The food was excellent had gotten several trays of chicken and ribs large portions I used them for my parents wedding anniversary with the family everyone was so satisfied with the food very tasty just like Portuguese style should be made had yellow rice with French fries as sides. Definitely would recommend this place people were also very friendly and helpful. read more

We got there at 10am excited for their breakfast/brunch but the sign said they don't open until 11am! We came back at 11am only to find that breakfast/brunch is only available on weekends! Letdown. Since we were already there and waited all this time, we went ahead and placed an order of hot wings and shrimp with garlic sauce to go. The shrimp with garlic sauce was flavorful even without pouring on the garlic sauce. The shrimp was served atop orange-y, seasoned rice. There was a small condiment size container of garlic sauce that came with the order. The garlic sauce is slightly sweet and very good and I'm glad it was separated from the platter to avoid making the rice soggy. The shrimp had a lot of flavor. I don't know how all that flavor got cooked into it because it tasted like the shrimp was simmered in this sauce for a long time, yet the shrimp was perfectly cooked, not a tad overcooked. I used what was left of the garlic sauce to dip with the complimentary rolls. It complemented the bread very well. The hot wings were decent but note that these are like other American wings, nothing Portuguese about it, which is what we were expecting. The wings were breaded but not crispy. It was probably because we waited a while before we got a chance to eat it. I will definitely be back to try other dishes and the breakfast! read more

We recently just moved here and had been looking for a good Portuguese restaurant. I first tried them from Uber Eats and the first time didn't disappoint! We ordered chicken and ribs including fries. All them were good but what stood out were the ribs! We have tried a couple places to compare different style,, but hands down Otilia's Cafe is the winner! I have ordered ribs for friends and family, everyone loves it! We always love supporting small businesses! read more

Otilia's Cafe - Chicken and ribs tray - Portuguese Near Me - Spotswood, New Jersey

We recently ordered 2 salmon dinners. They were delicious! The salmon was cooked perfectly as was everything else. The owners are the nicest people. Otilia's is a "Find!" read more

Otilia's (Portuguese) Cafe has come a long was since it first opened. I was there on 2/10/2018 and the food was wonderful. Flavor, portion, service, were all perfect. An impressive improvement since my initial visit long ago when they first opened. My Advice: If you have not been there in a long time I urge you to return and re-try it. You will be extremely pleased! Some of the feature that go well beyond the great food were the fact that the establishment was clean, warm, and stink-free. As a side note... When I go out to eat I can handle some sloppiness and filth, and I understand that smoke and stink in the dining area is often part of the ambiance (like it or not), but my pet peeve is that on a cold winter night the temperature in most dining establishments is a cold, drafty, 58 degrees. My point is that I walked into Otilia's on a cold rainy evening and the place was clean, warm, and dry. I immediately felt comfortable soon as I walked in. That sort of 'comfort' is something that is very rare in most dining establishment. Note that fancy & expensive seldom translate to 'comfortable'. Otilia's Cafe in Spotswood, NJ get 5 stars! Great food in a comfortable atmosphere. read more

We went to check out the place for my birthday. Wanted something different for a change. It was a great experience. The hostess was very warm and welcoming. We decided to eat there. The food comes in large portions. It came out hot and was prepared well. The bread was a hit with all of the diners in our party. The soup was good and I don't even eat soup. The salads were good. Everyone enjoyed their meal selections. Chicken, Shrimp, sausage & pork, and salmon. We enjoyed the dining experience and will be going back. read more

Otilia's Cafe - Pork, Sausage and potatoes - Portuguese Near Me - Spotswood, New Jersey

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The food here is always delicious with generous portions. We love the chili prawns and the picadhino but today we got a catering order. The owners are so nice and made sure everything was perfect for us today. The food was absolutely delicious and everyone loved it. I wish we could have paused a moment to take a picture (especially of the paella and pernil) but we were greedy and devoured it all. All ican say from here is we'll be going back as it's one of our favorite places. But make sure you give them plenty of advance notice of your order if you get take out They cook fresh and aren't rushed. read more

Got the BBQ chicken and rice which was great! The chicken wasn't dry it was perfectly cooked to perfection! Owner was very helpful with deciding what to order. Would highly recommend this place to anyone! read more

This place blew me away. Amazing, authentic Portuguese food. Huge portions and everyone's food was so fresh and delicious. The staff is super friendly and the chef had some amazing specials showcasing his great talent. The restaurant is very casual and you can see everything being made which made the restaurant smell so freaking good! If you live anywhere in the area and like great food, do yourself a favor and try this place. You definitely will not be disappointed! read more

