From the outside it barely looks like a restaurant, but inside is beautiful and welcoming, like a hotel entrance might be. I came here with a big group (40), and the owners set up a private space for us in the basement. It was so lovely, the table already set with place settings and glasses, string lights in a corner, a plate of appetizers that went around the room. Since it had been prearranged what we would eat, I couldn't tell you the names of the dishes, but I know everything was delicious: from the fried fish to the chicken in a heavenly sauce to the rice and steamed vegetables (I didn't realize rice could taste so good!). We ended up with vegetarians whom we didn't know about, and the owner immediately arranged for a vegetable filled pasta to be brought to them. I highly recommend coming here, particularly if you are looking for a Portuguese restaurant that makes you feel at home! Based on all of my friends there who *are* Portuguese or Brazilian, it reminded them of home. read more

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Stopped by Cotali Mar for late lunch on a Friday afternoon. We were surprised (and a bit concerned) when we realized we were the only customers, but we were warmly greeted by Tony, who is apparently the host, bartender, and waiter. (Maybe we should have asked if he was the cook, too.) Our beverages arrived quickly, and Tony was warm, engaging, efficient, and helpful. He not only advised us to buy a bottle of wine (which was grest), but he also made good menu suggestions and was knowledgeable about the dishes and their preparation. I order the octopus (my reason for going to Cotali), and it was excellent... very tender and lots of it. One suggestion: plate it with a small topping of some kind off sauce (I'm thinking mayo-based sweet and spicy). read more

We visited Cotali Mar for lunch today. The place was pretty empty, only one other party in the restaurant.The staff were very nice. The bread was fresh, the salads were very good. I really enjoyed the Cesar Salad I had. Mark has a regular garden salad that was good as well. Our entree's were ok. Mark had the signature steak on the hot stone for $28.95. The steak was actually delicious. The mashed potatoes were not warm enough and they actually served the vegetable medley raw. Yes, raw. I had baked scrod for $17.95. It was ok, it was flavorful but a bit tough as it was over cooked. The mashed potatoes were barely warm and I too was served raw vegetable medley. We were told the vegetable of the day was steamed but I guess they forgot to steam it! We did let the waiter know our veggies were not cooked and he did offer to get us each a fresh order. We weren't looking for anything by telling him this, really- we just thought they should know. read more

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Most delicious food! Plenty of it, great staff, nice old school place! Great experience!

Owner was rude. Went for a work event and paid quite a lot for 2 meals to go, to only get 1 order. And the owner rudely disregards it and says that I only placed one and there is no more food, and walked away. Could not believe the way he handled that. Very unprofessional. Also, the steak tips I ordered were tasteless. Definitely not going back. read more

It's important to be kind and when the owner is not pleasant to deal with, turns around the entire experience.

My wife was looking for a slightly up scale place to take four of us out on my birthday dinner. This was certainly not what she had expected. She was especially disappointed in the cheap paper napkins. To be fair, their prices are not upscale prices. This was a weekday night in May with cold and rainy weather, so there was no option of eating outside. The only option available was eating in the bar surrounded by TV sets on all sides. What REALLY bothered me was that the TV nearest to us and furthest from the bar had the sound on. I believe they have a real dining room, but if they do, it was not open when we were there. My wife had the calamari appetizer which was cooked well, but had no seasoning. I went for the flaming Chouriço à Bombeiro which is a single large sausage delivered to your table suspended over a burning plate. The material that was burning was likely a variation of sterno. The problem was that there was way too much of the flammable material and it just kept on burning and burning. The waitress tried to help by suggesting I stab the sausage and move it off to the plate underneath the burning plate. It took a few tries as I was not willing to burn my hand in the process, but I finally got it moved Then the waitress attempted to remove the still burning upper plate and nearly injured herself and had to put the plate down on the restaurant floor. I as then able to eat the sausage which by now was over cooked and dry. For her entrée, my wife had a shrimp dish. She was happy with the taste, but was disappointed with the quantity of shrimp. She is not a big eater and it is highly unusual for her to complain about quantity. I ordered a special which is not on the menu but apparently is offered quite often. Steak served on a hot stone. This turns out to be an extremely stupid idea. The stone is so hot that the steak keeps cooking for the next 20 minutes. I ordered it rare and then had to cut off a slice at a time to cook that slice to the desired doneness. There is no place to put the steak to stop it from cooking and the only place I could put part of a slice was in the corner of my separate vegetable plate. With a significant amount of effort, I managed to get 80% of the meat eaten at an acceptable level of doneness, but the last 20% ended up overcooked. For my last disappointment, I ordered the tiramisu for dessert. The waitress later came back to tell me that they were out of tiramisu. I also wanted decaf regular coffee but that is something they do not offer. I settled for decaf cappuccino. All in all, the food is not bad and the service was mostly good. read more

