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    Taverna Alfacinha

    4.4 (65 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 11:30 pm

    Taverna Alfacinha Photos

    TAVERNA ALFACINHA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Intimate

    Recommended Reviews - Taverna Alfacinha

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    Veggie paella
    Aida F.

    This is a very small restaurant; tables are set for 2 or put together for sets of 4. The heater was turned up way too high; they turn it down upon request, yet given folks are coming in with jackets & layers, a little cooler would actually do the trick all around. The food was different - there was a variety of paella dishes or other dishes consisting of whole fish & other seafood also being served. We opted for the chicken paella & a vegetarian one. Bread & an order of olives were the starters. We share a stout beer, which went well with the meal. The paella dishes are large & a shareable item. The dishes come out piping hot to the point that in parts the rice was scorched. It was overall tasty, yet lacking, not sure what it was lacking, just not quite it. You need to try for yourself. There's supposedly a sister restaurant a few blocks away, where the host was sending folks when he knew his tables would be awhile before being able to seat anyone.

    Rami B.

    Cozy hole in the wall restaurant with a variety of options. I highly recommend a shrimp garlic appetizer with the bolo do Caco bread. Fast and friendly service. I highly recommend them.

    William L.

    Food is great and fresh. Price is reasonable. No hidden charges or extra service charges like the other restaurants around the corner. Restaurant is small but cozy. Food portion is of good size. Didn't make reservation but wasn't a long wait. Stronger recommend seafood rice if you like rissorto.

    Seafood paella
    Autumn L.

    We were not super impressed with this place given the good reviews. Maybe we ordered the wrong dishes, but everything seemed quite average. This was our first meal when we arrived in Portugal. We ordered the seafood paella and sea bass, and both dishes were not that flavorful. It wasn't necessarily bad, just mediocre. The seafood was decently fresh, but there was a distinct lack of seasoning or preparation that left us disappointed. Our paella did not look as good as what other reviewers' have posted if you compare our pictures. Luckily, we didn't have to wait very long before getting seated. The service was also pretty good. Our server offered us free shots of ginja at the end of our meal, which was a nice touch.

    Bacalhau
    Megan Y.

    This was a great restaurant in the heart of Lisbon! I highly recommend making a reservation because we still had to wait for a table even with our reservation, but it guaranteed us a seat. As we waited in line outside, there were so many people stopping to ask the hostess for a table, but the wait would have been about an hour. I did see some lucky groups manage to get a table without a reservation or long wait though, so it can't hurt to stop by and ask even if you don't have a reservation. Another thing to note is that this is not a place for big groups! Parties of 2 are best and it looks like they can manage some parties of 4. We heard from a tour guide that bacalhau or cod was a staple dish in Portugal so we tried one of these dishes. We also got the seafood paella. The cod was a little too fishy for me, but had great flavor and was cooked nicely. The seafood paella was the winner! I would definitely come back here for the paella if I was ever in Lisbon again.

    Small restaurant that's very cute inside. Service is really nice and we got a dessert wine on the house. The paella was very good with a lot of seafood or whatever you order. The cod was pretty salty though. At like 4:45 pm there was no wait. I would get the paella or pasta if I came back

    Seafood soup
    Oriana S.

    We found this restaurant thanks to the great reviews it has. The restaurant is located near Santa Justa Lift and is tiny but cozy. The waitresses were amazing and so attentive to us. We were lucky to arrive just in time as it gets packed! And people have to wait outside to be seated. We ordered bread and olives, seafood soup, seafood rice, and sea bass. The food was super delicious and fresh. The fish was delicious!!!!!!! And seafood rice had a lot of seafood as it should. The soup was good too, the only downside was the lack of seafood. Overall we had an excellent meal!

    Free drink! Limoncello?
    Jennifer J.

