Very good, every time I come to Porto I always come here . The seafood rice, the octopus the steak all so delicious

We were really looking forward to dining at Uma Marisqueira (Zé Bota), but unfortunately, the experience was so disappointing that we decided to leave before even being seated. We first visited around 2:30 PM after reading the excellent reviews. Although the website states the restaurant is open until 10 PM, the only employee working asked if we had a reservation and informed us that they closed at 3 PM. No problem! The restaurant smelled wonderful, so we decided to make a reservation for dinner instead. We planned our evening around returning, made a 9 PM reservation directly through their website, and took an Uber across town from the riverside specifically to dine here. We arrived two minutes before our reservation, only to find the door locked. The same employee came to let us in, but his demeanor was immediately rude and unwelcoming. He abruptly asked whether we had a reservation, and when I confirmed our 9 PM booking, he demanded to see it. Before I even had the opportunity to pull up the confirmation, he dismissively told us we would have to wait. It wasn't the possibility of waiting that bothered us. It was the complete lack of courtesy, professionalism, and hospitality. His attitude made us feel so uncomfortable and unwelcome that we decided to leave. We didn't argue or exchange any further words. We simply walked away. Fortunately, we found another restaurant around the corner where we were immediately greeted with warmth, kindness, and genuine hospitality. It's unfortunate because we genuinely wanted to enjoy this restaurant, especially given its reputation and how wonderful the food smelled. However, no matter how good the food may be, customer service matters. We went out of our way to support this establishment, and the treatment we received was completely unacceptable. read more

Zé Bota - Portuguese Near Me - Porto, 13

Run away! Tourist trap with bad food and good marketing playing off Anthony Bourdain's name. When paying bill, without informing ahead of time they charged an additional 5% to pay in dollars and an exchange rate 5% higher than market, for net 10% overcharge. Every customer spoke english. read more

Visited twice during my trip to Porto. Fantastic food and service. Staff is attentive. Very good traditional Portuguese food. read more

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Our hotel recommended this restaurant. It's in an alley so unless you knew about it, you would never find it. We were a party of 6 with 7 pm reservations. After being seated , we sat for a good 15-20 minutes before someone came to our table ....we were the only customers. She took our drink and appetizer orders. Good wine list. Salads and a shrimp appetizer were good. One in our group had octopus and he said it was good. One had salmon, alright. Another 2 shared a steak and enjoyed it. My self, and another in our group had the cod. It was terrible. We could not eat it because of the bones, and the fact that it was dry and chewy. They put a breading on it and bake it and it was dried out. We should have said something. Anyway, the service was slow and food was nothing special. There are only 2 people working this restaurant. There are too many other restaurants to explore. read more

Hidden place that a friend recommended and we are glad he did. I believe the owner was our server and he was a little rigid, but he was busy and just definitely kept it right down to business. The food was amazing. Everything our table got was delicious. I would definitely go back again. read more

Zé Bota was recommended to me by a friend who had visited Porto just weeks before my trip. I visited Lisbon, Porto and the Douro Valley. I can say without a doubt that dinner at Zé Both was the best dinner of the trip. I obviously had cod many many times throughout my visit to Portugal, but the Bacalhau à Zé Bota was the best by far. I would have visited the restaurant twice if we'd been in Porto longer. This dish is a MUST TRY! The friend corn bread and roasted onions are to die for. read more

Just AMAZING! The service, the food and the ambience! Try their grilled octopus, medallions and pork shank. Don't forget to order cheese and marmalade to accompany Porto wine. read more

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Our tour guide recommended this place and it certainly did not disappoint. Portions are huge. Highly recommend the grilled octopus and cod. Too stuffed to look at dessert. read more

I had some great meals in Porto, my dinner at Zé Bota was not one of them. I feel that it's possible to have a memorable experience here, especially as evidenced by the near 5 star rating out of 40+ reviews as well as the plethora of wooden plaques adorning their walls with writings from, mainly past diners sharing what an enchanting experience they had here. Maybe that's the key to having a good time at Zé Bota; walk in and be wooed by all the rave reviews of others which somehow plants in your mind that you too are and will have the same type of night. Anyway, the atmosphere does have an intimate setting and the food on some tables looked great. However, I found the service to be a tad rude, especially in the beginning (they seemed to warm up a bit by the time I was finished) and the food, for me at least, was easily forgettable. I ordered a local fish, grilled, which came with salad, potatoes, and some cabbage. Everything was bland and either over cooked (the fish) or under cooked (the potatoes). Like I said, I truly feel it is possible to have a great night here, unfortunately I did not. read more

