Heart of Portugal

It gets better and better every year. It’s on my summer rotation because the garden is one of the best in the area — the dense shrubbery keeps the street noise to a minimum, and the pergola is romantic and european. If you eat outside, the ambience is a 5. Inside, only a 3.
The staff is stable, which is nice, because they recognize you and are friendly. It’s european style service so be patient. Good wine, great sangria, full bar.
Highlights are: they include garden salad with a great dressing, yellow rice, and vegetables with dinner family style. We had an octopus salad (a special) which was incredible. I admit I go there specifically for the fish — the chef takes a nice piece of sole and cooks it perfectly… tons of butter, but not greasy. Crispy on the outside but not overcooked. On the menu, it’s served with almonds, but he makes it with just lemon for me. My other half had the grouper with lemon, also incredible. They also have an amazing flan and a full range of port and after-​dinner drinks.

Hosted a bridal shower here, amazing service and food!
The space was great and cute. The hosts were so helpful with EVERYTHING, from cutting the cake to opening gifts and make sure we were fully stocked with food and drink. No one left hungry, so reasonably priced for the amount of food we got!

Delicious dishes that come in very generous portions. We had outside seating which was very enjoyable. The staff is very nice and accommodating. I had jumbo shrimp in garlic sauce and my husband had paella. Sangria was also delicious.

I walk in this establishment on Mother’s Day. They were counting money at the matra’de reception. Standing there for 5 minutes going Unacknowledged. My finance spoke up and asked how long for a table even thou we had a reservation. He said 10 minutes. We finally sat down. No menus given for about another five minutes. We seemed to have no dedicated waiter. I asked for the house salad as part of our appetizers selections .when it came it was not we expected. It had more fruit then greens. I ask the waiter if we can have a green salad. He was nasty and said the chef made this for you. At that moment I had to tell them the service was bad from the moment we entered. Very non– welcoming establishment with an expensive menu. You don’t mind paying extra when you feel the service. Two thumbs down ! The food was good, but will me return.

Came here last night (rainy Tuesday evening). The food and service were excellent! We had the grilled calamari which was delicious. I had the salmon special which was stuffed with spinach and shrimp, also delicious and full of flavor. I had flan for dessert which was the best flan I’ve had in awhile. I’d highly recommend this place.

Simply amazing, the octopus is the best I’ve had, the steak was delicious and service was great, definitely coming back

Wow! This place is still great! Authentic, delicious, large-​portioned dishes coupled with super warm & friendly service and ambience can whatever ails you! Brava!

Food was great, Service was great, price was very reasonable For 4. Also the waitress looks like Jlo!
Definitely will be going Back!!! Awesome Deserts too!!! I had this Molotov desert very different and very tasty.

We came here a second time around 1 :30 pm for lunch because the first time was great ! The seafood & assorted meat Paella Valenciana served in a pot thrilled us with variety and a lightly spicy sauce, although those Large clams are always like Bazooka ! (Do you remember #1Joe Bazooka bubble gum? !!) The fish, usually COD, dishes including shrimp & scallops ect were wonderful. The portions at LUNCH are generally family style. Time #2 we shared a calamari app. & 1 ENTREE finishing at 2 :15-=we had a glass of wine & brie later at home for dinner ! Ask for Oscar a polite & attentive young waiter. Nuno– the day magr. Is polite & attentive — HOWEVER, And this is why I did not ingratiate it with 5 stars, — he gave us the twice as expensive Reg. Menu both times! (ask for lunch menu offered till 3pm) & attempts to oversell you– «Grey Goose» (I don’t trust top level liq. in most venues’) Specials $$ & deserrts (look online for free dessert-​$ 6.). I feel ‘away’ somewhere here with the ambiance’ & the politeness. I am looking forward to taking a date here (at L.I. Portugal !!) on a Saturday night because I love Piano music with dinner :
Maybe Don Diego aka: «Zorro» will be a guest Pianist !!

My favorite Portuguese cuisine in Long Island !! The perfection and quality of the food it’s not far from the service!

This will be my first one star review. We showed up one evening and received probably the worst level of service for the money. Bottom Line Up Front — This place isn’t cheap and, thus, should provide a commensurate level of service. By the time, one of the other servers noticed how long we had been waiting for our orders (approximately 45 mins-​1 hour), they tried to rectify things by getting our food out quickly. People who had arrived after us had received their meal and were already finishing before our food came out. The server mentioned that he would «take care of us» by insinuating perhaps a discount or, perhaps, even a comp’ed dessert due to the lapse of service experienced. However, when we got the check at the end of the meal, there was zero being taken care of reflected in the numbers.
The horrible service was surprising since this is a place that my family and I have dined at on multiple prior occasions. The service was decent during those times — not necessarily exceptional but nothing to complain about either.
Suffice it to say, we will not be returning to this establishment again.

Closer to a 3.5.
This was my go to Portuguese restaurant years back, but now there are lots of other options, so it had been forever since I dined here. It looks exactly the same as I had remembered. It’s an old school place and the décor reflects that. On a Saturday night they had some lovely live piano music.
They start you off with a bread basket, olives and some homemade potato chips. The chips could have been cooked better. The sangria is quite good.
The flamed pork sausage and the grilled octopus were a great start to the meal. The pork and clams is a solid dish. The pork was a little on the tough side, but the crispy potatoes and the tender clams helped to make the dish wonderful. The Braised Goat in a red wine sauce was good and a large portion.
At the suggestion of the waitress we got the Natas do Ceu for dessert which was
crushed Maria cookies served with custard, Caramel and Chantilly cream, It was delicious!
You can absolutely get a good meal here and enjoy yourself.