    This is a nice place to enjoy a quiet meal. The seafood was great and my family all loved their food. I highly recommend the Octopus - I never knew octopus can be so tender! The vegetables that came with it was also well seasoned. My mom got the black seafood paella, which she also really enjoyed. I got to taste it and it was indeed full of flavor, perfect for any seafood lover. My dad's pot of seafood rice was good, but I have to admit I did try the seafood rice at Uma a day after, the place next door, and it was better, but the one here was still a decent dish that is satisfying and in comparison the servers were more attentive here. Speaking of servers were really nice and patient with us when we weren't sure what to order. We also got free drinks afterwards! I believe it was limoncello? Not my preferred drink but still very much appreciated!

    Thanh L.

    This place has a line but is worth the wait. It's a cash only place. We got grilled octopus, grilled steak, paella, prawns with garlic, mussels with garlic, cheesecake, sangria, ginja, and tiramisu. The steak was surprisingly amazing. It was perfectly cooked and juicy. We ended up getting a second serving. The grilled octopus was delicious. The skin was crispy and it was chewy. The mussels and prawns soaked in the garlic and butter. It was amazing. The desserts were okay. The drinks were amazing. Overall a good experience. A must try

    Seafood rice
    Gary L.

    A very small but seemingly lovely place to have seafood rice. Very warming service and delicious food and drinks.

    Chicken paella
    Melanie E.

    We found this place by accident. It was busy when we arrived & waited about 10 minutes for a table. Food: 4/5 - most of us ordered the seafood paella, another had chicken paella grilled seabass. The fresh seabass tasted the best as it was cooked to perfection served with boiled potatoes and vegetables. The shrimp in the seafood paella was slightly overcooked. If you enjoy fish, go for the seabass. Service: 5/5 - it was worth it to wait for a table as the place fits 18 people maximum Ambience: 5/5 cosy place with authentic Portuguese music Value: 4/5 - decent value as entrees were priced under 20 Euros Note: we were told right off the bat that they only accept cash. TIP: a small place that's busy so get there early. They were kind in giving us a sample of the local cherry ginja drink. It was tasty!

    Emily X.

    A small place for good paella We were in the tourist area in Lisbon and craving paella. We found this place nearby and went there around 7. This place is pretty small, with only a few tables; however, it was mostly empty when we arrived. We ordered 2 paellas. it took a while to cook, around ~20 minutes, but worth the wait. The portion was good and relatively good priced. I recommend if you are visiting the tourist attractions nearby and want to have a decent meal.

    Paella mix and Paella seafood. Fun to eat with the variety of ingredients
    Eric C.

    Tried the seafood Paella and the Mixed Paella. They seem pretty similar as you can see in the photos. Wish the Paella was more "wet/juicy", it was pretty dry. Still good, no regrets. Not pictured is the sardine pate for 1€. It's just a little tiny store bought pate container that smells like cat food. I would avoid the pate. The highlight of the restaurant though is the friendly service. One of the staff is a man from Nepal, super friendly guy. Enjoyed talking to him. If you do decide to eat here, be sure to make reservations. There isn't much seating.

    Red sangria (1liter), lemonade, agua com gas

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    8 months ago

    Could not seat us and sent us to a sub par place they own. It was busy but no one was local.

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    Taverna Alfacinha Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Taverna Alfacinha

    We got the seafood paella and the chicken paella which were the 2 most popular orders according to the staff.

    Mentioned in 14 reviews

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    Wine Bar do Castelo - Delicious port

    Wine Bar do Castelo

    4.5(34 reviews)
    0.5 kmCastelo, Mouraria - Castelo - Alfama
    €€

    This place is very close by the Sao Jorge Castelo. At the entrance/exit, just take the first side…read morestreet downhill and you'll see this place on the right. After walking around the castle on a warm day, we actually felt more a beer than wine, but we wanted to try this place so we headed in anyway. The owners, actually from Brazil, are very nice. They gave us a menu, then came back in a short while to see what we wanted. They generously gave us a few to sample and even brought out a few bottles that were not on the list, and one was a new bottle! Price of wine is not cheap, our glasses each cost €10 each, a pretty steep price in Portugal where a full bottle often cost less. However, considering the expertise and service, the welcoming and relaxed atmosphere, this is a lovely place to rest up a bit after visiting the castle.