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Don't listen to the haters. Ze Bota served up some incredibly tasty food and the service was on point. I ordered the pork shank and salad mista. The pork was literally the best pork I've ever had and I'm a pork snob,.literally a pig eating a pig. Guess that makes me a cannibal of sorts. Ambience was intimate, and tucked away in a small alley a stone's throw away from the downtown district. Not to be missed and my best meal in Porto during my trip. read more

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Let me start out by saying, thanks yelp! No one could possibly find this place without proper notice. You would never find it by just walking by. It's down a dead end alley that looks like it should contain dumpsters. But believe me, this may have been the best meal I've had in Europe in 10 days! Are you kidding me?? Amazing!! We walked in (based on yelp reviews) before they were open. The owner told us it would be 20 minutes or so, so please come back then. We were welcome to wait there with a drink but we opted to walk around. When we came back, there were several people there already but he had placed a "reserved" sign on a cute table for 2 and pointed us towards it with a smile. Bang. Good start!! As we sat down, 4 things were placed in front of us - a bread basket of delightful artisan bread, a tuna based dip with crackers, a plate of 6 hard boiled quail eggs in olive oil, onions, and basil, and a large plate of Iberian ham and cheese. All COMPLIMENTARY. Everyone gets this!! Who does that?? All were outstanding! We ordered the house red wine in a half liter bottle and it was to die for! They have an amazing wine collection and you can really enjoy yourself here with the wine choices!! We ordered from the English portion of the menu (helpful!) and chose the beef medallions in mustard sauce and the veal steaks with mushrooms. I cannot even begin to describe the tastes. The beef was cooked to perfection, tender, juicy, well trimmed, and off the chart delightful. And the "mustard" sauce didn't taste like mustard but had an incredible flavor that I've been dreaming about since! Wow. And the veal? Tender with the most amazing gravy! Your taste buds jump to attention at the first bite!! It's that good. Our bill total? 35 euro. Unbelievable. The British couple next to us had room for dessert and ordered the watercress cake. I didn't know there was such a thing! The only thing they said to us during the entire meal was "get this cake! No matter what you do!" We didn't but it looked so good!! Service was impeccable. The atmosphere is delightful, like a wine vault with wooden wine box sections adorning the wall. The presentation was a masterpiece of visual and aromatic enticements. I can see no reason to not suggest you get here right away!!! Oh, and one more thing. A line developed to get in as we had our meal. The owner, acknowledging the patience of the awaiting clientele, brought out glasses of port to those waiting in line. Another example of how attention to detail matters. So, no matter where in Porto you find yourself, make sure to get here. Do it!!! read more

Zé Bota - Beef medallions with mustard sauce. Truly amazing!! - Portuguese Near Me - Porto, 13

You will be ecstatic you went to this restaurant! Not the easiest street to find but, totally worth searching for it. The owners have customer service at the forefront constantly & it's truly appreciated! We weren't aware they didn't open until 8pm & arrived 20 minutes early. The owner offered us wine to wait or an option to return. We chose the latter. When we came back, there was a Reserved sign on our table. We sat & had several starters placed in front of us instantly. Awesome! The food was spectacular! The starters were all amazing - marinated quail eggs, olives, tuna mousse & crusty bread. Yum! My veal steak & mushroom entrée was one of the best dishes of our entire Spain & Portugal vacation. My husband ordered beef medallions with mustard sauce - it was a toss up which of us had the better dish. Lots of sharing that night! The carafe of house red wine was probably delivered in a big barrel from the Duoro Valley right up the river. Perfection! A line out into the street had formed by the end of our meal. The owner was passing out glasses of wine & walking out refilling them to make everyone's wait pleasant. Like I said, customer service to the max! Well done!!!! read more

Zé Bota - Veal Steak with Mushrooms - Portuguese Near Me - Porto, 13

Love it when Yelp helps me find a solid review overseas. The restaurant we had planned on going in the guidebook down by the river was solidly booked during our whole stay in Porto so, oh no! we had to find a good restaurant on our own. After some yelping around the area we found this place. We did not regret it. Down a little alley and away from the tourist parts of town, this place was among the best dinners we had on our whole two week jaunt in Portugal. They started us out with quail eggs, a cheese plate and some sort of tuna dip (despite what some other reviews say, these were not free... but they were good). Really great start. And i love getting food quick. After this, we had our mains of the veal with mushroom sauce per some other reviews and... well I don't remember what the wife got, maybe on account of the entire bottle of delicious and cheap Vinho Verde I had had by this point. But i digress... This place was very reasonably priced and very tasty. Not only worth a trip if you are in the area, but worth a walk across town to dine here. read more