Once again, I love Cotali Mar. It's beautiful inside. Service is excellent. Food is so good. Tonight we started off with the salmon chowder. Thick and tasty. It's a good thing they brought lots of Portuguese rolls because Abner and I were soaking up every last drop of that chowder with it. We were told that this was the first time they ever made that and we were the first to try it and loved it. Abner got the Steak Pedro that is a huge hunk of steak brought to your table on this red hot stone, where the meat keeps cooking at your table. It comes with two types of sauces. I got my usual Pork Alejantana. For dessert, we had the turtle cheesecake. Another perfect meal at Cotali Mar. read more

Cotali Mar Restaurante - A hunk of steak cooking at your table on that slate. - Portuguese Near Me - New Bedford, Massachusetts

We had a planned funeral lunch at Cotali Mar. About 18 persons participated. The luncheon was pre-paid. The soup was good. The service was also good. The place was clean. The meat dish was contracted as roast beef. There were pieces of roast beef and they were good. However, most of the roast beef was not roast beef. It was some form of corned beef. Some of the cod pieces in the fish dishes tasted spoiled and there were immediate comments not to eat it. Some did eat it and three of the eighteen threw up that night. Ridiculous amount of money for spoiled bad food! read more

First let me say that this place will win a gold star in my book because they didn't cancel our reservation. We had planned to celebrate our anniversary there on Super Bowl Sunday and the restaurant had decided to close early that day, at the time of our reservation. Rather than call and cancel us, or ask us to come earlier, or mention this at any point, they waited until we arrived, and insisted that we take our time and enjoy our meal. Our waiter was very respectful, and made sure we had an excellent experience. We ordered a bottle of wine and a full meal; appetizer, entre and desert (coffee included). After all, it was our anniversary. Everything was incredibly delicious and more than we would have ever expected. I ordered the Pecan crusted Salmon; and it was the most delicious preparation of salmon I have had in ages. There were many things on the menu to appeal to all tastes and I believe that there would be something for everyone. The restaurant itself, is GORGEOUS! I couldn't get over how pretty the dinning room really was. They have a courtyard area that they utilize in the warmer months, and well, this is February in New England, so its not so much "outdoors" weather right now; but I can't wait to go there again in the summer. They apparently do events, I would recommend this place for events, it really is quite gorgeous and highly enjoyable. My only complaint was that it was slower than I was used to for restaurants in this area, but that might have made the experience more relaxed. I just wouldn't go here for a quick meal. read more

Decided to go to Cotali Mar Met and had a drink at the bar Great barmaid named Tracy And a waiter called Ricky Made Sheri 's birthday a great night out Though these days we don't twist and shout We old ladies were a hit We still party and can't quit Portuguese steak,shrimp Cotali mar, Frutos do mar, seafood tasty by far Had a great time and we'll be back Great food and fun they don't lack! read more