Walked in there one night, then waited for service at the door… There was nobody there to greet you and so my boyfriend and I finally decided to walk in a little deeper to see if we’d get noticed… We noticed that the place smelled like urine after passing a bathroom… Then someone finally told us to have a seat but I did not feel like dining in a dark cold place that smells like urine… Yuck.

Solid local joint.
The service is generally not great, not enough attention from your specific waiter so you end up asking the bus boys who don’t always have the best english. The service keeps it from a 5 star rating for me (although yesterday we were pleasantly surprised).
The food is terrific. I’ve had the steak, the lobster, fish, seafood dishes, rabbit stew, goat stew, everything is well prepared and nicely flavored. The octopus is the best I’ve ever tasted — it’s so tender it’s unbelievable.
The atmosphere is ok. They tend to get slammed Friday and Saturday night which makes the service worse and the place loud. I’m not a big fan of the piano player as it also adds to the noise.
The deserts are good.
If you’re having a party there they do a nice job with the tables and make things fancy. You can do a pre set menu as well. If having a big party you can pre order a Napoleon cake (which they don’t otherwise prepare) and it’s really amazing.

Maybe it’s cause we came here late or maybe it’s just how the restaurant is, but I didn’t really enjoy my meal here. Service seemed questionable and again, could be because we came her late.
We got here at around 8:30PM and on one of the hotter days and had to ask for a table inside. They reluctantly gave us one and that kind of set the tone for the night. We essentially had to ask for everything — water, the usual appetizers they provide with the meal, guidance on the menu, etc.
We eventually ordered and I had the grouper with shrimp and scallops, someone had the paella and another the skirt steak. The food was mediocre at best. The portions were big, but it wasn’t amazing. My fish was alright and towards the end it just felt greasy. The paella was good for two, but wasn’t amazing either. The skirt steak was passable as you can’t really go wrong with skirt steak.
Overall, service was eh. I just kept getting this vibe that they didn’t want us there and could care less about us and were just serving us just cause. On top of the food only being okay and not feeling like this place was as clean as it could be, I think I’d pass on this place. There’s too many other places around to keep coming back for more…

Delicious dinner! Started with stuffed mushrooms which were very good. The mussels in white wine sauce were incredible.
After we ordered a salmon I’m white wine sauce (off the menu. Special order. They will make what you want if you ask), and the swordfish with shrimp on a bed of asparagus and it was phenomenal. Sangria (white and red) are very good. Service was excellent (John). Piano added a nice relaxing and classy touch. Definitely coming back here. And highly recommend it.

Six people, we ordered 2 different dishes of paella, an order of clams and pork and an order of shrimp with green sauce. We ate and ate and ate and there was still food to take home. Portions are huge and each dish was outstanding. This is a place where you can sit and savor your meal. Service was very good and we were not rushed in any way. Live piano in the dining was soft enough to have conversation without straining. Outdoor dining available and I will def be back to sit out there once the weather warms up,

My family in LI keeps coming here for every special occasion, so I have had many opportunities to sample this restaurant. Every time, I want to like it but keep leaving confused about what the big attraction is all about. The food is over-​priced and its quality doesn’t measure up.
The appetizers are incredibly over-​salted (clams, sausage, stuffed mushrooms). The entrees are simply average, even bland. My steak was tough and not very flavorful – I can make better at home. The fish is over-​salted (salmon, grouper) and rather bland. The white sangria tastes like kiddie apple juice. You would think that the desserts would be redeeming. Alas, the flan is extremely eggy and bland rather than creamy and balanced. The tiramisu is over-​sweetened without nuance and all you can taste is the alcohol base.
The service is good, however – waiters are attentive and always there.

I feel like this is very much a passerby restaurant because of where it is in the neighborhood. I went to high school just around the block and passed it often, but only came once before my recent visit.
Back in the day, I ordered the paella. Do yourself the favor and don’t order anything doesn’t say «portuguese» or «traditional» in the title. The other night I tried their rabbit stew, and thought it was delicious. Their pork and clams is another great dish.
The dining room is as nice as ever, though the television displaying the dinner specials drags the space down a bit. I wouldn’t say the place is on the prohibitively pricey side. They at least give marinated olives with bread and a salad with entrées.

Buenísimo, el mejor pulpo que me he comido, las chuletas de cordero deliciosas, fuimos 4 personas y todos los platos riquísimos.

Excelente comida, fresca y en su punto, el pulpo sensacional, la carne deliciosa y la atención y el servicio maravilloso, un restaurante inolvidable por su ambiente. Y su calidad, fuera de serie

My mom wanted to come here for her birthday so she made reservations.
We were able to get a seat outside which was very nice. The bar, and outdoor space is done European style, with little bar tables on one side and the patio and dining tables on the other. Many people would sit at the bar tables and smoke which is like a foot away from the other diners. You would think some people would have decency not to smoke being that you are sitting right next to them eating, but I guess people don’t care. Regardless we loved being outside.
The waiter/​manager was super nice and must have remembered my moms conversation with him over the phone. He seated us right away and was super accommodating. We were going to get a carafe of sangria. I like red, my sister likes white… Naturally we couldn’t decide, so I caved in and said just get the white… Well the waiter came back with the white sangria PLUS some red wine for me to add in. He said this way we both get what we wanted.
All of our dishes were delicious as usual. I got the swordfish special, my husband got pork and clams, my sister got a chicken dish, mom got a seafood dish, and her boyfriend got the steak and eggs. Moms only complaint was the chicken in her dish was very dry. They raved about the steak that it was so buttery it did not need a knife. Everything was yummy & such large portions, we took home leftovers.
After dinner we had planned to go back to moms for cake. Before we could do that… the waiters all came out with a huge slice of cake, they must have remembered when my mom made the reservation she mentioned it was her bday dinner. They came and sang happy birthday, it was a nice, unexpected surprise. We had a great time and look forward to coming back again.