If you're browsing and wondering if Euskalduna is worth a visit, the answer is: it depends.
I discovered Euskalduna through Reddit, where it received high praise from fine dining enthusiasts. This was reflected in the clientele, which was predominantly American and English, with the exception of one Portuguese couple.
The dinner primarily features seafood, interspersed with some vegetable courses, concluding with one meat course and three desserts. The seafood dishes have a strong Japanese influence, incorporating ingredients like miso, shiso, and dashi alongside Portuguese elements.
In my opinion, Euskalduna excels in its seafood and vegetable dishes, where its reputation truly shines. Each plate was well-seasoned, intriguing, and delicious. However, the meat course—a pork loin with jus, plum, and cabbage—was poorly executed. Paradoxically, the bread was served with this course, and we were offered jus three times, suggesting the dish couldn't stand on its own. There wasn't enough cabbage or plum to complement the loin, which was slightly undercooked, mushy, and lacked flavor. We couldn't finish it.
The desserts were also disappointing: a soapy ginger and lemongrass ice cream, and shortbread with apple ice cream. The intended progression was unclear as both desserts had similar textures. Other reviews have echoed this criticism of the desserts.
The service at Euskalduna is unconventional. The staff, who are all chefs, introduce themselves and explain they are there to serve you and break the rules. While this approach is refreshing, it means that they are often busy cooking, resulting in minimal service. Despite their friendliness, our water was refilled only once throughout the meal.
Adding to the frustration, there is a 10% service fee on the bill. Tipping is not customary in Portugal or much of Europe, but given the predominantly American clientele, the restaurant not only offers the option but also adds it to the bill. This practice feels exploitative and discourages me from supporting establishments that take advantage of their customers with additional fees.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
MIGUEL PRAZERES
Extraordinary experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Richard Li
Inventive and consistently delicious. They have a talented team of chefs cooking for a small guest list.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sixten Bigner af Klintberg
Exceptional, both food but mostly the wine pairing and service. Great value for money given it is a Michelin-restaurant and the caliber offered in all aspects. Definitely a recommendation for when visiting Porto.
Filipa Sampaio
I loved. I recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
José Matheus Cruz
Impeccable! It's a great word to describe our experience! It's not just a restaurant... it's a place with impeccable service, good wines and excellent dishes! From the environment, to the perfect and unique crockery. Here I pause to appreciate the entire team! They possess impressive knowledge and incredible kindness! We were 3 adults and an 11 month old baby and for the 4 of us it was a perfect experience! Back to talking about the menu: very good! It was a fight to decide which was the best dish! It's such an incredible experience that you lose track of time! It was all very good! Highlight the cordiality and affection of the entire team towards my 11 month old baby! Next time I hope chef Vasco will be there to meet him. I highly recommend it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Miguel Alves
Food was amazing and is a solid 1 Michelin star. There are some improvements to do on the desserts. Didn’t like at the end that a service suggested fee was included in the bill. Totally not acceptable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Daniel Orr
Service was outstanding and the wine pairing was the highlight of dinner. Unfortunately neither made up for food that was good - but not great - at very high prices. At this price point, everything should be exceptional and especially the food.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Vir A
Truly enjoyed our tasting menu at the bar. Loved seeing all the preparations, explanation and chats with the chefs. A must try while in Porto!
Some dishes were outstanding (skate broccoli mushrooms amberjack shrimp) the remaining 5 were just ok and I did not understand two servings of ice cream in succession. Somalier seemed to neglect us - so the service just felt a bit “off” for a restaurant of this caliber.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Adrian Price
Food was all prepared well, but nothing was overly original or exciting about it. Same for the sommelier - wines were excellent, but the drink pairings all felt obvious. Nothing felt very creative.
The curry prawn just tasted overwhelming like Keens Curry Powder, and the oyster pancake came out scaldingly hot.
The obligated 10% gratuity also felt weird.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Alexandre Melges
Delicious food, great service, cosy atmosphere. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anna Rumiantseva
Sardines with artichoke just great, octopus with arroz was too salty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Andrew Nguyen
Amazing experience. Food was awesome. Every dish was thoughtfully crafted and uniquely Portuguese. Staff was so friendly and accommodating. Would definitely come back again. One of my favorite dining experiences. A must visit in Porto.