I'm going to start off by saying that I have dined here a few times before and had no issues with food, service, or quality. My latest trip, however, was awful. I will not be going back. The quality of food here is lacking lately. We had a large party of ten. The service was okay. I had no complaints. The food is what killed the experience for me. The prices here a little pricey, but, that never bothers me as long as the food is great. The first bad experience of the night was the soup. Four people ordered the soup and when they came the complaints started. I had to try it to see what the fuss was about. Sure enough, just about the worse soup I've ever tasted in my life. It was so full of VINEGAR. Seriously, it was like I was drinking a bottle of vinegar. Gross. It was so bad we complained to the waitress who said would take it off our bill. Next came the entrees. I always order the streak with ham in a bowl of sauce with rodellas (round cut potato chip fries). I was surprised to see that steak drowned in sauce. It was drowned to the point where I had to dig out the sauce to find the thing. And the sauce was not tasty at all. There was just so much of it that I felt I was having steak soup. Then it was time for coffees/deserts. Let me tell you, my girlfriend and sister ordered a coffee that was so bad it tasted like tea. Honest to god. I understand you're Portuguese restaurant so you're probably focusing on espressos and galaos. But, it's no excuse to charge and serve us a piss poor cup of coffee. Hell, it's easier to just grab instant coffee and make one cup at a time. It would've been a hell of a lot better than the crap they served. I can't recommend this place right now as the quality of the food is seriously lacking. If you want a steak on a stone then knock yourself out and come visit. Otherwise stay away. read more

My husband and I went the other night for dinner. We started with calamari, which was perfectly cooked. The kale soup was just ok, but our dinners were great. I had Paella and he had a seafood pasta dish. Service was good, ambience was great. We will definitely go back for the $29.99 dinner for two some night! read more

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Ran in here over the weekend for lunch and was impressed. Here's the rundown: -Shrimp Alhinho - solid but not mind blowing -Portuguese Soup - excellent -Portuguese Steak - the staple by which I measure every restaurant by - thoroughly satisfied - sauce was not watery or too think - just perfect Recommended read more

We were in the area for a funeral, unfortunately, and had not made prior plans. On a Friday night, we called up last minute for a reservation for a party of 27. Not only were the able to accommodate us (because their space is huge and versatile, not because they weren't busy on a Friday) but they super served us! The waiters were fantastic, fast, and flexible. The food, impeccable. OMG that stuffed shrimp. I had the kale soup, steak tips, and stuff shrimp added. It was fantastic. I didn't realize at first, but this place also has rooms for private parties which is a huge plus. The best part of all, even with bottles of wine, pitchers of sangria, and other drinks, the bill came out to approximately $50/person. Plenty of us walked out with doggy bags and with full bellies. I really can't say enough good things about this place. Thank you for making a sad weekend a little better. We truly appreciate it and so does our angel in the sky. read more

I was a guest at a function today 5/7/2023 I felt so embarrassed for the hostess and her family for the poor service received by the staff at catali-mar. The owner (female ) comes with about 12 grapes on a plate and makes the remark you just ordered cheese and crackers platter so I figured these were left over from the party upstairs so I decided to make your plate look more festive. That was rude. One GUEST asked if they could change the channel on the tv and someone else that was from the same party heard the young lady telling THE BARTENDER turn it off completely and tell them you can't find the remote. They brought out a bowl of soup for 18 people they sat it that down at one end of the table some guest had to get up and walk with a plate of soup for such a (CLASSY) RESTAURANT NOT ,one guest complained after 20 minutes they went and got a second bowl from another function. The food was good but cold. Beautiful place but with this type of business you need to show kindness,be respectful ,considerate,and have a smile on your face all the time your clientele pays your bills. read more

The Gentleman Running this place( not sure if he was a manager or owner) isn't very pleasant. He was rude and not very accommodating. Won't be coming here again that's for sure. read more

If you live in New Bedford or the Fall River area Portuguese restaurants are everywhere. So to competition is high. I went Saturday night with 10 friends. First let me warn you, The location of the restaurant is not in the greatest location in the city. The front of the restaurant is facing Acushnet Ave, with plenty of off street parking behind this business. OK, once you enter you will forget where you are, inside is beautiful, a spacious entrance, with separate room with a bar and lounge, and the main dining room has a large fire place. Our table was ready upon arrival and we came with some heavy eaters. We were quickly asked for our drinks and app orders. Service was slow, but that could have been due to the large crowd inside and I was not sure if they were short of help. Anyways, we got 2 pitchers of Sangria which was served in a very large carafe. Our App order was flaming Chorizo, calamari, and shrimp Mozambique. two out of three were excellent. The Chorizo was a little dry and tasted of the alcohol they use to set it on fire. Now to the main course. I ordered the Seafood Paella and and I arranged to split my meal with my friend who ordered a steak. first the Paella, HUGE, lobster, scallops, shrimp, chicken, Chorizo, mussels, little necks, in spicy rice. EXCELLENT. Now, the steak order was 16 oz looked more like 24 oz, steak served rear. Now before you say "rear?" let me say they serve it on a HOT STONE which continues to cook the meat. The waiter showed us how to eat it. If you like it rear, cut in and enjoy, if you like it medium to well to well, cut pieces off place on stone and watch it cook quickly. Meat was very tasty. and I could not have eaten the whole thing, glad we shared. All and all I will be returning, and I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves Portuguese food. This place is Fella approved!!! read more

