PETISCOS (located in downtown, San José)

“Food overrall was executed well but was hoping the dish design was better. I'm no expert in Portuguese food but some of the dishes reminded me of other cuisines. Bread - loved the olive oil and garlic butter. Blood sausage - crispy Fillet mignon and Beef tongue - both dishes are cubed meat in the sauce. It didn't have any other components like carrots or potatoes to go with the meats. Rib eye and fries - portions are large but the rib eye was slight over cooked (we ordered medium rare). Reminded me of Lomo Saltado (Peruvian) Duck rice - reminds me of paella but the rice is not crispy. Since it has sausage and iberia pork belly, it's quite heavy tasting. Cod fish with eggs and fried potatoes - cod and eggs were good but the fried potatoes were the fried potatoe strip snacks. Was expecting potato cubes or wedges that would give more base to the dish. Overrall a very protein heavy meal. Wish for the price point there's more creativity in the dishes. Atmosphere - for the most part, it's a nice restaurant. I wish their bathroom didn't have such heavy scented cleaning agent smell. It makes the place seem less up scale than the prices it's charging”

“First time trying Portuguese food! Never had Portuguese food before much less petiscos watch is basically tapas. The food is very similar to Spanish tapas. The flavor profile is slightly different but I could barely notice since I'm not so familiar with the cuisine. Food: Lingicua- cool presentation. It arrives on fire to your table. Pretty cool and the taste is good but ultimately it's just a sausage. White wine clams- really tasty. I really enjoyed this dish. Octopus- was also really good but I wouldn't say any better or worse at other places over had octopus Duck rice- this was just ok. Duck was a lil dry. At $45 I wouldn't recommend. The portion is also tiny. I thought it was gonna be like a big paella or something. Overall everything was solid/tasty. Cocktails were surprisingly good. I'll say the only thing is the value/price. Portions are tiny and some things like the rice are really pricey for the portion that you get so I'd def be aware of that.”

“I was really looking forward to trying authentic Portuguese food today. Overall, the flavors were on the saltier side for a Michelin-rated restaurant, and the wine list wasn’t very extensive. Corkage is $45. Compared to other Portuguese restaurants I’ve tried in San Jose, a few dishes here are quite close to the authentic local taste. The white sangria was pleasantly balanced—not too sweet—and very refreshing. The blood sausage was chewy, aromatic, and tasted truly authentic, with just the right amount of salt. The duck rice was my absolute favorite. The seasoning was perfect for my taste, and I loved the chewy texture and the rich, layered broth with mushrooms—it was full of depth and flavor. The cod casserole tasted like a gratin, but it was way too salty. If it were slightly less salty, it would have been much better. Still, it paired nicely with the duck rice—but I probably wouldn’t order it again. The tempura beans were crispy on the outside with a nice bite from the beans inside—tasty but nothing special. The house aioli wasn’t the traditional Portuguese or Spanish yolk-heavy version; it was more like the American-style aioli. I would definitely come back for the blood sausage and duck rice—those two dishes are must-tries! Service was excellent—the staff replaced plates, cleaned the table promptly, and were very polite throughout.”

“Had two starters for $50 including tax and tips. I would order the octopus salad again, had a soft pleasant texture dressed in herbs and olive oil. The Pica-pau is their fillet mignon cubes served in a savory dark sauce with garlic and pickles. Service was excellent and returned a dish when I gave feedback that it was too salty. Overall, I had higher expectations of a restaurant with bib gourmand award.”

“The place looks great but that's about where it ends in terms of complements. It seems like they want to charge fancy restaurant prices and portions while giving you casual restaurant quality. The pork croquettes are fairly salty so you need to douse them in the sauce to abate it. This actually made them pretty good. The portion for the octopus was non-existent considering, at time of this review, they charged $45 for an octopus tail and 5 baby potatoes. Even without considering the price, it's just alright. The serving size of the Francesinha was good but it's honestly so one-note and reminiscent of malt that it became boring to eat. Additionally, the egg was fairly overcooked even though I cut it immediately. Also, it's so hard to cut it with the knife they gave to you. Wish it came pre-sliced. And for the service, boy that mess was rough. They tried but they were both understaffed and also incentivized. Instead of a server for your table, you kind of got three people just walking around and you have to constantly flagged people down to get service. That's fine for a place that's like $15 a dish. Not $40.”