Very nice fine dining experience to discover regional flavors from Coimbra. The service was outstanding and we felt very comfortable right from the start. My companion's request for a vegan menu was immediately answered in the affirmative. We both opted for the 7-course menu. Thank you to the whole team for a fantastic evening and keep up the good work ??
Vegetarian options: Vegetarisches als auch Veganes Menü möglich ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anne van der Maas
Good with children, and excellent food
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joyce Vandecauter
Je gaat er voor het eten maar ook de passie en ervaring er rond. Super lekker menu en aangepast aan de dieetwensen van de klant. Zeker een aanrader!
Vegetarian options: Unieke bereidingen en een volledig vegetarisch menu.
Dietary restrictions: Er wordt met allerlei allergieën en intoleranties rekening gehouden.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Natan Gieraltowski
What an amazing experience! Fine dining to the topp. Micheline Star worthy. We took a 7 courses menu. Don't bother to tell them what you don't eat, they personalize the dishes. Great service and food! @palcoteam keep up the fabulous work. ??
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jacky Fischer
The meal started with me requesting to pick the seven courses. The waitress said, "No, you have to trust us." This made me nervous, but I am glad we did! The dinner was like little Christmas presents, each a unique surprise. We took a tour of wines and the history of Coimbra through the flood. Our waiter was a guide, and we enjoyed the tour. Thanks for an amazing meal and experience. It was a magical night!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
simón manuel sánchez
A pleasant surprise. Portuguese food with local products that are given an incredible twist. We regret not having ordered the long menu because everything was so good. The unbeatable quality-price ratio. The impeccable service, good explanations about their product and kindness and friendliness. If you go to Coimbra, don't hesitate to go. Very good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mircea Timofticiuc
Amazing food, great service - small family restaurant worth a Michelin stat. Would love to go back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Clifford Morrison
It’s rare to have a meal like this. The tasting menu feels like taking a regional tour through food and wine. Every course felt intentional and well thought out. If you enjoy wine, the pairings were spot on. Besides being delicious, the food was playful and unpretentious - elevated regional dishes with amazingly concentrated flavours. One of the best wait staff I’ve experienced. Absolute professionalism in every sense - while still feeling warm and not stiff. I can’t say enough good things about my experience here. Highly rated, but still criminally underrated. Already planning my next trip back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mariana Oliveira
We went for the 7 moments experience. We have done several experiences of this type and none of them beat Restaurante Palco in terms of price/quality. We had already heard great things about the Stage and we went from Lisbon to Coimbra on purpose and it was really worth it.
Absolutely fantastic, an experience not to be missed. It's the experience of tasting and improving the palate, if you want a different tasting of regional raw materials with fusion and deconstruction of the usual, it's here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dermot Higgins
We opted to go for the seven course option with matching wines. In order to experience the full menu, my wife ordered the vegetarian menu while I went for the non-veg. Both were delicious. One of the best meals we’ve ever had. Great locally sourced ingredients, wonderful staff and a lovely room made this a memorable experience. And compared to similar quality restaurants in other countries, an absolute bargain for this quality.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kurt Koerfgen
Similar to Italian cuisine, Portuguese food is generally more about simple but tasty food (think mother’s home cooking) and less about presentation.
The small, 20 seat O Palco (The Stage) restaurant aims to be different. You will come upon a choice fine dining experience, with tasteful presentation, knowledgeable explanations, and carefully selected beverages (if you like), with foods that are sometimes cleverly and intriguingly disguised in other familiar food forms.
The menu idea may be a little bit difficult to grasp at first, but this is what you need to remember: Menu choices are: Main Palco, Vegetarian Palco, a combination of Main and Vegetarian Palco, Children’s Palco, and Equilibrium Palco (12 courses min 2 people).
Ideally, you tell the staff what you don’t care for or are allergic to and leave the selection to the chef, who based his choice on what’s available that day on the local market. Alternatively, you could just select courses of your choice, but that might narrow the experience at the end of the day or night and keep you from discovering new combinations and presentations.