Had a celebratory dinner last night with some friends. We were six and a high chair and we're very well received and out server was great! We all loved our food! My paella was amazing and I sampled my girlfriends steak plate and the sauce was amazing! They offer a fairly well stocked wine list and I went with a Malbec. The restaurant is beautiful. Very well renovated. They also have two banquet halls that seem nice based on the photos. When I got home and was craving our leftovers I realized I had forgotten them!! I was thinking about the paella all night!! I've already eaten there a few times but plan on returning for sure. read more

Cotali Mar Restaurante - Seafood Paella. Delicious! - Portuguese Near Me - New Bedford, Massachusetts

Very good food. Camarao a Mozambique...shrimp to die for! Solar a Portuguese...soup very good. read more

I've enjoyed every meal I have had here so far... Excellent food, professional staff, nice atmosphere. What more needs to be said? Do yourself a favor and give them a try... read more

This place has never been in my Portuguese restaurant rotation, but that will change now that I've finally gotten around to eating here. The kale soup was one of the best I've tasted in New Bedford (no chewy linguica here), and the bread that accompanied it was worth eating. I rarely eat red meat, but I'm so glad I tried their steak special. It was served on a sizzling slab of granite and accompanied by two fantastic sauces: one featuring garlic and butter, the other a mustard sauce about which I'm reminiscing fondly a week later. The mashed potato and mixed veg were edible but forgettable, but I can still taste that fabulous steak and mustard combo! The service met my expectations and the atmosphere was unremarkable in a good way. I look forward to sitting in their courtyard next summer and sipping a nice glass of mustard sauce. read more

I had the pleasure of dining here on Friday night May 6, 2016 within a party of four. The thing that first hits me is the decor and compliment of lighting. I talked with the host Mariano and it turned out I met him a couple of years ago at a wine tasting. Mariano made our party feel welcome along with Kathy Gillet the event manager. They gave us a lot of positives. We were seated at our table and were waited on by Justin. Justin was there when needed, addressed questions and needs. Now onto the fun. We started with a couple of cocktails A South Beach which was Absolut Citron, chambord, and cranberry juice served martini style. Very good. There was a Miller Lite, Glass of Chardonnay, and a Coconut Pomegranate Martini. We had scallops in bacon, and clams casino for appetizers. Both were delicious and enough to having us want more. The main dishes were paella for two, steak cooked on a stone, and scallops florentine. All were tastebud tango worthy For dessert we tried the lemon berry mascarpone cake. Wine with dinner was Columbia Crest Chardonnay. I would recommend this restaurant if you've never been. The menu has so much on it that you can't try everything in one seating. I intend on returning when time permits. read more

5 stars for Joy, the joyful lovely server. She was spunky and enthusiastic, trying to please in all regards. 4 stars for the rest of our dining experience. The setting is ornate and decorative. It's spacious inside and the noise level was comfortable. I betcha the outdoor patio is super fun on a warm summer night. We reserved a 4 top for my man's b day. It was a comfy table in a large dining room. The place settings are lovely. Portuguese bread is served with whipped butter. We ordered a few apps: their award winning kale soup which was lovely, fried calamari, standard and tasty and a Portuguese little neck dish which was heavily salted almost burning my palate. The red wine drinkers loved their Malbec. I tried two Portuguese white wines by the glass and did not enjoy either too well. I ordered at the waitresses recommendation so cannot recall the name. My boyfriend ordered the 16 ounce steak on a hot stone. He loved his meat and loved the presentation. His parents chose the Paella for two (huge and lovely presentation) and I chose the Paella for one. We should have shared one portion. The dish looked nice but had the same flavour as the littlenecks, way too salty for my enjoyment. The seafood was ok, not fresh tasting and not wow. I asked for a b day treat so the served us a lovely Cappucino Mousse with a candle. The owner came around and was very attentive. Wait staff were bustling. This is a customer oriented dining spot. I'd go back but would try something different. The owner comped a lovely Portuguese cocktail for my boyfriend's b day. How kind, really! The bill with a generous tip was 258.00. A few side notes: The bar looks lively and fun. The bathrooms are immaculate. There is plenty of parking in the rear of the building. read more