    Great wine list, small but tasty cheese and meat offerings. They all speak English here, and so do…read moremost of the clients -- this is not the place to get a taste of local culture. If all you want to do is drink Portuguese wine and eat some Portuguese snacks, and you have a large tourist wallet, this is your place. It is pleasant, and you'll see a better variety of wines from the whole country here than in most wine bars. But if you are hoping to rub shoulders with locals, look elsewhere. The waiters are all well versed in Portuguese wines. Service is slow, but that seems to be the norm in Lisbon.

    Photos
    Wine Bar do Castelo - Delicious wine!

    Delicious wine!

    Wine Bar do Castelo - White wine

    White wine

    Wine Bar do Castelo

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    Li28oa - Seafood or shrimp rice - tasty

    Li28oa

    4.7(21 reviews)
    0.7 kmMouraria - Castelo - Alfama, Castelo

    I'm so incredibly impressed. I loved that this place was in the ground floor of our hotel…read more Frederico is the expert on hospitality. He is so kind. He will talk to you for hours and teach you about food and wine and culture and talk about the history of food and how it came to be in Portugal. I loved it. I learned so much. I aspire, as an American, to learn from and look up to other cultures. I feel very honored to have dined in a restaurant managed by him on our trip to Portugal. I'm going to recommend to our travel coordinator to add this restaurant to the Google map recommendations list because more people need to go to this place - they need more tables, more space, because I'm convinced this is such a hidden gem that should be exposed to the masses to enjoy! We visited several wineries and this restaurant had the best wine - bar none! The fish, a fish I hadn't tried before, was deliciously seasoned, falls apart with the fork, the creamy rice was just divine. I normally will never eat little cherry/grape tomatoes - ever - but the perfect bite of fish, creamy rice, and a tomato was... perfection. The menu is deeply curated; flavors - textures - wines that make sense. You can tell Frederico what you normally like and he 100% knows what wines he has that you will love. The tomato, orange, ham, salad, was absolutely balanced and delicious. I'm so grateful that our first trip to Portugal we got to meet Frederico and dine with these wonderful people who love food and wine as much as us. I'll never forget it as long as I live. You will not be disappointed. Promise.

    Found this restaurant while walking the streets of Lisbon, and what an amazing surprise. The…read moreambience was lovely, and the food and service were just as great. It was not crowded at all on a Friday night, and I was able to strike up a conversation with fellow diners and actually hear myself talk. That is rare these days. I was surprised they were offering Happy Hour pricing around 7 PM, so I quickly took advantage of a pitcher of sangria, which was delicious and incredibly fresh. I started with the chorizo, which you cook yourself right at the table. For my main course I ordered the steak with eggs, and it was excellent. To finish, I had the crème brûlée for dessert, and it was also outstanding. Overall, a truly wonderful hidden gem in Lisbon. I cannot wait to return.

    Photos
    Li28oa
    Li28oa - The most delicious bottle of wine we have had in Portugal.

    The most delicious bottle of wine we have had in Portugal.

    Li28oa - Liter of

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    Liter of

    O Cantinho Da Rute - Rice soup??