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What a great restaurant in the area. Small , unassuming location but cant say enough about the service and food. Picadinho , Ribs and Chicken and Seradura dessert are fantastic. Great for dine in BYoB or takeout. Great find read more

Great bbq chicken if you don't want to make the trip up to newark. You are treated like family when you walk in the door. Service is quick and the people at the counter talk to you like they've known you for years. That's called service read more

We were there on a Friday evening in early December. First impressions were not so good. Large and bare with poor lighting. Not a place for intimate dining. Only one other group eating. Seem to do a big take out business. Large friendly, possibly over friendly, staff which seemed to be mostly family. Food was good but took a very long time arriving - I suppose because it was freshly prepared. Won't comment since I am unfamiliar with Portuguese cooking. We are not dessert eaters but we were heavily pressed to sample a dessert called 'sawdust' - a speciality of theirs. They said it was a delicious mixture of sweetened condensed milk and cookie crumbs. Were forced to tell them that we enjoyed it but it was very sickly and a surprisingly large addition to our bill since we had assumed it was a freebee. Not a great experience here and doubt if we will be back. read more

This place is the real deal. The food is excellent and we keep coming back! We have been to Portugal and find that Otilia's is just as good as the food in Portugal, if not better. The chicken is so tender, juicy, and flavorful. The staff is also very friendly. Great find for authentic Portuguese food. read more

We ate there last night for the first, and definitely not last time. What a surprise! The owner and the server were tremendous! The food was wonderful. Don't know how you can improve on French fries but they were unique. The squid and the chicken were terrific and the "sawdust" dessert was a perfect ending. Remember you don't eat ambiance! read more

Amazing homestyle meals! Reminds me of my Ava's table in Régua, most authentic Portugués restaurant you'll find around here. Perfect little hole in the wall hiding in Spotswood suburbs. read more

Very unassuming restaurant which we found by accident one day while in the area. It has a no frills feel which is great after a long day at work. Great quality tasty food, and very welcoming friendly owners. We always bring a bottle of wine or two and enjoy our dinners here. My favorite dish is the shrimp with whiskey sauce, and I wind up getting that all the time but they run other specials all the time and my husband always enjoys his choices as well. read more

I didn't have high hopes, since other Yelpers seemed to dislike some of my favorite Portuguese dishes here, but we really enjoyed it. True, there's not much atmosphere (a few photos of Portugal on the walls), but their focus is on the food. While perusing the menu, prices struck me as being a bit high but, with the amount of food we were given, we'll easily make a second meal from each entree. Meals came with either soup or a salad. The soup of the day was chicken noodle - it was the kind of comforting soup I would love if I was home sick with a cold. (It needed a little shake of salt & pepper, but that's just my preference.) I had the combo barbecued chicken & ribs, which came with a side of yellow rice (okay, the rice is more orange than yellow) and french fries. Other reviewers complained that the fries were soggy; the key is to eat them in the restaurant while still fresh. They were sooo good - I meant to ask if they were hand-cut because they looked and tasted like it. Hubby had garlic shrimp over rice - I've never seen so many shrimp in an entree before! And they were cooked perfectly - not rubbery at all. I'm going to see if I can post a couple photos later, although he dug in before I could snap a picture. Some desserts are made in-house, others are brought in by a famous Portuguese bakery in Newark (that's where the bread is from too). We shared a "sonho," which is a cream & cookie-layered dessert similar to a parfait. It was tasty. Another unique feature at this restaurant: patrons were chatting with patrons at other tables (and business was brisk on a Friday night). It was such a nice, hometown-y thing to do. Otilia's is a really welcome addition to the area! read more

Great family owned spot. Clean open aired kitchen. Food is authentic and delicious. Looking forward to taking out this weekend