Incredible food. I had churrise, clams casino, this chicken plate i forgotten what is called and some of my cousins portgese steak that she ordered. everything was great, but im not used to eating something fairly dry that churisse is. the sauce on the chicken plate i had was so completely to die for. perfect portion, great sauce, so good that i dipped my bread in it to finish every drop, and the rice was an excellent mix in. the steak was great as well. cooked rare, juicy, with a side of fried potatoes. I even saved every drop of sauce to dip my bread in as well. Im most surprised on the prices for their good quality food they serv. Each entre was around $10, which was a steal. so it is quite affordable if you like to make a great impression on a very attractive looking restaurant for a price thats more affordable and better tasting than an olive garden. read more

Anna are waitress was absolutely a joy she really made the night was very friendly and helpful. Keep up the good work Anna you will go far read more

This is perhaps one of the worst Portuguese restaurants I've ever been to. The service was dismal. The ambience was noisy. The food was basically Portuguese diner food confected poorly. Grossly overrated by other Yelp raters, so I have to wonder if the owners rated themselves for a free endorsement. Two weddings were being catered above and below the restaurant so what kind of quality control can there be over the kitchen?! Awful! read more

Mediocre at best and terribly overpriced food. I'm stunned by the number of positive reviews. There are dozens of Better local options, don't waste your time or money. read more

Sunday 9/3/17 My wife and I arrived at 6pm they close at 7. We figured an hour leeway would be okay... WRONG. Our waitress , Ciara, was pleasent but obviously new. She could not pronounce any of the Portuguese names and that's understandable but her table work left a lot to be desired. We started with an appetizer of Shrimp Alhinho. Tender shrimp simmered in light garlic cream sauce served over grilled garlic crostini 9.95 The 10 small shrimp were rubbery,cold and overdone and the light sauce was thin and tastless and cold and they ran out of bread !!!! BAD START !! My wife ordered Bife na Caçarola Pan-seared sirloin, topped with ham and fried eggs with a garlic wine cream sauce served with fried potato rounds and house rice 17.95 Steak was tough and uncutable, round fries soggy and not cooked and house rice never showed up. I had Bife à Cotali Mar Grilled sirloin, topped with a port wine mushroom cream sauce served with red bliss mashed potatoes and vegetable 18.95 Again a tough cut of steak, cold mashed potatoes and veggies. I must say with a smirk that the iced tea was delicious and fresh ... What troubles me the most is that we were never told of the nightly specials, which the couple on the next table ordered from and looked absolutely delicious along with a special soup that I never got to try.... we were never followed up with a "how is everything?" table visit and after she cleaned the plates from the table, gave me the check and never asked if I was interested in dessert. Suffice to say, this will be my first and ONLY visit here. I ask, "What kind of PORTUGUESE restaurant RUNS OUT OF BREAD ????? read more

Understaffed and overpriced. Food was pretty good but not the best Portuguese restaurant in the area.

Beautiful restaurant. But the Portuguese food is far from authentic. The sauce from my pork alentejana tasted like something from a Chinese buffet. Gross! read more

