Costa Verde

The food was awful on our last lunch visit here. Maybe the kitchen staff should not hang out at the bar and drinking while on duty. The Mariscada came in a yellow puddle of overly thickened sauce with a bitter spoiled sherry after taste. The soft shell crab was tasteless and served lukewarm in a bland sauce. Likewise, the shell steak in mushroom sauce was not good as before. We will not be coming back.

What a disappointment. Restaurant was not crowed but service non-​existent. Calamari was so bad we had to send it back. Way too rubbery. Main course was a large seafood platter for 4. Again rubber calamari undercooked scallops. Cold lobster. We would have complained but we were starving by the time it arrived and no waiter in sight. Left without ordering coffee as no one came by to ask if we wanted it

We’ve been coming here for years. We’ve brought family with us and they enjoyed their meals. Last night we had the Spanish sausage with pickles and olives and two soft shell crabs in a garlic sauce and a francese sauce. The garlic sauce was reduced and way too salty. The usual bread (never warm) with butter (they give you plenty). For entrees hubby had the rib eye (I tasted it and it was delicious), with potatoes, yellow rice, and veggies. I had the double broiled lobster with fried potatoes sliced potato chip thin, with lobster bisque, which didn’t have much in it but was tasty. Hubby had a salad. The crabs were $ 5 a piece and the lobster was $ 26. Believe it or not they used to sell the double lobster for $ 15! For dessert ricotta ice cream with honey and almonds and I had an Irish coffee with ginger and a bunch of other stuff. Couldn’t taste the ginger. Half carafe of red wine is $ 14. The best sangria is at Ria Mar in South River. Once you’ve had theirs, everything pales in comparison. Despite other reviews, I’ve had only one bad meal here, at lunch, the food was sloppy and like leftovers. Never had a bad dinner. Our waiter, a new one for us, was a little unfriendly, the regulars were nice as usual. Tip stay in the bar area.

We really enjoyed the food here! First you get salad and bread for the table (too bad it’s iceberg, and there is too much dressing). The mariscada was really delicious and HUGE (seafood stew). It comes with rice, and the stew has lobser, mussels, scallops, etc. We also ordered a special — the suckling pig — and that was delectable. It was several pieces of tender but crispy-​skinned pork and a few roasted potatoes. We shared a pitcher of red sangria that had a nice taste but I thought it could have been a little stronger in the alcohol content. The chocolate cake dessert we had was a nice end to the meal but a bit on the small side compared to everything else. Overall, the food portions were large and all for a reasonable price.

Love this place. Excellent food and good size servings. Eat on the bar side the prices are much better than the restaurant side.

The main server was ok; the food server was not pleasant; the salad dressing was overpowering; the red sangria was good; the food was alright; the desserts were yummy but small. They did play a «Happy Birthday» song and light a candle in your dessert for your birthday:)

Its about 1 year that I went to Costa Verde for my birthday. It was a party of 3. The waitress charged us for dining room prices and we ordered off the bar menu and sat in the bar area. We had a manager come and he refused to change the prices on the bill. I called to speak to another manager, during the day, they said they would send me a gift certificate for the mistake its almost my birthday again and I never received anything from them. Very dissapointed and will not go back again. Its a shame because I love Portuguese food and will look elsewhere with the poor attitude they have.

Terrible… now I haven’t been they’re in a year or two but boy has it
and my wife went for our anniversary and we both ordered steaks medium well they came out cold and raw the bread had no flavor. and the chocolate volcano had fuzzy mold on the while underside. we only noticed that after it tasted like Clorox .the sangria was good and they didn’t even try to do anything for us .a restaurant that’s not busy on a Saturday night… not good.

Great go to Portuguese restaurant with great food and great service. Love the atmosphere here

The food at Costa Verde is simply phenomenal. I enjoyed their red wine sangria as it was filled with fresh fruit and was refreshing. The paella valenciana was flavorful and plentiful. I had leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day. I look forward to trying more items on their menu. Highly recommend!