The number of courses you can choose are 5, 7, 10 or 12. The number of courses may sound daunting at first, but remember that the courses are small, similar to Portuguese petiscos (a.k.a. tapas in Spain), so 7, 10 or 12 may be the best selections.
To experience the wide range of local wines, consider pairing food with O Palco’s matching beverages selection. It will allow you to sample a broader variety of regional wines than just settling for a single bottle.
The presentation of the food and the explanations given with it are meant to convey a show of what the region has to offer. The stage (palco in Portuguese, hence the name) is the small kitchen where you can see Chef Marco Almeida work his magic
The foods and the wines are all from the surrounding region. So, if you like Vinho Verde, don’t despair, the staff will have a regional selection for you that will meet your preference. As Port at the end of the dinner comes from a region further afar, O Palco may introduce you to a local alternative, slightly less sweet than your typical Port, that will satisfy your tastes and was highly rated (17.5 points) in the Portuguese Grandes Escolhas wine magazine.
The restaurant location is away from the more touristy areas of Coimbra, the pizzeria next door might (mis)lead you to expect nothing out of the ordinary, but if you appreciate outstanding food, give this tiny gem a try, book O Palco for a culinary show and you wan’t be disappointed.
And you won’t have to take my word for it. Just look at the average ratings from previous guests.
Note: You can request a reservation directly or through the TheFork app, but do leave your phone number since, due to the small size of the restaurant, confirmation will be by phone. Restaurant staff speak fluent English.
Vegetarian options: Full vegetarian menu option available.
Kid-friendliness: There is a children’s menu option, but in line with the “fine dining experience” don’t expect spaghetti with meat sauce or Mac & Cheese. ?
Best restaurant in Coimbra, a lot of merit, they deserve even better.
A service to match the food, of excellence.... Well done
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pastel de Tentúgal
Jane Chang
It was a lovely Michelin restaurant hidden in a residential area. We tried a 5 and a 7 course blind tasting menu, and added in the wine pairing option. The food was simple but exquisite. The starting price for the menu was €35 and extra€20 for wine pairing. Very friendly and smart casual setting.
A must in
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very nice fine dining experience to discover regional flavors from Coimbra. The service was outstanding and we felt very comfortable right from the start. My companion's request for a vegan menu was immediately answered in the affirmative. We both opted for the 7-course menu. Thank you to the whole team for a fantastic evening and keep up the good work ??
Vegetarian options: Vegetarisches als auch Veganes Menü möglich ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good with children, and excellent food
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Je gaat er voor het eten maar ook de passie en ervaring er rond. Super lekker menu en aangepast aan de dieetwensen van de klant. Zeker een aanrader!
Vegetarian options: Unieke bereidingen en een volledig vegetarisch menu.
Dietary restrictions: Er wordt met allerlei allergieën en intoleranties rekening gehouden.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
What an amazing experience! Fine dining to the topp. Micheline Star worthy. We took a 7 courses menu. Don't bother to tell them what you don't eat, they personalize the dishes. Great service and food! @palcoteam keep up the fabulous work. ??
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The meal started with me requesting to pick the seven courses. The waitress said, "No, you have to trust us." This made me nervous, but I am glad we did! The dinner was like little Christmas presents, each a unique surprise. We took a tour of wines and the history of Coimbra through the flood. Our waiter was a guide, and we enjoyed the tour. Thanks for an amazing meal and experience. It was a magical night!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A pleasant surprise. Portuguese food with local products that are given an incredible twist. We regret not having ordered the long menu because everything was so good. The unbeatable quality-price ratio. The impeccable service, good explanations about their product and kindness and friendliness. If you go to Coimbra, don't hesitate to go. Very good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing food, great service - small family restaurant worth a Michelin stat. Would love to go back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
It’s rare to have a meal like this. The tasting menu feels like taking a regional tour through food and wine. Every course felt intentional and well thought out. If you enjoy wine, the pairings were spot on. Besides being delicious, the food was playful and unpretentious - elevated regional dishes with amazingly concentrated flavours. One of the best wait staff I’ve experienced. Absolute professionalism in every sense - while still feeling warm and not stiff. I can’t say enough good things about my experience here. Highly rated, but still criminally underrated. Already planning my next trip back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We went for the 7 moments experience. We have done several experiences of this type and none of them beat Restaurante Palco in terms of price/quality.
