WARNING: my wife was the victim of a professional team of pickpockets as we had lunch at an outdoor table on September 8th. A single man sat at the table next to my wife. I found out the next day from the restaurant manager that he remembered both us and the man, because the man ordered only a beer and the mandatory bread and olive fee that everyone pays. He remembered that he paid with a €100 note and that he was Brazilian.
While we were eating, suddenly, two or three woman appeared and came over pretending to be friends with the man and got close to him, but one woman was so close to my wife that her ass was a few inches from my wife's face. I loudly expressed my unhappiness with her proximity, but she didn't move. A second man appeared and stood directly behind my wife's chair. Her pocketbook was hanging from the back of her chair (a huge mistake never to be repeated.) The behavior of this group was as unusual as it was rude, but I just didn't figure out what was going on until my wife discovered her wallet missing from her bag. When we returned the next day, the manager said there were no cameras, and claimed he had never had another theft at the restaurant. The length of time the crime took and the number of participants makes me skeptical that this has never happened here. Despite my loud complaints when the woman stood next to my wife, no staff came over to see what was going on.
Now the food and service. Neither was anything special and substantially overpriced for Lisbon. Appetizers were great (spring rolls and croquettes). Main courses were just okay (risotto and octopus, the latter overly saucy and bland). The mandatory starter was bland, we left more than half of or, you had to pay for it, and had no choice about it. No tap water available and a 25cl bottle of water was, I think, €3.75
I much prefer spending one third the price at a place frequented by locals and not be a tourist victim in more ways than one. read more