Portuguese Fisherman
“Ambiance: Beautiful, rustic building design since their reopening after Hurricane Sandy.”
“It's very inviting and friendly, with a neighborhood feel you don't get say, in Newark.”
“My husband, son and I had dinner there tonight for Valentine's. The best white Sangria!!”
Portuguese Fisherman
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
7 reviews
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Really good Portuguese cuisine outside of the Ironbound (Newark). The food is authentic and really good. Try their sangria! It is amazing. The bread was fresh (they make their own garlic butter spread!). They have a variety of options on their menu. I've ordered the Gambas a Moçambique (Giant tiger prawns served with sauce on the side) or the Leitao (Roast suckling pig) and it was really good. The wait staff is always friendly and attentive.
This restaurant was remodeled after being destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. They did a tremendous job with the remodel. The service was alright. The waiter was not very personable at all. The food, however, came out in a timely matter.
The bread came out lukewarm and it was average at best. The butter with chives was outstanding though. There was also a side salad included. It was a typical garden salad with their homemade dressing. The dressing tasted like a creamy French dressing. It was very good.
For an appetizer, the shrimp in garlic sauce ($12) was ordered. The garlic sauce was wonderful, but most of the shrimp was tough which was disappointing. There was lots of shrimp in the appetizer.
I ordered the stuffed flounder filets ($21) for an entrée. The flounder was stuffed with crab meat. There was also a side of Spanish rice, vegetables, and chips. The portion was huge. There were 3 pieces of flounder with lots of crabmeat. The flounder was tasty along with the crabmeat. I am not a huge fan of crabmeat, but really enjoyed this. The vegetables consisted of carrots and string beans. They were bland so I mixed those with the Spanish rice. The chips were alright. They were not very crunchy.
For dessert, tartufo ($7) was ordered. The vanilla and chocolate ice cream was solid along with the chocolate shell. There were no complaints here with this fine dessert.
Will I go back? Yes.
My parents asked me where I wanted to go for my birthday and this was the first place I suggested. I hadn't been here in years, but my mom had them cater a lot of family functions, so I always had their food. Quality of food was overall fantastic. I had chorizo and calamari for appetizers and chicken & rice for the main course. Everything was absolutely delicious & mostly exactly as I always remember them to be. One thing I would be VERY CAREFUL about is if you have seafood allergies. I'm allergic to shellfish (not airborne) and I'm pretty good at avoiding it even at a seafood restaurant. Something was off with my entree that caused a mild reaction, but I can't be sure if someone at my table used their tainted utensil to take some of my dish or if there was a problem before that. Either way I just say be careful as you always should with allergies. Despite this, their food is amazing & if you don't have any allergy problems then you'll love it even more!
spotlessly clean Portuguese bar and restaurant with good food at reasonable prices with large servings. tried the lulas grelhadas (grilled squid which was was served with boiled potatoes in olive oil and a little salad) and a great collard green and Portuguese sausage (chourico) soup in a potato broth called Caldo Verde. They have a generously stocked liquor bar, the standard Portuguese beers available in bottle (Sagres standard and Sagres Bohemia, Super Bock), and a variety of Portuguese wines , ports, brandy, etc.. I have been to Portugal a couple times and spent a lot of time in Brasil, so I am quite familiar with Portuguese cuisine. Some quite tempting looking desserts. Lots of the customers were speaking Portuguese, but many also speaking English, an ethnically diverse crowd actually, so no matter where you are from and what language is your native tongue, you won't feel out of place here. The bar has a really nice atmosphere, was pretty full on a Friday evening but not overcrowded..
Oh give me some more Sangria. It was strooooong and yummy. A dangerous mix. I like the set-up with a large entry with chandelier, open bar area and some dining room seating. I definitely got the impression that al of the workers are portugese with love and pride for thei food and home country. We have the calamari to start and enjoyed the mariscada for dinner (green sauce). Bread service was classic portugese bread. Service was fine as long as you wave em down in the classic European style.
After revisiting the fisherman I believe the place deserves one more star on top of the three they already have from me. Friendly staff and welcoming atmosphere is a plus.
First the good. My party had two different entrees, a standard seafood paelha and the grilled tilefish special of the day, both of which I found enjoyable.
[Note: Paelha appears to be the Portugese equivalent of paella. As far as I can tell, the difference is that the dish is cooked in a cast-iron dutch oven instead of a paellera. With paelha you won't get the layer of soccarat (crunchy rice) that you get with with paella, but everything else seems the same.]
The seafood in the paelha (lobster, shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels) was of good quality, sufficient quantity and properly cooked. I'm surprised at how many places sadly overcook the seafood in their paelha/paellas, or use seafood of questionable quality; Portuguese Fisherman does neither. The paelha is huge, with enough seafood in it to make you feel like you got proper value. The menu says it feeds 2, but I think it can feed 4. The grilled tilefish was exactly what you would want: a simply grilled fish that was properly done, crispy in all the right places, paired with potatoes, olives and sautéed vegetables. I especially like how they didn't mess the dish up by fussing too much with it. I finished the meal with an espresso that was well worth the $1.50 it cost. Decor is attractively industrial in a masculine, suburban way: exposed brick, Edison lights, attractive wooden bar. Many TV screens scattered around the restaurant keep you up to date with the latest sports events.
Then the meh. For some odd reason, salt was used unevenly in both the paelha and the tilefish, with scattered over-seasoned and under-seasoned zones. The rice in the paelha was just ok; good enough to be better than filler, but slightly underwhelming. The desserts are not very good. We had a subpar flan and a sorbet that seemed to be in the freezer for way too long. Service is uneven; some of the servers were very helpful and attentive, while one of the younger servers seemed like he was enjoying neither his job nor his life. I came in earlier than my party and was dressed pretty casually, so my waiter looked at me rather dismissively. I can't say I blame him–I must've looked like a college freshman on that day–but I really respect restaurants that give all their customers their best and most courteous service. Service got better when I was joined by my 65 year old friend and his family.
All in all, Portuguese Fisherman is A-OK. You'll have an enjoyable time here, and if you stick to what they're good at, you'll probably like your food. The service is uneven, but hey–you're in New Jersey. Consider it local flavor.