    O Cantinho Da Rute

    4.1(14 reviews)
    0.8 kmAlfama, Mouraria - Castelo - Alfama

    It was our last day and we got careless. We were hungry and searching for a couple places that…read moreending up being closed. And every place we've been to so far had been very good. So we finally settled on this place with loud music. That should've been the first sign. The loud music was the biggest draw they had. That and a couple friendly waiters. We ordered a couple salads, apps, and a couple seafood rice dishes. The tomatoes in the tomato salad were a bit hard and a tiny bit green. But, no big deal. The octopus salad was fine too. Hard to mess up a salad. Throw some cooked or maybe canned octopus into a salad and toss around. The rice dishes looked nothing like the pictures. Definitely not worth the nearly $20 Euros. Could've gotten shrimp fried rice at a Chinese take out for a few dollars that would've been better. We had hung into a menu in case we wanted to try other items. But, after seeing the rice dishes, we decided not to order any more. (We later went to another restaurant for take out). The waiters were very nice. But then when we tried to pay, they told us "cash only." It was our last night in Lisbon. My wife and I only had $20 left in small bills and coins. And our friends had gotten pick pocketed the day before. $1500 lost. True to the warning that pick pockets are a huge problem in Lisbon. (When they went to report it at the police station, another couple behind them were reporting the same thing. Keep all your valuables in your FRONT pockets. Or in a bag in front of you. Nothing of value should be left in a backpack bon your back. Separate your cash between you and your spouse. Don't carry an expensive looking purse, especially behind you. And don't carry a tiny little purse. That's a sure sign that the ONLY thing you have in your little purse is a wallet. Easy picking. Much harder to pick through a large backpack full of useless things, water bottles, maps, books, etc.) So we were directed to the nearest ATM to get cash, leaving our wives. Unfortunately, the streets are all very twisty. So we didn't find it. I looked up the nearest ATM. 8 min walk. Couldn't find it. The next one is another 8 minutes away. But it's out of cash. We finally found cash at a third. But now we're quite far from the restaurant. 15 minutes. I googled it and it turned out there are multiple with the same name. Crap. We went to one and it wasn't that. We were lost in the labyrinth of Alfama. We finally found our way when our wives texted us a link to another shop in the area. We finally made it back after an hour. And then they told us that they could now take credit. Apparently they had borrowed a card scanner from another store. The manager/owners looked pissed as they discussed allowing me to use credit. Not a great way to run your business. I would've apologized profusely for allowing a foreign customer to walk a whole hour to get cash and having the whole party wait an additional hour at my shop. The waiters were again very nice and apologized. I told them it wasn't their fault multiple times to make sure they understood it. I also told them I wasn't angry at them but at the restaurant, while pointing back at the owners inside the restaurant. Lessons learned: Check to make sure the shop takes credit. take a minute to Yelp or google a place. Don't be pressured by pushy waiters. And don't let loud music distract you from what is probably going to be a lousy place. Also, I make it a rule to not do reviews of less than 4 stars bc it would negatively affect a business. However, this experience definitely deserved to be written up. And a little apology from the manager would've probably prevented this. But, to allow 5 people to experience lousy food, and then surprise them with an hour of waiting to find an ATM was too much.

    This was the 3rd place we went to on our Lisbon Food Tour and definitely hands down my fave! (And…read morethat is not the ginja aka the red cherry liquor I imbibed here talking!) This restaurant is a mom & pop affair, cheerful kitschy sort of place but with hearty delicious local produce on the menu. We got served delicious honey and local cheese as well as quince jam and another jam I cannot now recall the name of (writing this review almost 1.5 months later!). For me, the highlight at this place was the Chourico! This dish was cooked in front of us by the chef in a special terracotta dish with alcohol poured in the bottom saucer, then the sausage placed on a grill on top. Then the alcohol is set alight and once the alcohol has charred the chourico and the flames have died out, what is left is the most delicious, crispy flamed grilled pieces of sausage ever! The host was so funny and engaging, despite his broken English and his wife cooked magic in the kitchen. I totally recommend and plan to return when/ if my travel plans bring me back Lisboa way. Note - Day 3 of Lisbon, Portugal adventures Yelp 201/ 2019

    Photos
    O Cantinho Da Rute - Did not look at all like the picture on the menu.

    Did not look at all like the picture on the menu.

    O Cantinho Da Rute - This too was hard to mess up.  Throw some canned or old octopus into a salad.

    This too was hard to mess up. Throw some canned or old octopus into a salad.

    O Cantinho Da Rute - They couldn't mess this up.  But, the tomatoes were a little green for my taste.

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    They couldn't mess this up. But, the tomatoes were a little green for my taste.

    Taverna Alfacinha - seafood - Updated May 2026

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