Principe do Calhariz came heavily recommended to us by our airbnb host and various locals during our trip to Portugal, so we decided to check it out. Located in the energetic young neighborhood of Bairro Alto, the restaurant itself has an unassuming exterior with a modest inside: there's about a dozen tables close together (so you might get to know your neighbors!). Our group of five popped in right at opening (noon) on a Sunday, and we were seated immediately. Our server was friendly and spoke perfect English, promptly presenting us with an extensive menu in English. The menu itself advertises a wide variety of traditional Portuguese fare, and our server was more than happy to make recommendations for the five of us, who knew little to nothing about Portuguese cuisine. From roasted meats to fish to soups to vegetables, there's really something for everyone to try! Just a side note: there's bread on all the tables when you enter, but it isn't free - if you touch it, you pay for it, and you often have no clue how long it's been sitting out. Save room for other things! Our server first recommended the Bacalhau Special (around €18), which was a mix of half-grilled, half-fried cod served with sauteed onions and fried potatoes. This is a classic dish of Portugal, and it's easy to see why - the grilled cod was succulent and cooked perfectly, soaking up the richly-flavored oil at the bottom of the dish. The fried cod had a lovely crispy exterior as well, although it was a bit too rich for us when combined with the oil. The fried potatoes were unique in that it was a boiled potato-texture on the inside, but the breaded exterior was crispy and delicious. The addition of fresh parsley and olives atop also lent a nice freshness! Other recommendations included the Gambas a Guilho (€10.5), similar to the Spanish dish of Gambas al Ajillo. I thought this was fine - it only came with seven or eight medium-sized shrimp, and I prefer the Gambas I've had in Spain. We also tried their Escalopes de Vitela Grelhados C/ Alinho (€9.5). These were "small steaks of veal", which were tender and flavorful thinly cut slices of veal, but wasn't a show-stopper dish. We actually quite enjoyed the half-portion of Frango Assado (€8.5), which is Portuguese grilled chicken - it's flavorful and juicy, with plenty of meat on the bone. Lastly, if you're feeling adventurous, you can try their Morcela Assada (€7.5), which is a traditional Portuguese blood sausage. This is a deep black color, with a very iron-rich taste. It's certainly not for everyone, but kind of reminded us of soondae, which is a milder Korean blood sausage. All dishes were served with complimentary fries and rice, which helped to balance out the rich oiliness of the food. However, we did wish that there was some sort of side salad/vegetables that weren't coated in oil! Overall, this is a great, affordable place to sample traditional Portuguese food, and there was a good mix of tourists and locals inside - service is friendly if not very fast, and it's a good experience...I can recommend this restaurant for sure! read more

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An unpretentious eatery in Barrio Alto not too far from Praca Luis Camoes as well as the Elevador da Bica. Dining area was very lively with many patrons (both locals and visitors alike). Menu had a vast variety of house wines, all reasonably priced. The food choices were just as plentiful, mostly old-school typical Portuguese fare (bacalhau, pulvo, grilled meats and shellfish). Tables had breads and snacks (not complimentary, but also every reasonable 0.5-2 euros). If one didn't touch the starter food or if it was handed over to waitstaff no charges would be incurred. I ordered the frango dinner (half order of piri piri style grilled chicken). It came with a heaping order of white rice and French fries. My companion got the steak, and it took up more room than the plate (topped with a fried egg over easy). His meal also came with the same 2 sides as mine (both entrees were hefty portions). Both meats were well-cooked and juicy, with a good smoky flavor from the grill. Rounding out the meal was a glass of locally sourced vinho verde, which went very well with the chicken. Prices were very reasonable and service was very friendly and warm. Needless to say, we left full and happy. read more

Principe do Calhariz - Bitoque de novilho grelhado c/ ovo - Portuguese Near Me - Lisbon, 11

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The server was super helpful and gave us good suggestions, not necessarily the most expensive items in the menu. The food was delicious. We shared 3 entrées for a family of 4 and we had more than enough! read more

