Chez Lapin

A restaurant at the Porto waterfront with all the trappings of a tourist must do. Over-enthusiastic servers, surge prices, food that's good enough (not great), live musicians and great views. One can spend hours here to a must-have experience. What would a vacation be without it?

Great location by the river. We sat outside and were able to order quickly. Everything was generally ok, however the rabbit was very tough. We couldn’t cut it with knives and had to resort to fingers in order to eat it!! Rabbit should be cooked until it almost falls off the bone and is tender and sweet. The gravy however was divine! The wine was very good too. Service was efficient. I feel this restaurant caters more for tourists, but the view is beautiful.

Mediocre food but great location right by the river. Really nice atmosphere at night. Service was quick although they were busy. Not so attentive though. Food was alright, nothing special. Steak was just not good quality. The chicken dish was pretty good. The sausages had a good presentation but taste wise lacked flavour. Overall would not recommend. 5/10

Good restaurant by the river. The food was pretty good. The bacalhau with cream sauce was excellent. The portions are generous. In the evening, the atmosphere is pleasant with passers-by on the riverbank and the lights from the bridge.

Food is amazing, especially sea bass, cod and seafood pasta! The seaside scenery is so beautiful! Fabio is very kind and warm! If I have a chance I'll visit again!

The most delicious octopus I've ever eaten is here. Super soft. Price - 32 Eur. The waiter is not shy about stating the amount of tip he wants...

This was the worst dinner I’ve ever had, without question. First, the hygiene was appalling: some staff handled food directly with their bare hands, went from carrying slop buckets straight back to cooking, and even placed receipts right on top of prepared dishes. Absolutely unacceptable. Second, the food quality was dreadful. The paella was served cold, as if the rice and seafood were just carelessly mixed together. Almost all of the clams were closed, which means they had already died before cooking—clearly not fresh, and truly concerning. I would strongly advise against coming here.

The food was UNEDIBLE! The fish was so over cooked and honestly tasted disgusting, we couldn’t eat it. €25 for roasted cod, you expect it to even be a little nice. The only thing nice about this place is the location. Don’t bother eating here . Very busy so service was lacking and they didn’t want to take card machine.

Located along the Douro River this restaurant offers lots of Portuguese dishes. Server is very honest telling us which dishes are the DON'TS! He also recommended some good restaurants for the rest of our stay. Among our 8 dishes, the BIFE AO ALHO/Garlic Steak seem to be the least favourable dish - meat cut is not a good grade, doneness was a bit over to our liking. On the other hand, FRANGO "À CARIOCA" NO FORNO/"CARIOCA" CHICKEN IN THE OVEN is the star of our lunch. Gravy is so yummy. Such a good combination. The ROBALO C/ BATATA AO MURRO SEA BASS WITH BAKED POTATO is grilled perfectly. A simple dish yet bursting with flavor. We did have a lovely time.

Aggregate 2.5 stars is too harsh. Place is better than 3. Yes, it's a tourist trap giant food factory. Giant esplanade with 100's of tables and then 3 floors of indoor dining rooms. It's amazing that this place does as well as it does. Food is acceptable. My fish soup, good, fresh, tasty 3.5€. My steak plate. Giant. Flavorful. Good quality meat. Sides of rice & salad enough for 2 hungry men. 18€. Cheese platter with 4 types, 3 big slices each with 18 pieces of toast. 14€. I ate until a belly bursting surrender. Didn't regret it. Feel fine afterwards. I assume there are finer dining places close by, but if you are by the river this place will do you just fine. Just expect a 90 minute meal if the place is packed. The service is slow and the employees are constantly running to keep up. Working in a fast pace food factory is hard work.

Yes very busy tourist restaurant right next to the river. We did have great service even though the staff was crazy busy tending to all the tourists. It's loud as many music buskers stop and play tunes whether you like it or want them to!! The food was good value for the money. Hubby had the huge steak and a side of rice. I had the seafood salad that came with tuna, mussels, shrimp etc. The cheese plate is massive with 3 different excellent cheeses. The white sangria was lovely and refreshing as well

Disgusting. The cod with cream sauce is like a nasty casserole covered in cheese. Roasted Octopus was mushy.we had about 2 bites each them paid our bill and left. Walk 800 feet and go to McDonlads instead.

Chez Lapin was our last stop in the city and it was wonderful! The indoor outdoor seating options are stunning with views. The service was slow and less to be desired but the staff was very nice nonetheless. The food was super yummy and on par with other riverside options. This place is a while experience, we had great food to great laughs, just pack your patience. Enjoy good people!

we sat outside and it was a really nice experience. food was good, definitely get the bread to start! and i enjoyed my pasta.