We had already heard great things about the Stage and we went from Lisbon to Coimbra on purpose and it was really worth it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pastel de Nata de Tremoço
Restaurantji Recommends
Absolutely fantastic, an experience not to be missed.
It's the experience of tasting and improving the palate, if you want a different tasting of regional raw materials with fusion and deconstruction of the usual, it's here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We opted to go for the seven course option with matching wines. In order to experience the full menu, my wife ordered the vegetarian menu while I went for the non-veg. Both were delicious. One of the best meals we’ve ever had. Great locally sourced ingredients, wonderful staff and a lovely room made this a memorable experience. And compared to similar quality restaurants in other countries, an absolute bargain for this quality.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Similar to Italian cuisine, Portuguese food is generally more about simple but tasty food (think mother’s home cooking) and less about presentation.
The small, 20 seat O Palco (The Stage) restaurant aims to be different.
You will come upon a choice fine dining experience, with tasteful presentation, knowledgeable explanations, and carefully selected beverages (if you like), with foods that are sometimes cleverly and intriguingly disguised in other familiar food forms.
The menu idea may be a little bit difficult to grasp at first, but this is what you need to remember:
Menu choices are: Main Palco, Vegetarian Palco, a combination of Main and Vegetarian Palco, Children’s Palco, and Equilibrium Palco (12 courses min 2 people).
Ideally, you tell the staff what you don’t care for or are allergic to and leave the selection to the chef, who based his choice on what’s available that day on the local market.
Alternatively, you could just select courses of your choice, but that might narrow the experience at the end of the day or night and keep you from discovering new combinations and presentations.
The number of courses you can choose are 5, 7, 10 or 12. The number of courses may sound daunting at first, but remember that the courses are small, similar to Portuguese petiscos (a.k.a. tapas in Spain), so 7, 10 or 12 may be the best selections.
To experience the wide range of local wines, consider pairing food with O Palco’s matching beverages selection. It will allow you to sample a broader variety of regional wines than just settling for a single bottle.
The presentation of the food and the explanations given with it are meant to convey a show of what the region has to offer. The stage (palco in Portuguese, hence the name) is the small kitchen where you can see Chef Marco Almeida work his magic
The foods and the wines are all from the surrounding region. So, if you like Vinho Verde, don’t despair, the staff will have a regional selection for you that will meet your preference.
As Port at the end of the dinner comes from a region further afar, O Palco may introduce you to a local alternative, slightly less sweet than your typical Port, that will satisfy your tastes and was highly rated (17.5 points) in the Portuguese Grandes Escolhas wine magazine.
The restaurant location is away from the more touristy areas of Coimbra, the pizzeria next door might (mis)lead you to expect nothing out of the ordinary, but if you appreciate outstanding food, give this tiny gem a try, book O Palco for a culinary show and you wan’t be disappointed.
And you won’t have to take my word for it.
Just look at the average ratings from previous guests.
Note:
You can request a reservation directly or through the TheFork app, but do leave your phone number since, due to the small size of the restaurant, confirmation will be by phone.
Restaurant staff speak fluent English.
Hours:
Mon| Thur | Frid | Sat:
12h30 – 14h30 & 19h30 – 22h30
Sunday:
12h30 – 15h30
Tue | Wed :
Closed
Vegetarian options: Full vegetarian menu option available.
Kid-friendliness: There is a children’s menu option, but in line with the “fine dining experience” don’t expect spaghetti with meat sauce or Mac & Cheese. ?
Wheelchair accessibility: ground floor, level entry
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best restaurant in Coimbra, a lot of merit, they deserve even better.
A service to match the food, of excellence.... Well done
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pastel de Tentúgal
It was a lovely Michelin restaurant hidden in a residential area. We tried a 5 and a 7 course blind tasting menu, and added in the wine pairing option. The food was simple but exquisite. The starting price for the menu was €35 and extra€20 for wine pairing. Very friendly and smart casual setting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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