This place at first to me I was a little nervous but then.. we sat down and all was fine besides a little loudness. Anyway, we had the veal steak with mushrooms and it also came with fries, a salad, and white rice. We also got some cheese and some croquettes and Creme brulee. All of it was very delicious and SO affordable! This is typical Portugese menu. Goncalo was our waiter and he was awesome! Great customer service! Ambiance is okay but the food and price for the good food was awesome!!! They also gave us free shots! Highly recommend this place! Nice and affordable! read more

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I'll all for local establishments where the ambience is unpretentious. Principe boosts of quality service, amazing food, drinks variety and just good old-fashioned traditional cooking. The portions are generous and reasonably priced. I had the "Ginja" (Portuguese cherry liquor) which is unadulterated good stuff. It is strong but very satisfying. You get few tourists here, which actually is a good thing :) read more

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Wow! Worth the climb! We didn't wait for the tram! We climbed, well a very steep walk, that will definitely get your heart rate up. We spent most of our day in this area. The architecture was amazing and the people are so friendly. Make sure to ride the local tram to see the sights. First off the hospitality in this restaurant was amazing. Constant great customer service, and ensuring you have everything you need without asking. If you don't understand a dish, the waiter will literally bring you a sample! Although we had a generous sample of Portuguese stew, i still wanted seafood. You cannot come this close and not have seafood. I opted for the garlic oil shrimp, which was absolutely amazing, although the shrimp were large I still manage to eat all my shrimp. Oops I forgot to mention the fresh bread, which there is plenty of along with virgin olive oil. Cod is big in this region. So, we thought, we would try the olive oil fried cod, with onions, potatoes. Sheesh the freshly fried tasty cod was amazing and steamy hot, along with the unbelievable potatoes fried like French fried but in a different cut. By this time are bellies were full, yet our waiter brought us a piece of pie made from pigs blood. I know it sounds terrible but hey! We managed to consume that pie as well. Let me tell you, we ate most of our food! Well at least, we walked off our calories! This is a restaurant you don't want to miss out on authentic Portuguese food. read more

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We ordered their signature dishes--fried cod with fries and octopus rice. The cod was a bit hard and the rice was like a gumbo. Both were just so-so. Not worth a trip for tourists. read more

Principe do Calhariz - Portuguese Near Me - Lisbon, 11

Nice local restaurant. Price is fair and food is perfect. I got here on their last working day before closing to vacations!! They will be closed from July 21 till August 20!! So plan well your visit here. LOL. read more

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My favorite place to eat in Lisbon Semi-dive but amazing food and local color Excellent grilled octopus, seafood stew, cold beer Great, great, great place! read more

Worst customer service and worse food in Lisbon The server was unfriendly I will never return or recommend Very noisy Do not go. It's a trap read more

How to go from 4 stars to 1 with a few words. Our waiter asked for a tip. 19 days in Portugal and this is the first time I have had this experience. And, then, when I asked him to break my €10 note (I had no coins), he returns with two €5 notes. He got €zero. This restaurant was literally cross the street from our AirBnB apartment and has decent Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews. So, we decided to check it out. We started with a white wine: Cabriz, 2016, Dão DOC for €11.50. It was light, crisp with a hint of apple. Our second white was Monte Velho. 1/2 bottle. I had the rabbit. Braised thumper with potatoes and toast. And, gravy! Delicious rich, velvety gravy. I devoured this dish. Tracie had the grilled salmon; which was perfect. Accompanied by boiled potatoes and cabbage. She loved the salmon. Dessert was an ordinary orange cake with café and aguardente. + Lively atmosphere. Lots of happy people eating good food. + Wi-Fi. + Credit cards. 0 Average flatware. Cristema. - Paper napkins. - No outdoor seating. - Lighting is too bright and harsh. They need to lower the temperature by 500 degrees Kelvin. - - Asking for a gorjeta. Mau. €48.75 read more

Went based on previous reviews and was not disappointed. Bread, jamon and cheese placed on table...all at extra charge but was no problem. Ordered pork steaks, grilled shrimp on skewers and grilled cod. All very very well prepared. Over all good value for money including 7 euro pitcher of sangria! read more

