wait staff did an admirable job. We basically had one server who took orders but there were some helpers for the actual serving. The place is pretty and well lit and clean. White and blue with Portuguese tile style plates on the table make for a lovely setting. The sea creature mural speaks to Portugal's cuisine being influenced by its location. Our family looked at the menu online before we went and decided we'd try the Mixed Grilled Meats to share. It says the dish feeds 4-6 and that was fairly accurate. The meats are chicken, pork ribs, beef riblets, picanha ( steak) and Portuguese sausage. It comes with white rice, black beans and French fries and was $67.00. With our take home, I'd say meats serve 6, rice at least six, fries 4-5 and the black beans had about 4 servings. Two of us enjoyed the Piri piri sauce but I found it too hot for my taste. The meats were tasty but we all agreed they were all too heavily salted. The beef steak was a little chewy and the short ribs were gristly and fatty. The black beans were pretty good and I liked the rice very much. The fries weren't hot enough when served but with such a large group it was to be expected. The shrimp in garlic sauce across the table looked fabulous and the diner said it was a little spicy but delicious. Other diners enjoyed a variety of dishes. Everything was plated beautifully. Other diners said the clam chowder was excellent. The salads looked fresh and the bread and olives on the table were very good. People at the table seemed pleased. I surveyed some of the diners and asked how many stars they'd give their meals. There were some 3s and 4s and a 5. I settled on 4. The flan looked delicious and diners said it was but the rice pudding we ordered was a huge disappointment to us and our neighbors. It was dry and not flavorful. The place is new and working out kinks. Great potential with its open kitchen and friendly staff. Get a hold of the salt and fix the rice pudding are my suggestions. Stay as friendly and personable as you are because the ambiance was terrific! read more

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Top notch! Forget about going to Newark or Jersey City for your Portuguese cuisine... it's right here in York, PA -- Mesa Moreira. This place is dynamite. The food is scrumptious, the gravy and sauces are super. The service is outstanding. Make sure you get the grilled Portuguese sausage - 'Chouriço Assado' served flaming on fire by then owner Steve while he thinly slices the links right at your table (see photos). The seafood -- you name it they got it and w/ as much garlic sauté as you want. They start you with delicious olives. We had the shrimp garlic sauté, the Chouriço, and split the chicken/shrimp/peas w/ white rice dish. The ambiance is "it's happening here." It's clean, comfortable and lively. And lest we not forget, they serve Fanta Orange tonic. We'll be back! read more

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Food is phenomenal! Wait staff was attentive and informative making choosing a dish for picky eaters easy. And the sausage appetizer is a nice performance. Highly recommended even if you aren't familiar with Portuguese cuisine read more

Absolutely fantastic. Food, service, everything. One of if not my favorite place now in York read more

Mesa Moreira - Portuguese Near Me - York, Pennsylvania

I love this place; However, I had a terrible experience today! Went there for my birthday and Mother's Day, terrible slow service, hair in my daughters dish, steak not cooked correctly, and my favorite dish, Carne a Alentejana sucked. As a Portuguese guy it broke my heart! I am never going back. read more

Stopped in last weekend late afternoon. Really wanted to sample some Portuguese cuisine. I will preface this by saying I have no frame of reference. This place is conveniently located downtown right on W Market. The menu had several tempting items but I decided to try the red snapper with mixed veggie and potato. I sat at the bar so I could watch the cook carefully attending to the fish in the broiler with care. The potatoes were a perfect texture I did not see if they were boiled but very sensitive to the fork without being a full on mash. What a great dish! The meals also come with warm bread and olives! If you enjoy olives as much as I do this is definitely a treat! Who needs olive oil with the bread when you have the actual olives. I also had to try the "sawdust" dessert item. It's a creamy vanilla wafer like concoction. I take my coffee black so it made for the perfect dairy sweetener. I would definitely return to try some of the other menu items. read more

Mesa Moreira - Sawdust. Think of your coolest crème fraiche minus the fruit and with a vanilla wafer like cracker dusted and embedded in it. - Portuguese Near Me - York, Pennsylvania

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So I was in town for work and I contacted a friend of mine about meeting up for dinner at this new spot. Disclaimer: I grew up in Portugal so I'm in tune with Portuguese cuisine. The service and server was attentive from the get go. This was good food. My friend had the stuffed salmon which he enjoyed and I had the traditional Portuguese steak dish. We also had appetizers, the grilled Portuguese sausage and croquettes. **** be advised, this is not a run of the mill Place to eat you will need to be prepared to pay a nice sum but it's worth every penny. They're still waiting on their liquor license from the state so for now local beer is available. I thoroughly enjoyed my food and I got to meet the owner Steve. It was great food and great to catch up with a friend. PS. My friend and I are fluent in Portuguese. read more

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Authentic Portuguese food. Amazing staff and the owners care for their customers. Highly recommend.