Only giving it a 1 star because I'm forced to. I never got to sit at a table due to the poor organization of the hostess stand. Had reservations for 7:30 on a Saturday for 6 people. I was a guest of two people who were celebrating their birthdays. I won't hold the lack of parking against the restaurant. It was the day after a snow storm and the lot behind the restaurant was poorly plowed and had to circle for 35 mins while the rest of the party waited for the table. Once I was lucky to get a spot I went in at 8pm. The group wasn't sat yet but I was told that they were brought to a table and told they made a mistake and had the wrong reservation. We then stood near the bar for 10 mins before they offered a table in the bar area for us to wait at while our table was having dessert and they could clear and reset. We then sit at the bar table, which is a folding banquet table with a tablecloth placed on it. We speak to our server who had no idea the owner had told us we could sit and wait and order our entrees and they will be served at our assigned table in the dining room when the table was ready. Now as a chef who's worked in the area for 10 years and with another chef who's worked in the business for 30+ year we knew this was all a lie. No one had their stories straight when they spoke to us. After 30 mins of waiting and 1 round of drinks it was still going to be 25-30 mins until the table was going to be ready. It was now 8:30, 1 hour after our reservations and the owner had no reason but that this happens and they can't kick customers out even if they were late for their reservations causing us to have to wait for the table even though we were on time. We asked for the bar bill and the waitress who had no clue what had been occurring between our party and the owner felt bad. We paid the bill and gave her a tip. As we walk out the owner still tried to explain that this is common in the restaurant world and that she was not bullshiting us, her words, this is when myself and one of the birthday guests revealed that we were in the restaurant industry and that this is not common and lying to customers about what really happened to cover your mistakes is not good business. The owner offered a gift certificate and made us wait for it. After 10 minutes and her sitting several parties we walked out and took our business some where else. I personally have never gone here before and have no reason to now that I've seen the poor ownership and management of reservations. read more

Looking for a good Portuguese dinner? GO ELSEWHERE! Settled for this place with a few of my friends one night since our favorite Portuguese restaurant was closed -- terrible mistake. Don't be fooled by the embellished building. The atmosphere is the only thing good about this place, I promise you. Upon being seated by our waitress, one of us asked for bread. The waitress told us that they "ran out" of bread. Really?! What Portuguese restaurant runs out of bread? Can't you just send one of the staff to the bakery to pick up more bread or at least offer us something else? Unreal. At this point I had an instinct that this place was shady but I didn't lose hope just yet. Some of us had ordered Coke. They said they only sold Pepsi there, so we went with that. Let me tell you -- what they served me wasn't Coke nor Pepsi. It was FLAT and tasted like I was drinking my way to diabetes. Tasted like some Walmart brand Cola. The least you can do is serve genuine Pepsi/Coca-Cola products.. We sent them back and got water. One of my friends ordered a beef plate and the waitress asked if they wanted to add shrimp to it.. Two pieces of stuffed shrimp for $8. Ridiculous and mediocre. The last friend ordered a pork plate and told us how foul-tasting it was. It tasted like fish instead of pork and like they used way too much lemon to season it. I had a taste myself and threw up in the napkin because it was so disgusting. Waitress was slow, took forever to bring us our food, check, etc. This place has gone down the tubes.. In a few months I guarantee you they will be shut down.. Can't even afford genuine Coca Cola let alone order some extra papo secos.. How can you afford to run this place!!? read more

Food was good and different. Had a large party of 26. Food tasted good but was cold when it arrived at the table. 1 Server tried to serve us all causing the delay. I think this was to keep the tip to herself. Be careful, a 24% tip was added to each check due to the large party. read more

Excellent food, great service and very nice owners. Polvo on Friday night is a must have

I loved everything I sampled ! So delicious and perfectly cooked and seasoned ! The place is beautiful! The staff were great ! I would give them 10 stars easy ! We will definitely be back !!!!! read more

We had the pleasure of dining with friends at Cotali Mar on July 18th. The food was fantastic, service staff attentive/knowledgeable and their execution exceptional. Menu and specials offered some great choices all of which were delicious !!! A great experience! read more

Went there just a few hours ago, was great in every way , food service was perfect, my waiter Rick was awesome, it was my first time and won't be my last , tysm for a great night:-D read more

Horrible, horrible waiter. I can't even describe the food because we were so turned off by the waiter. Took too long to get drinks. Had to send one drink back. Over charged for drinks. $3 for hot water. Yes hot water. Then he seemed annoyed that we wanted to look at a desert menu. Will not return to this restaurant. Sorry Cotali Mar, you had a chance and you blew it. There are too many other options in the area. read more

Beautiful venue esp for weddings upstairs . I did a Valentine's day dinner here and the food was great a bit pricey but worth it for the food and atmosphere. It's really a hidden gem . Parking is in the rear read more