Please read!!! I've been going to Otilia's Cafe for almost 5 years (basically since it opened) and have seen the restaurant grow in popularity and be constantly praised for its great food. Today was no different, I went to Otilia's and ordered their famous bbq ribs. They were so busy with orders that they ran out of bbq ribs a few minutes earlier. No problem, I opted for their bbq chicken and as usual it did not disappoint! Unfortunately during my visit today I also witnessed a very rude and self centered customer that came in shortly after I had arrived, disrespect the owners and its staff, simply because they ran out of bbq ribs. This individual went as far as threatening the owner when he was asked to leave due to his rude behavior. I witnessed the entire scenario and actually asked the same customer to leave when he started threatening the owner (customer in question is Solomon H who has given every single place he's visited a bad review). Furthermore, before this customer left, he used the rest room and purposely flooded the bathroom by clogging the sink which caused quite the challenge for the owners. Folks, I normally don't give out reviews, but this time I saw a sheer attempt by a self entitled and disrespectful individual, who had no good intentions to begin with, wrongly accuse a business of something they did not do. This customer was actually accompanied by friend who left the premises with embarrassment as this poor excuse of an individual began insulting the staff. Check out the reviews this Solomon H individual has left, and when it comes to Otilia's Cafe, please see all the great reviews they have received, and better yet, go in and experience it for yourself. read more

Enjoy delicious and reasonably priced Portuguese food in this quaint and casual restaurant. A girlfriend and I went with our young children (3 kids under 3) and the restaurant staff were incredibly accommodating. They offered crayons and dine-out cups to the children, and when they saw the kids were favoring tomatoes in the salad that we ordered they offered to bring us more. We shared garlic shrimp with rice, the steak and egg sandwich, French fries, mozzarella sticks, and a house salad -- everything was fresh and tasty! The free bread was delicious too. read more

This place is great to dine in,take out, and for catering. Juicy, flavorful, and cooked great. We have yet to have a bad meal here. Highly recommend hidden gem! read more

Just stopped by Otilia's for brunch. Had Portuguese baked eggs with chorizo onions peppers and a delicious tomato sauce, all in an iron skillet. Completely delicious. If you're looking for an amazing breakfast, you have got to get here and have the Portuguese baked eggs. They are to die for! YUM! read more

Otilia's Cafe - Beautiful and amazingly delicious goat stew! - Portuguese Near Me - Spotswood, New Jersey

Great place for sit down , well priced yet still amazingly prepared Portugese... anytime you can go to a place, where the chef repeatedly walks around to see how everyone's meals are, you know they truly care about , and love what they do.. all the staff as well. Highly recommend. read more

Came and tried this place out due to all the good reviews. Like others mentioned before, this was a former fried chicken place and the decoration pretty much stayed the same except with the removal of the benched seat tables and added paintings to the wall. The night we went, there was no waitress, only the manager/owner and the chef working so it took 15 minutes just to get the menu. The kitchen was wide open so your clothes will smell like food when you leave. Food: Appetizer: Pasteis de Bacalhau - you get 4 smell pieces and they were just ok and doesn't have much taste to them Entree: Picadinha with fries and rice, the pork was tasty but the fires were soggy, I believe it probably sat under a heat lamp for a while since it took a while for us to get the food I wanted to order the beef ribs and was told they didn't have them, it was 6:30 pm in the afternoon so I ordered the Shrimp in Garlic sauce instead and the portion was big and the dish tasted ok. A soup came with the entree, it was a chourico and Kale soup and it was delicious, best part of the meal and I think our entrees was delayed because they ran out of soup and need to make a fresh batch? Overall it was just an ok dinning experience and I'm sure it's due to growing pain and hopefully it will work out well in time read more

We ordered the whole Chicken and full rack of ribs to go and both were a big hit with the family. The chicken was already cut up and it was all hot and ready to go. The only suggestion I have is the ribs appear to be smoked with great seasonings, but we like a little BBQ sauce on our ribs. Not a problem because we had it at home, but having the extra option of sauce on the side might be helpful. It was a great price for the quality and the amount of food. We will definitely order again! read more

I think this place is great! We moved into the area a year ago and just recently tried Otilia's Cafe. We normally order take out, and have not had a bad meal. The ribs are our favorite. They have the right amount of flavor. Can't wait to dine in with a bottle of wine! read more

Ordered delivery the other night and the food came quick . This was our second time ordering from this restaurant and both times we have been pleased. I ordered the 1/2 chicken and 1/2 rib entree with rice and beans and another 1/2 rib entree with rice. The portions are big, we had enough for leftovers the next night. Chicken and ribs were moist and flavorful. Plenty of rice and beans too. read more

I update my review to 5 stars! 1. The owners of this place are by all means the friendliest small business owners I've come across. You don't mind giving your money to people like this. They are always pleasant and hold great conversation while you wait for your food. 2. I think they have the best french fries I've ever tasted. Definitely not out of a bag. They are always fresh with just enough salt. 3. The bacon is SSSOOOOO good! I could live off bacon so this is important for me. LOL!!! 4. My family's personal favorites are: Ribs, Bitoque, Garlic shrimp, and the grilled shrimp salad. OOO...and don't forget the bacon. Try any of those and you will not be disappointed. read more