My family and I stopped in after reading an article from a national news source that said this place was a must try in York County. I don't think I've ever tried Portuguese cuisine, so I was interested. It was a Friday night so they were packed, but they got us in after 20 minutes. I'd recommend making reservations, but they did a great job and the hostess was so friendly. We tried the soup with the Portuguese sausage. I thought it was good but needed some salt. The sausage was packed with flavor though. I got the thinly sliced pork sandwich with onions and mustard. It was a 4 out 5. Maybe a little less onions so I could focus on the flavor of the pork that was very good. The fries that came with it were elite though! I tried to dip the sandwich in the spicy piri piri sauce, but it was so salty I couldn't eat it. My wife got the garlic chicken with white rice and beans. The chicken was very good and the rice and beans were solid. My kids got the buttered noodles that were from Tutionis (probably misspelled) next door. Those noodles were the best thing I had at the restaurant. They were so fresh! The service was impeccable. It took a long time to get the food but it wasn't a lack of effort on anyone's part. If it was convenient I would try to eat here again but I wouldn't go out of my way. I struggled as to whether I would give a 3 star or 4 star review but the service and friendliness won me over - 4 stars! read more

Horrible establishment. Was super excited to try but what kind of restaurant only offers beer to drink? The place was also super empty. Don't bother coming here unless you only want to drink really obscure beer. read more

Amazing service and amazing food!!!! We absolutely loved this experience. Patty was great :) We loved the vacation feel. read more

Mesa Moreira - Portuguese Near Me - York, Pennsylvania

One of the best places to eat in York! Sophisticated yet relaxed...family-friendly yet romantic...laid back yet classy. Great food and service! Definitely coming back for more! read more

Mesa Moreira - Portuguese Near Me - York, Pennsylvania

Food was fantastic, Service was good. We were kind of all over the place with the first sample of food being the Portuguese Sausage and it setting the bar. Everything else was better as it came. read more

Mesa Moreira - Paella for 2 - Portuguese Near Me - York, Pennsylvania

Super salty chicken. this is the 3rd time I ordered it and only one time wasn't salty. I ordered online grilled piripiri sauce, they forgot to send the sauce for the second time, and my daughter was very disappointed because she loves that sauce! The rice that came with it didn't have any flavor. I don't think I'll order again! read more

This place is going to be amazing. I have been twice already and while the service is learning a bit, the food and owner are amazing. It's beautiful with lots of seating and there are GF/ DF options. Congrats on opening, Mesa Moreira. York is glad to have you! read more

Mesa Moreira - Portuguese Near Me - York, Pennsylvania

Well we have been waiting 45 minutes for our meal.. and the server has no idea when we will be served .. Her response was there are 3 tables ahead of you.. not sure what that meant... standby for further updates.... Plus never stops by to see how we are doing... Update.. The food was excellent.. and they gave us calamari on the house.. but you shouldn't have to wait 45 minutes for your food..Our server was in way over her head.. but no excuse.. My wife's meal got missed and again youthful response.. But it is still worth the visit.. if you can wait... read more

I have lived in York County for 30 years, so I welcome another local, adult, non chain/corporate restaurant. First the restaurant space is open, well lit, comfortable. The corner location on Market Street give off a big city vibe. Before Covid... Downtown York had a walkable, safe community of restaurants and brewpubs. Mesa Moreira adds to the ambiance of York and you don't have to drive to Lancaster or Baltimore. The staff is professional, welcoming, & informed about the menu. I will warn you the serving portion are super generous. I would suggest ordering multiple appetizers and soup or sharing entrees? Everything that we ordered was amazing. I'm very found of the complementary olives and bread. The bread is also fabulous, when dipped in the garlic sauce that the clams and shrimp are cooked in. Mesa Moreira also serves fresh locally made pasta from Tutoni's , another downtown gem. Bring a bottle of wine or two? Bring family, friends, or just plan a date night. Top the evening off with something sweet and a nice expresso? read more

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Good: ambiance and service. Amazing and timely service. Restaurant is bright and well lit with tinted windows. Olives are well seasoned and a tasty addition to the bread. The croquettes were tasty as well. Things to work on: The Paella was slightly more than 70 dollars. There was enough paella for 4 people at least. The seasoning was decent but the cook time on the seafood and rice needed some work. The paella was made in a pot as opposed to the larger pans I am used to. Majority of the seafood was overcooked- scallops were rubbery and lobster was tough. The mussels and clams were decent and the shrimp was good. That being said, the heavy hitters which would make this dish 70 bucks (lobster and scallops) needed some help. Overall: may come back to try other menu items but I wouldnt order the paella again. read more