If you're browsing and wondering if Euskalduna is worth a visit, the answer is: it depends.
I discovered Euskalduna through Reddit, where it received high praise from fine dining enthusiasts. This was reflected in the clientele, which was predominantly American and English, with the exception of one Portuguese couple.
The dinner primarily features seafood, interspersed with some vegetable courses, concluding with one meat course and three desserts. The seafood dishes have a strong Japanese influence, incorporating ingredients like miso, shiso, and dashi alongside Portuguese elements.
In my opinion, Euskalduna excels in its seafood and vegetable dishes, where its reputation truly shines. Each plate was well-seasoned, intriguing, and delicious. However, the meat course—a pork loin with jus, plum, and cabbage—was poorly executed. Paradoxically, the bread was served with this course, and we were offered jus three times, suggesting the dish couldn't stand on its own. There wasn't enough cabbage or plum to complement the loin, which was slightly undercooked, mushy, and lacked flavor. We couldn't finish it.
The desserts were also disappointing: a soapy ginger and lemongrass ice cream, and shortbread with apple ice cream. The intended progression was unclear as both desserts had similar textures. Other reviews have echoed this criticism of the desserts.
The service at Euskalduna is unconventional. The staff, who are all chefs, introduce themselves and explain they are there to serve you and break the rules. While this approach is refreshing, it means that they are often busy cooking, resulting in minimal service. Despite their friendliness, our water was refilled only once throughout the meal.
Adding to the frustration, there is a 10% service fee on the bill. Tipping is not customary in Portugal or much of Europe, but given the predominantly American clientele, the restaurant not only offers the option but also adds it to the bill. This practice feels exploitative and discourages me from supporting establishments that take advantage of their customers with additional fees.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Extraordinary experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Inventive and consistently delicious. They have a talented team of chefs cooking for a small guest list.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Exceptional, both food but mostly the wine pairing and service. Great value for money given it is a Michelin-restaurant and the caliber offered in all aspects. Definitely a recommendation for when visiting Porto.
I loved. I recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Impeccable! It's a great word to describe our experience! It's not just a restaurant... it's a place with impeccable service, good wines and excellent dishes! From the environment, to the perfect and unique crockery. Here I pause to appreciate the entire team! They possess impressive knowledge and incredible kindness! We were 3 adults and an 11 month old baby and for the 4 of us it was a perfect experience! Back to talking about the menu: very good! It was a fight to decide which was the best dish! It's such an incredible experience that you lose track of time! It was all very good! Highlight the cordiality and affection of the entire team towards my 11 month old baby! Next time I hope chef Vasco will be there to meet him. I highly recommend it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was amazing and is a solid 1 Michelin star. There are some improvements to do on the desserts. Didn’t like at the end that a service suggested fee was included in the bill. Totally not acceptable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Service was outstanding and the wine pairing was the highlight of dinner. Unfortunately neither made up for food that was good - but not great - at very high prices. At this price point, everything should be exceptional and especially the food.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Truly enjoyed our tasting menu at the bar. Loved seeing all the preparations, explanation and chats with the chefs. A must try while in Porto!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Horrible experience
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Some dishes were outstanding (skate broccoli mushrooms amberjack shrimp) the remaining 5 were just ok and I did not understand two servings of ice cream in succession. Somalier seemed to neglect us - so the service just felt a bit “off” for a restaurant of this caliber.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Food was all prepared well, but nothing was overly original or exciting about it. Same for the sommelier - wines were excellent, but the drink pairings all felt obvious. Nothing felt very creative.
The curry prawn just tasted overwhelming like Keens Curry Powder, and the oyster pancake came out scaldingly hot.
The obligated 10% gratuity also felt weird.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Delicious food, great service, cosy atmosphere. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sardines with artichoke just great, octopus with arroz was too salty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing experience. Food was awesome. Every dish was thoughtfully crafted and uniquely Portuguese. Staff was so friendly and accommodating. Would definitely come back again. One of my favorite dining experiences. A must visit in Porto.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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