Great Portuguese food in an out of the way location. Like finding a pearl in an oyster. Prices are as good as the food with a nice menu of whatever you are looking for when hankering for Portuguese food without going to the Amboys or Ironbound section of Newark. Hope they do well. read more

So happy to have found such a fantastic little restaurant! The food is fresh and very tasty. The owner has such a passion for his cooking and his heritage! If you are in the area stop by for authentic Portuguese food!! read more

Otilia's Cafe - Portuguese Near Me - Spotswood, New Jersey

Everything is fabulous at this family run restaurant. Their jumbo shrimp in whiskey cream sauce over potatoes..fabulous. hubby loves their mariscada. Rib and chicken combo enormous. Shrimp in garlic sauce, yum! Fatima and John make you feel so welcome. read more

We've lived about a mile away for 25 years, and honestly didn't know it was there until I saw it on Yelp. We ordered the Mixed Grill family platter. There was easily enough food for 6 or 7 people. All of the meat was cooked and seasoned perfectly. The Duck Bacon Turnovers are actually life-changing! read more

Amazing place, amazing food, amazing people. Try the grilled chicken or the peri peri (spicy). You can't go wrong with either.

Phenomenal. Quality food. Goat cheese purses. To die for. Mozambique shrimp to die for. Shrimp in whiskey sauce. Wow. read more

Otilia's Cafe - Goat cheese with marmalade - Portuguese Near Me - Spotswood, New Jersey

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Just got the half chicken and half ribs on UberEats. You get a ton of delicious food for the money! Ribs and chicken were cooked excellently, seasoned well and had a great charcoal smoke flavor. Sides were prepared well also, I got fries (good quality) and yellow rice. Absolutely would recommend! Thank you for the delicious food and for offering delivery! read more

Ordered A whole Chicken and a whole rack of Ribs. Got 2 portions of yellow rice and 2 portions of French Fries. The chicken ribs were good to ok. Same with the rice, the real winner was the French fries, soo good. Ordered early and they had it ready and waiting. I liked that they used all paper containers (paper weight of a Chinese food take out container). Eco friendly. Will order from here again or sit down for the meal. It is a BYOB location. read more

I was so excited to try this place out, from such great reviews. I decided to do takeout from here, since when I looked at pictures of the place online, it seemed more takeout like. The staff is probably the most friendly staff ever. Had a very positive attitude, and seemed really excited that this was our first time trying the food. That's kind of where the enjoyment ended. We got the barbeque buffalo wings. The chicken was cooked to perfection, but the sauce, it definitely was barbeque, but they put way too much sauce. The wings were completely covered with barbeque sauce, and it made my fingers way too sticky. Yes, buffalo wings do make your hands sticky, but here it was almost like my hands were painted in barbeque sauce afterwards. Ugh, disgusting. The barbeque chicken sandwich wasn't good either. The chicken did taste slightly undercooked, The bread was perfectly toasted, but they put more onions than chicken. Now, I love onions, but only when its supposed to be the main part of a dish. Like I said, there were more onions than chicken. Also, when I did find chicken, it was just wo huge pieces. I thought the chicken would be cut up in the sandwich. Nope, just two large pieces. The chicken in the sandwich tasted slightly undercooked as well Ugh! I would say if you want good Portuguese food, go to Portuguese Fisherman in South River! The food is unbelievable there! read more

Was passing through town on my way home and stopped in for takeout. Delicious grilled chicken sandwich wrapped in prosciutto, very tasty fries and a side of bacalhau. Perfect lunch at a great price. Very friendly staff as well. Highly recommended. read more

I love this place for many reasons besides the close proximity. The food is delish, the chef/owner is very particular about his ingredients and by talking to him it is clear he is a foodie himself. It's not your normal Portuguese food because he kicks it up a notch and creates even better variations. Lastly his other dishes, besides the regular ribs and chicken, are very very good and you can tell it's made with love with the nice presentation that's I'm accustomed to receiving. Don't pass on trying this quaint cozy little restaurant because then you'll never know what you're missing. I have never been disappointed after eating and I don't foresee it ever happening. read more

Apps were great , goat cheese in a puff pastry with a fig marmalade and shrimp with garlic sauce was delicious . Main course was also tremendous , we had a dish don't remember the name but had prawns , clams , pork and chorizo with cubed roasted potatoes . Very casual and the owners are on top of things and very congenial . Definitely will be back ... read more