Food here is incredible, staff even better, better still is the value, Go! You’ll become a regular and you’ll feel like one too! Go ahead sit at the bar, you wont be uncomfortable and the staff is friendly and food comes out lightning fast!!! Need a quick meal? Skip the burger joint you can have some nice sized apps and a couple of beers for the same money!!!

Food is plentiful and green sauce is yummy. Monk fish clams and shrimp for $ 17. Pretty good. Mixed grill is a full plate. Good choice. It was a dinner special. We even have enough to take home for another single meal. Happy Memorial Day.

Haven’t been here in a while so wasn’t sure what to expect. Clams with green sauce was excellent as well as the lobster! My sangria was great too but would have drank more if the bartender was a little more attentive. But overall food was great!

So I’ve recently moved to the area and decided to give this place a try. I frequent Newark and Elizabeth so I’m a but spoiled with Portuguese cuisine. The Sangria was delicious. We decided to sit at the bar so we had amazing service for lunch. Her name was Tierny and we loved her. We didn’t enjoy the Codfish Croquettes she insisted on taking them back and swapped it out for delicious Chorizo!!! The Mix Picadinho was fabulous along with the Shrimp and Garlic. The Stuffed Mushrooms were ok. I would say overall our server made this place. She was friendly and fun! If you are in the area give it a go.

We are visiting from the west coast and wanted to try something new. So we Unilocaled around things that are open late and this restaurants Unilocal said they open until 2 AM and walked in their at 1040 PM. We walked in there got whistled at and a guy just doing a hand motion of «we’re closed» the hand motion across the neck going left and right. Utterly rude and unprofessional.
So instead we ended up going to T.G.I. Friday’s!
I hope someone in-​services them about customer service one day.
Lord save them!

Excellent Paella! This spot is excellent for large groups. I wouldnt advise bringing your kids here since its a really loud place. They also do catering and take out

I’ve been going here for a few years, and honestly? It’s gotten worse service wise and food wise. Not unbearable, and considering the prices, I guess you get what you pay for.
I have friends who do the happy hour buffet here, and as a bar/​casual gathering place, I would give it a 3 rating, but as a true restaurant, they’re really lacking.
Great location and parking is usually easy, but expect to wait (service wise) and don’t expect to be wowed by the food, but you won’t leave hungry!

I have never come home from the shore and not stopped here. I have never eaten in the restaurant part, only the bar. The service is attentive, the sangria and food delicious and the prices are really, really cheap. Find me another place where you can get a steaming pot of paella for $ 13 or a soft shell crab for $ 5. Again, the negative reviews crack me up. This isn’t Manhattan or Manhattan prices. It’s south Jersey and for what it is, and what it costs it’s a frigging bargain.

We ate here for Mother’s Day and I am only writing this review to let others know that Costa Verde has the worst service I have ever experienced. Not only was the service lacking and poor, but the waiter was offensive and RUDE. — I won’t get into the details…
After waiting over an hour after ordering our meals, I will admit the food was very good. My broiled salmon was delicious; I can’t deny that (earned them the second star). However, the terrible service was too bad to overcome and I will never go back.

I stopped in at this place when coming back from the city. Parents didn’t wanna pay over $ 100 dollars for a group of 3 people for dinner. So, we’ve been coming here for the longest time. Weds night was a quiet night. I ordered the claims in green sauce along with the broiled calamari. Parents each ordered a steak sandwich. My food was delicious because I always play it safe and order the same thing. Ive had other food from here, but I wasn’t in the mood to get disappointed. This place is a portuguese/​spanish style food. Most of the stuff I saw on the menu, isn’t all Portuguese/​Spanish. I guess they add those things for more of an american crowd. We don’t have mozzarella sticks at a nice place in Portugal.
None of the bartenders speak portuguese that night, and I don’t believe any do. But, that still didn’t stop our bartender from taking our order. I thought that was pretty cool. He didn’t get annoyed at the fact my father was in his comfort zone and just wanted to throw back an order with his native tongue. Overall, Bartenders are friendly and attentive. The aim to serve you drinks and food all night. I will be back!