Madragoa Café

Perfect evening! My friend told me about little restaurant near her house. Just because she told me to book a table in advance I did so, I wasn’t expecting crowds on a Thursday evening. In fact at some point it was full of people, I keep on forgetting that people go out late to dine in Lisbon! Very nice service, everything well explained and the dishes were delicious! My friends had tomato soup and omelette, I went for typical dish: Cataplana de peixe. 4 kind of fish, vegetables and see food prepared in traditional pan. We didn’t expect anything else when at some point we were informed that it was fado night and just next to us the lady started to sign being accompanied by a guitar! Really worth visit!

I know Unilocal does not like one star ratings but there is no way I am giving this restaurant two. My husband and I ate at Madragoa last week and not only was the food awful we were verbally harassed by the owner/​chef, Christina, after we returned my dish. She stood by our table yelling about what a wonderful chef she was and how dare I insult her cooking (All I said was that my dish was all potatoes and overly salted, buttery bread crumbs and no bacalhau). My husband asked her to please stop making a scene and she said“No!” and continued her rant. It was truly surreal. I ended up having to walk out (totally embarrassed and shocked by the scene that she had made — on the verge of tears) and left my husband to pay (no – they did not remove the charge for my uneaten dish). The restaurant is quite small so not only did she make us uncomfortable but I am sure the other diners were appalled, as well. Her cooking is «basic» —she really has no right wearing a chef’s jacket. There are many amazing restaurants in Lisbon — best to look elsewhere.

If I had to summarize this restaurant in one word it would be «excellent» !!
I really liked everything here: the welcoming, the dishes, the wine but especially the presence of our hosts!
When we arrived the restaurant was empty (not for long: better to book a table!) and the chef took the time to describe all the dishes of the menu (even when the room is full you can ask for an explanation or an advice).
Moreover, the quality of the food was excellent! We were four and we took very different things but no one was disappointed!
So, in a few words: if you would like to discover the Portuguese food or if you know that kind of food and just want to have a great time and a very good dinner, it’s totally the place !
The +: the presence of the hosts, they are kind, funny and really want to help
I hope you’ll spend a great time as we did
Ps: you can’t pay by card, better to bring cash

We took a while to warm up to Madragoa. This is a true no-​frills, family-​run biz, with the husband working the room and the wife working the kitchen. So, service can be a little disorganized, as they both juggle entertaining, cooking, remembering orders, giving tourists advice, telling stories about the dishes, etc. They treat each table like a new group of friends, with individualized service & chatter, which can draw things out a bit, but overall provides a memorable experience and food that’s worth the wait.
The food was very traditional, hearty (meaning: potatoey!) and well-​priced. It’s CASH ONLY, so don’t over order if you can’t pony up. The traditional dish of mashed potatoes, bread, and fish (like a savory bread pudding) was really interesting, but greasy and filling, so be warned. We also liked the seafood stew, and local meat & cheese plate.
Affordable wines are available AND they have a Unilocal check-​in offer for a free welcome drink, a very nice surprise.
For warm, personalized service and old-​school Portugese recipes, you won’t be led astray at Madragoa.

The hospitality was exceptional, Christina made us very welcome and spent a lot of time explaining the Portuguese menu. The meals we chose were excellent — tomato soup, sardines, steak and mixed seafood stew, we even squeezed in a dessert made of pumpkin. All delicious and were recommended some good wines too. Not fine dining but excellent local food in a casual setting. Wish everywhere we ate was as friendly as this restaurant.

Left this restaurant speechless. My friend and I could not believe how great the food and service was. This was undoubtedly the best dining experience I’ve ever had. Two owners were so helpful, they basically decided on our wine and main dishes. We had the steak and cataplana. Chocolate cake for dessert was baked perfectly. Make a reservation since restaurant is very small. This is surely some of the best food in Lisbon.

This was the best, family run, local restaurant we’ve encounter on our 3 week honeymoon trip. The owners, Cristina and Antonio, went above and beyond in serving us. From the moment we were seated, Cristina took her time in welcoming us and explaining every item on the menu.
We got extremely lucky in beating the dinner rush and submitting our orders in. The subsequent groups who came in were simply turned away or quoted at least an hr wait. Even with full house, our foods came in a reasonable time.
With her recommendation, we went with seafood bake for 2 and BBQ pork in 4 diff cuts (we wanted to try a little bit of everything). The seafood bake was beyond amazing — there were literally 4 diff types of WHOLE fish (cod, salmon, bass?, can’t tell the last one), along with dozen of fresh shrimp with shells still on and clams! The pot felt bottomless with seafood. It took us literally an hr just to power through this dish. The seafood bake’s sauce was so yummy that my husband started throwing in his side potato to soak up the flavor. Towards the end, he straight up spooned and drank it. The bbq pork was so juicy and flavorful! My husband really enjoyed the bacon cut — fatty yet crispy. The side salad was so refreshing with its light, house made dressing. Honestly, we couldn’t be any happier with our dinner!
Too bad we were so stuffed that we didn’t get to try their desserts. What an incredible meal! Amazing food and heartwarming service — Cristina even took the time to come by our table to check and chat with us during dinner rush — we couldn’t ask for more. Price was a steal especially for how much food we got — around 50 Euros. Would definitely return if we ever revisit Lisbon!

Este Restaurante faz-​me lembrar aquelas tasquinhas, muito portuguesas. Pois tem símbolos portugueses em qualquer lado e a comida é típica portuguesa. Entrei neste restaurante porque uma amiga minha precisou de ir a casa então como o restaurante era na zona e estávamos com pressa, entramos e fomos muito bem atendidas. Vi que a especialidade era Bacalhau á Madragoa e nem pensei duas vezes. Era delicioso. Foi um almoço rápido mas gostei muito do sítio para voltar com mais calma :)

E viva o pitoresco e o tradicional recuperados! Começo assim só para ser diferente e falar do Madragoa Café que tive o prazer de conhecer recentemente. Foi um jantar de amigos que já não se encontravam há tempo demais, tendo sido uma noite inesquecível. O Madragoa também contribui para os estados de espíritos eufóricos. Pelo seu espaço a fazer homenagem à Lisboa mais tradicional e pela sua comida portuguesa bem confeccionada como manda a tradição. Aconselho a esplanada para se estar na conversa até o restaurante fechar.

Adoro este restaurante. Desde este Verão tem uma esplanada que colmata o pouco espaço interior. A decoração é primorosa: uma tasca das antigas remodelada, com pormenores tipicamente portugueses em todo lado, mesas e cadeiras de madeira. Os donos são um casal simpatiquíssimo que tem um excelente gosto musical e uma atenção irrepreensível para com os clientes. A comida é portuguesa, típica, e muito bem confeccionada. Único senão: não tem multibanco…