Zé Bota - Veal with mushroom sauce - Portuguese Near Me - Porto, 13

we went there the first night that we arrived at Porto. Everything is excellent, the atmosphere is great, music is agreeable, on the table stick messages left by the guests. We ordered a ze bota's steak, which is the best steak we've ever tried in our life. And in one day, we will go there again! Can't forget it! read more

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An almost perfect dinner! My pork with beans and rice (with a tiny side salad - a tip of the hat to fresh vegetables) was expertly prepared. My wife's whole sea bream required some work, but was delicious. The staff were helpful and enthusiastic. We even got complementary pouts of Port to cap the meal. read more

Zé Bota - Portuguese Near Me - Porto, 13

Omg this food was delicious! Very authentic, the serving sizes were great and the wine was everything- we did have to wait a little while to be seated but it was worth it read more

Zé Bota - Cute little entrance - Portuguese Near Me - Porto, 13

Well O have just to say....amazing! Everything on the menù is delicious, nice and friendly staff and cozy place! Recommend every single thing, especially the cod fish read more

I was amazed at the rude attitude of the hostess, I'm vegetarian and they had no choices in main course. However, she still wanted me to order a main course and not just appetizers! Amazing, my friends felt like walking out at the moment. Food was decent but I won't go for the attitude of the staff (which is actually validated by multiple reviews) read more

One of the most memorable meals we had in Porto. We had lots of pig things; I got 'secretes' (a really delicious, almost marbled pork belly cut) and she got what I remember as a Portuguese style, nicely braised, fall off the bone, marrow inside, pork knuckle. My glass of red wine kept getting refilled for free -- I could do nothing else but give surprised/confused/appreciative looks towards the waitstaff. And at the end, we got to leave a message in their 'guestbook' - basically wrote in a cut piece of wood from a wine case, they took a Polaroid and stuck it on, then glued the whole piece to the wall. It was fun to read others' comments as well. We also ordered digestifs of Port and Aguardiente Vinica and they really filled our glasses up. We barely crawled up the hill back to our place afterward, so laden were we with pork, wine, and liquor! read more

A great place, we really loved it here. Nice food, even though we had our first encounter with the Portuguese habit of putting all kinds of stuff on your table and then charging you ridiculous prices if you eat it (to be fair, the appetizers, tuna paté, quail eggs, cheese and ham, were stellar!) My beef in madeira sauce was excellent and the 'Meia de Secretos' Margaux picked as well. Finally, we were immortalized on a piece of wine-box on the restaurants wall! read more

Zé Bota - Immortalized on Ze Bota's wall! - Portuguese Near Me - Porto, 13

Amazing amazing amazing!!! Came here for dinner with my husband and we got the ze bota steak and the steak medallion! The meat is so so tender and juicy. It just melts in your mouth.. oh my goodness, a dinner I'll never forget. We also got garlic bread and olives as starters and to cap the night, we ate raspberry cheesecake for dessert! That cake, oh my, was so fluffy and airy I wasn't sure if it was even cheesecake. Unbelievable restaurant. One downside and only one - there's a wait. We waited on a Saturday night for about an hour and half, but it was worth it! read more

This is the best Porto restaurant! We reserved one day in advance for a little birthday dinner for my wife. After nice starters we ordered delicious dorado fish, samon fish and stack of the house: all very very good! We choose our deserts: panne cotta and port. Than the surprise started: a very nice cake for my wife and a rose Spumante from the house: both superb! We wrote our best wishes on the wall. My wife also received flowers: she was completely surprised and satisfied. And this costed no money... Only 68euros for 3! Please find this restaurant and enjoy a fantastic evening ! read more

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This is not an easy place to find, but worth it. Definitely use your GPS. They start you with quails eggs, cheese, bread, and the usual cured meats. Awesome selection of Douro and other Portuguese wines. I had the cod and my friend had the steak. Everything was nicely prepared. Service is a little different in Europe than the US, but they were the correct amount of attentive. If you are in Porto, this place is worth finding. read more

Food was ok, Staff ok too everything ok. Or maybe the price was high don't recall, for me not a place to go back or recommend.