Food was delicious. They were short staffed, but you wouldn't know. Great service. Great live music the night we went. 10/10.

let me start with seating. when sitting at the tables by the entrance, the chairs are low for the height of the table. Making it awkward to eat properly. The food was mediocre at best: The bread rolls were not fresh. The caldo verde soup, had so little kale that, it did not even seem to have kale. Very bland. The main course was their signature dish of cubed potato's, pork, chicken and shrimp. It appears they want to serve you quantity of quality - everything was way over cooked - we all know what over cooked shrimp and pork tastes like. Bring that up a few notches and that's what you get here. Desert, one for Portugal's epic desert is a custard pie; pastéis de nata and it pure delicacy when served fresh. Not here, not sure where they get it from but it tasted like it was days old and possible frozen at one time. Can you say rubbery.., The last thing I will say is a bit personal but here goes... the owner sat at the bar drinking his personal wine (they don't serve wine but that clearly does not apply to him). Additionally, he allows customers to go into the kitchen and behind the bar and fetch condiments and other items they might need. Very unprofessional. I drove hours out of my way to visit this establishment and was so disappointed. Hopefully this review will keep others from making the same mistake read more

Amazing Portuguese food! Everything is well seasoned and delicious. I highly recommend the shrimp in garlic sauce and the grilled Portuguese sausage (comes flaming and cut tableside.) The owner Steve is wonderful. I will be back again! read more

The food, wine & dessert brought me back to my favorite dining experiences in Portugal. My husband enjoyed his first Portuguese culinary experience. read more

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First time here. Beautiful inside. I like that windows are tinted in a way that we can see outside with no sun glare but people that are outside are unable to see inside. I had reviewed the menu ahead of time but still unsure what to get. We were seated. A big bottle of water was brought to the table. My friend ordered portugese soda and I ordered a mock drink, pretty n pink. Next came loaf of fresh bread and some butter along with small cup of olives. Bread delicious. Olives alone were too salty but complimented the bread nicely. We ordered bowl of cream of crab soup and a bowl of green soup. For main linner choice, we choice one of the specials, branzino fish with seasoned vegetables and boiled potatoes. Ample time in between to enjoy the food, take in the restaurant atmosphere and have conversation. There was one waitress. She was amazing. She Apologized for delays but truly is was just enough from our point of view. May be 10 minutes if that. Told her so. Found out she was the owner's (wife) Momma. Anyway, drinks were good. The meal fantastic. Fish was delectable. For dessert, we shared the homemade vermicelli. Yummy also. We left very satisfied. Definitely want to go again. We saw the chef come out with a fish that was on . It was portugese sausage which the cook tableside. It smelled wonderful. The owner (husband) was on site clearing off tables. Highly recommend read more

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The service was good and the food was good, but not mind blowing. The nearly hour long wait between the two is what soured me on this place.

Food and service are first rate. In an attractive space but a little noisy. Will definitely return.

Great food. Very slow kitchen. Nice seating area and nine seat bar. Would have been a five if it didn't take over 90 minutes to get our food. And this was on a Tuesday. Only go if you have spare time. read more

We were there with a group for a birthday celebration. The food was delicious and plentiful. Most memorable was the paella with lobster. Will definitely return. Can't wait to try the other dishes. read more

Visited yesterday, I didn't have a reservation and was dining alone, so I sat at the bar. I had the Lisbon spritz, which was DELICIOUS! I ordered the lobster salad which was very flavorful and tender, and the Portuguese cod, which was a large portion nicely seared on the outside and served with a copius amount of peppers, onions, olives and potatoes. I simply had to try 2 of the desserts offered, because I couldn't make up my mind, both the sawdust and the flan are simple offerings but artfully prepared, and paired with fresh brewed espresso DELIGHTFUL! read more

This joint no good. We got a sausage appetizer that is cooked table-side. The owner came out to cooked it for us. Well, The sausage was already completely cooked when he came out, so all he did was overcook it. It felt like gnawing on a piece of leather. All of the entrées were overcooked and tough. The same sauce comes with every dish making everything taste pretty much the same. Honestly I could go on, there were a dozen other problems we had throughout the meal but I'll leave it at that. I was completely disappointed. read more

We had dinner at the bar a few weeks ago, and really enjoyed the meal and the ambiance.. The following week, we contacted Brittany about a large takeout order for a dinner we were planning. She was very helpful and even had the chef accommodate a special request. Our dinner for 14 was ready for pickup on time, and it was delicious! We ordered the Paella, and the meat & potatoes for entrees. Octopus and Portuguese sausage for appetizers. Our guests raved about the meal. Everything was excellent and there are plenty of leftovers to look forward to! Thank you, Mesa Moreira! read more