We decided to stop in and give this place a try since it has outdoor seating and it's directly across from the river with a nice view. Kinda disappointed with the service since they only have about three to four people serving outside. It's more a revolving door for tourists. The area is pretty large, so some folks won't get the service they deserve. The wait for a table wasn't horrible but getting someone to take your order might take you longer than expected. I don't blame the staff for what feels like, being short handed. They bring you out a small appetizer plate automatically, which has two pieces of bread, tuna pate/spread, and some olives. There are no menus, as everything is digital on your phone due to COVID. The QR code is located on the paper they place on the table. When someone finally came by to place the order, we knew we didn't want to experience a full meal, so we ordered some soups and the chourico along with a bottle of wine. Once I cooked my own chourico, half ended up on the floor. When this happened, I knew it was a sign it was the wrong place to have dinner. It was hard to get the meat off the skewer and that's when I lost control. Getting the bill was also a challenge. My friend had to get up and go get the bill himself. Don't expect them to check in on you while dining. That's typical how things works. You need something, you have to get their attention and ask for it. The food wasn't bad at all, but the lack of service and employees will ruin your vibe. Also, on the weekend you need a COVId negative certification to dine inside.

It sure why this place gets bad reviews. We ate there for lunch and the food was excellent. Our table had seafood salad, seafood pasta, and prawns pasta and all were incredible. Great views and people watching as well. Would definitely go back.

We ordered the cod with cream and bread. It was delicious. The cod with cream has potatoes, 2 small halved potatoes and shrimp. We each got a glass of wine (white and red). The white was fantastic.

Service and servers were very nice, and the food was excellent as well. Went earlier than the normal dinner time rush so it wasn't busy at all.

Get the "Beef in port wine" its a filet mignon very tender and cooked perfectly with apple pineapple and citrus. We asked for the best item on the menu and it did not disappoint. It was so good we came back twice for dinner-which we usually don't do on travel. Our server was very good and he remembered us and our order the next day. The place was very busy at dinner service. By 9pm on a Sunday it was quiet. The sangria was good. We finished the meal with gelato nearby.

The absolute worst meal and service I had in Portugal. The food was cold. There was approximately one waiter per two tables and still I never saw the waiter again after he delivered the cold food. Avoid at all costs. Go deeper into the neighborhood away from the waterfront to any number of quality restaurants.

Do not come to this place! Very slow service, they got our orders after 45mins! Servers and the manager keep on ignoring you when you call for them. Food is mediocre at best.

Horrible do not come. We went here for last meal as the menu looked somewhat decent and it ended up being our most expensive meal of the entire trip. The service was pretty abysmal and we asked multiple times for water which we never got along with menus as we just sat there waiting for 15 minutes. On top of lack luster food they covered the payment machine and told us service fee wasn't included and had two servers standing around our table while we paid. We ended up paying 25 euros of total tip on top of a 60 euro meal. Avoid you're better off going around the corner.

This place was fantastic. We tried everything from 24 hour simmered pork to small fish (similar to sardines). Amazing chorizo, cake, green wine, and port were also had.

I was told that I HAD to try this place and MUST eat the cod in bread and the bacalau....WOW first of all the dishes were huge, we could have split one entree. To top it off we ordered mussels for an appetizer as well. The mussels were big and tasty, not as sweet as I am used to. The cod was kind of gross to be honest. I guess i am not a fan of salted fish that is reconstituted? The bread crumbs on top are a corn bread which was OK. The other dish I tried was the bacalau which came with potatoes..eh same thing. The service was so so as well so I just don't get the attraction besides the water view. We waited an extremely long time before we got our wine and we didn't get the water we ordered until AFTER our meal was served which we didn't even want at that point to be honest. Considering the other great places I ate at, I would never come back to this one.

I decided to try out this restaurant because many travel blogs recommended it and it was convenient since I was staying near the Ribeira. So much regret. We ordered the sea bass and the cod au gratin. The sea bass is salted and was way too salty for my taste. It's also not the same as the typical sea bass you get at home. The cod au gratin was too fishy, and the sauce didn't have much taste. They also wouldn't let any walk in customers sit inside because indoor seating is for reservations only. The indoor seating was completely empty the entire time I was there too, AND it was raining. I'm sure this restaurant is better than some in the Ribeira, but I'd stay away from eating here.

Chez lapin has 2 indoor dining rooms and a large outdoor patio by the water. We waited a long time before the waiter took our order but he was friendly. Food look a long time to arrive but it was delicious! The fried sardine with bean rice was very good! The seafood pasta was creamy and flavourful. Would highly recommend the dish! We also had the house green wine and it was perfect with our meals.

