Brasão Coliseu

I recently had an amazing dining experience at Brasão in Porto. Even without a reservation, we were seated in just 5 minutes. The staff was incredibly friendly and welcoming from the moment we arrived. We ordered the pork ribs and beef with onion sauce – both were cooked to perfection and bursting with flavor. For dessert, we enjoyed the Marengo with lemon cream and ice cream, as well as a rich, velvety chocolate mousse. To accompany our meal, we had a refreshing beer and a glass of delicious local Porto wine. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, making the whole experience unforgettable. From the food to the service, everything was fantastic – I can’t wait to come back!

We had the nicest time at Brasão Coliseu! The atmosphere was really nice and chic without feeling out of reach for smaller wallets. The staff was super friendly and we felt well taken care of throughout our meal. I particularly loved the snacks on the table while we waited for our food (the olives were delicious). The food itself was really good and the portions were generous! I cannot recommend enough trying this restaurant out if you’re in Porto!

We first visited this restaurant on July 15th around 8:30 PM. From the moment we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by the staff. One server in particular — a Black woman (unfortunately, we didn’t catch her name) — greeted us with such kindness and positive energy that it made our entire experience feel special. We ordered the Fried Onion and Francesinha , and both were delicious — especially the fried onion, which was perfectly crispy and full of flavor. We left the restaurant genuinely happy and satisfied. A couple of days later, we still couldn't forget the taste of the fried onion, so we sent an email asking if takeaway was possible. After receiving a reply confirming it was, we visited again on July 17th at around 7:40 PM to order it to go. Unfortunately, the second experience was disappointing. A Black male staff member with an afro hairstyle greeted us, and although he initially said takeaway wasn’t available due to how busy the restaurant was, he kindly agreed to prepare it after we showed him the email. We waited about 20 minutes to receive our order. When we got back, we were surprised to find that the Fried Onion was poorly cooked. The batter was underdone, greasy, and lacked the crispness of our first visit. The onions inside were barely cooked — they tasted raw and overly sharp — and the batter itself hadn’t fully cooked through, leaving a doughy, floury taste. Since our accommodation was only a 4-minute walk away, we don’t think the issue was with transport time — it seemed to be a problem with how the dish was prepared. While we still cherish our first visit, we feel that takeaway orders might not maintain the same quality. We hope more care is taken with consistency in the future. Still, we’re thankful for that first warm and delicious experience.

This seems to be an old establishment, with a rather refined interior. The portions are quite large. I ordered fried onion and a pica pau. The onion were fine—something a bit different—and the pica pau was also pretty good. Overall, the food was tasty, though not particularly outstanding. The atmosphere was quite noisy, probably because it was crowded and the background music was loud, so we had to raise our voices to talk.

This restaurant looks like a small medieval style tavern when you first walked in but it is actually big and deep with a basement level. The decor is cleverly decorated with books, library, treasure chest, etc. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. Their famous Portuguese traditional sandwich (francesinha) is pretty good. Basically, it is a a really large ham and cheese sandwich with their special gravy sauce. Their traditional fries and desserts were delicious