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We just wandered onto this restaurant, and without knowing it it was a great first choice in Lisbon for lunch. Got in before they closed up @ 3pm and ordered their seafood rice and prawn rice. They leave bread and spreads/butter on the table also some sliced cheese. Whether we paid a cover for these didn't matter it is inexpensive anyhow. The bread was really fresh and huge. The spreads were one tuna and one sardine which we spread on the bread-really lovely. OMG...one rice portion was good enough for three adults seriously! They serve it in a small pot. To say that it was full with tons of fish and seafood is an understatement. And it was soooo good! Loads of flavor and endless white fish. The seafood rice contained so many clams we lost count. This is a restaurant frequented by the locals and a few tourists like us. Prices are extremely fair for the amount of food they give. read more

Recommended by a friend who took us along. This was inexpensive, friendly, fantastic food. Typical Portuguese cuisine, and I'll be back every single time I go to Lisbon. Which I want to be more often! read more

Service was good and prices reasonable. Octopus salad was good (although seemed slightly overpriced for the amount of octopus you get), grilled cod was quite charred and underseasoned - we've had better cod elsewhere for the same price. Madeira pork was underwhelming, wouldn't recommend. read more

Bustling craziness and food is excellent and very reasonable. Portly waiters moving around really fast and very friendly. One of the better tapas places in town. Manana Weee going to zapata one of the best tapas places in Lisbon. Glad I'm walking. 7 mi a day? read more

I give this restaurant a 0! The service is bad and the food is bad. After we ordered, the waiter never brought our appetizer I had to remind him to bring it. After he finally brought our appetizer, it took at least another hour to bring our food out just for us to see everybody else getting the food before us and we ordered first. We have traveled a lot and this is the first restaurant that made us feel unwanted. It was a very sad experience. read more

Ohhhh my. Principe do Calhariz was the most memorable meal of our time in Lisbon. The large restaurant was packed and the waiters bustling around busily when we arrived, which is always a good sign. Our group of three waited for 10-15 minutes before getting space at a communal table. I might have become overexcited watching the amazing grilled dishes carried from the front grill to tables and was primarily responsible for our overabundance of food. We started off with bread and an assortment of spreads, including a strong fish paste and Cheez Whiz like concoction--I ended up sticking to the butter. Bread is actually not necessary though, as the meals come with tomato rice and/or ample potatoes. The showstopper was most certainly the shrimp skewer, which is 10-12 large prawns hanging ever so appetizingly over a pool of butter. Magical. We saw this dish come out while we were waiting and immediately needed to have it. The next best dish was the tuna steak. I have never seen tuna served as a large slab like that. It was extremely tender and way better than the beef equivalent, the typical steak in America, in my opinion. Even though the restaurant continued at max busyness throughout the night, our waiter made an effort to catch my eye throughout the meal and come when needed, which I appreciated especially as I sometimes expect to be given non-Catalan speaking tourist treatment. Come to Principe do Calhariz for friendly service and bomb seafood. read more

Principe do Calhariz - Shrimp skewer hovering above, tuna steak at the top - Portuguese Near Me - Lisbon, 11

It's a typical portuguese restaurant with good selection of seafood. I tried bacalhau and a friend of mine ordered shripms and calamars. If you speak portuguese you can talk to the chief or to the owner, if you don't speak portuguese - they'll talk to you regardless of whether or not you understand them ;-) Anyway, if you don't want to go to the typical touristic trap in Lisbon, it's a good place to try good local cuisine. read more

Loved this place! Amazing food and great prices. Felt very authentic. The octopus was great-and the service was great especially considering how full the place was. Would definitely return! read more

Great local authentic food. Place was filled with all locals - no tourists. Seafood rice, chicken and charcuterie were amazing!

Local spot, simple interior decor. Servers were very nice to me despite the lack of a common language. I had the fried cod with tomato and onion. It was simple and hearty with a price to match. Definitely a place worth going back to. read more