Worst experience ever, servers made us waiting and waiting, ignored us and after 30 mins told us they closed the kitchen and didn't have enough waiters, we are family of 5 including a grandmother and they didn't have any consideration. Avoid this restaurant by all means

We had a splendid late lunch here last night and it was the perfect way to start our Porto holiday. We were the last table to be sat for lunch and had a bit of a wait until we even received water however, once our server Flávio was able to give us his full attention we felt like royalty. Started with bacalhau (yum!) and the seafood salad- which was very lovely and wonderfully simple but yet a complete palate of the sea (my dad is still swooning over the mussels) followed by Seabass a la plancha for my mom, swordfish a la plancha for dad, and the roasted octopus for me. The octopus was perfect, the Seabass and swordfish were super fresh and the house vinho verde was so crisp and refreshing we had two bottles! Go here, eat here!

Truly horrible. If you don't like fresh ingredients and and prefer frozen or from a can - then this is the place for you! Worst food we had in a country with otherwise excellent food and fresh ingredients. Go elsewhere! Service was fine but heavily penalized by a very poor kitchen.

Had a great experience at Chez Lapin. sat inside on a cold night - they are one of the few places along the river open past 10p in the winter and spring. Ordered the Bacalhau (cod - Portuguese specialty) with shrimp and potato and cream sauce which is then baked. Was very good. They were accommodating and were able to cook the shrimp on the side just for me (husband has an allergy). The portion was very large - we weren't super hungry so we split it but is meant for 1 supposedly. Also got side of grilled veggies which was cabbage and carrots - very well flavored. Was a slow night so service was good. Decore inside is eclectic - every object has a story to the owner which some of the waiters will happily tell you!

Very good food! Leandro was a fabulous waiter! We had the seafood pasta, onion soup, seafood salad and great red wine and coffee. Very good view right in the river.

Ridiculously bad, worst meal in Porto. Cod dish was covered in bones. Charged "per person" for 2 rolls and olives... so 8 euro for 1 small bowl of olives and additional charges for each roll. Waited over an hour for food to arrive. Waiter was a total jerk. Don't fall for this trap.

A friend has recommended me this restaurant. But he didn't advice me about how big are the dishes. I tried bacalao com natas and I couldn't finish! Wonderful place with kind waiters that stop you if you order too much. Next time I promise to try the octopus, but it needs about 25 min to prepare

Excellent service! The food has a reasonable quality price value. We had diner in a reserved spot and the personal were super nice! I will try to come back and have a nice diner in the upper level.

If I could give 0 stars I would. We wanted to sit just inside the door but they took us to a remote section of the restaurant. When the waiter finally came over and asked us for a drink. I ordered red wine specifically saying red wine and he asked me if I wanted red wine? The waiter then came over with bread and fish pate. My dining companion had a question on the menu so the waiter put the menu in front of him right into the pate. He proceeded to leave the tuna pate there until I eyeballed him then he removed it but never brought back a replacement. From the way things are going we figured he would probably bring the same one back anyway so we didn't care. We proceeded to order a cheese course first then we wanted soup each of us a different soup and finally we ordered our entrées. My soup came out first and it was cold. We were waiting for my friends soup to come out but never came out meanwhile the waiter is resetting tables and looked like he was a clown in the circus running around slamming plates down. We stated we wanted the cheese course first and he just shrugged his shoulders and said nothing. When I tasted my soup it was ice cold. At that point we just decided to leave. I'm not sure if it was just this waiter or the rest of the restaurant but we probably won't go back.

A friend advised us to try this place: the view was pretty good and the service friendly. The food was the okay classic portuguese food you can find all over the town: decent fish, nice douro wine at reasonable prices.

My son ordered garlic steak. He said the taste was Good, but it was chewy. I ordered the cod with cream and shrimp. It was very tasty. We also had the seafood salad for a starter. It was good. Service was slow and it was very crowded. Only offered 1 beer choice. The lemonade is just water with squeezed lemons. Very touristy but a great view of the Douro river.

The worst customer service experience I ever received at a restaurant. First off, when I asked for a table for one, I got this look of annoyance and they finally seated me in the far corner when there was plenty of other seats available. Then when I ordered a pasta dish, the waiter asked "that's it?" as if I really had to order more. I noticed that all the other tables had a basket of bread served which I never received...which is fine but still very discriminatory. When the food finally came down, the waiter just plopped the dish on the other side of the table without any word. As I was eating, another waiter came to my table, pulled out the chair on the other side of the table and put his feet up and started tying his shoes! While I was in the middle of eating! How is that okay?! Then when I asked for the check, they didn't even bother giving me the change for the cash I gave them...the waiter rummaged through his wallet and tried to find change but when he couldn't, he just walked away. I was just so shocked at the series of this behavior. Please stay away from this place! I will never come here again!

Bad service, poor quality and too expensive. Do not order a salad and choose any other restaurant if possible.