We thought the food was excellent at this restaurant. The cod dishes were extremely fresh, well-seasoned, and presented nicely. Really well-executed octopus salad which is almost 100% octopus! Large portion sizes as is typical for Portugal as well as fair prices. Even the dessert they had remaining that night of a mango mousse was fantastic and one could tell that it was house made. The only drawback is that if you don't have reservations like us be prepared to wait a very long time as it's a small place. read more

Wow, what an excellent hole-in-the-wall experience! Ze Bota captures everything I love about Portugal: amazing wine, smiling faces, fresh seafood and affordable prices. For me, the tuna pate was the best part of the meal, so be sure to not turn it away! I couldn't find a comparable treat throughout our two-week trip. We also enjoyed the steak medallions, octopus (yum!!), a bottle of wine and the chocolate mousse for about 40€. read more

We found this place thanks to Yelp and it did not disappoint! We had lunch here two days in a row, it was just that good! The lunch specials are the best deal. You get soup with a main course, for roughly 7.50 euros. read more

Zé Bota - Lunch special - Portuguese Near Me - Porto, 13

Wow! Best meal in Portugal so far! We got beef/veal dishes and both were delicious! The staff is friendly and attentive, the wine kept coming, the ambience is relaxed and the dessert (passion fruit) made it perfect!! read more

Zé Bota - Passion fruit mouse - Portuguese Near Me - Porto, 13

Booked a table here for two, however the staff were a little rude on the phone, I took it as them being busy. When we turned up they didn't have our table ready or even my name written down in the schedule list. Instead of apologising they told us to "get out and wait outside" a couple of times as we were in disbelief at what they had said. The weather was cold and they were making us wait outside the restaurant, no apology for their mistake. Safe to say we did not eat here. Overall: Very rude staff read more

Very nice restaurant with a nice service and lovely food! The previous reviews were absolutely right! We didn't mind walking in the rain for 30minutes! We also wrote a comment on a wooden wine box and they took a picture of us and hanged it against the wall! Original and creative! read more

Ze Bota is an amazing place. I have been to Porto many times. Let it be known that this city has an unbelievable food scene. The "standard" restaurant in here beats 99% of anything you can possibly find in North America (just check Yelp reviews, all 4-5 stars). It's just incredible. But if I had to choose a top dog, Ze Bota is a serious contender. You can find similar quality in other Porto restaurants but not at this price. If you overkill you might pay at most 30Eur per person and that's if you really go for broke, most cases you will spend less than 20Eur. The quality is unbelievable. Whoever supplies their meat knows their business. I've had virtually every entree, appetizer and desert in the menu, it's all amazing. The waiters are funny and lively. Customer service is second to none. Seriously, you simply cannot go wrong here. read more

I'm surprised by any negative reviews about this place because our food was absolutely fabulous. My husband ordered the pork shank and it was THE best pork shank we've ever had (and we are foodies). I had the cod fish in the clay pot and it too was wonderfully delicious. Charming atmosphere and terrific wine as well. read more

The food is okay but the attitude of staff is very rude. It was very unwelcoming attitude. Would not visit this place again !

The food is okay but the staff attitude is terrible. There is a woman in particular who is rude to the extent that you won't go there again

The other reviewers were absolutely on point! This little place offers a fantastic meal for a fantastic price. The veal with wine sauce is heavenly and only for 11€!! I cleared my plate and so did my date. We had Ana amazing dinner here and couldn't be happier! read more

Traditional-style food with great flavours and generous portions. You can have a feast with drinks and dessert for a very decent price. Service is very nice and accommodates those of us who speak only English. If you are in Porto I highly recommend Ze Bota. Very high quality food, you will not be disappointed. read more

So much meat. Great wine. It is unbelievably cheap for the quality and amount of meat. The chocolate mousse was great and I generally don't like mousse. The waiter was also patient with foreigners. read more

A little bit disapointed regarding all the 5 star ratings. The "secretos belly " is only fat, and the mustard beef has no mustard taste at all even if the meat was tender. Hiwever, the passion fruit cake was Very good ;) read more

Outstanding. Great vegetables soup, quail eggs, black pork meat. Sooooo goooood! Not to mention the Sangria. Exceptional. The entire dinner for two at 35euro. read more