Karina F.

I had a good experience at this restaurant. I stood here for about two hours. My table and I were not in a rush and just wanted to enjoy our Friday night. We started with ordering drinks and sangria. Then we ordered three appetizers that were ALL delicious. We had clams, fried calamari, and Portuguese sausage. The sausage comes out in a plate that is lit on fire which was pretty cool. The waiter took a long time to order our entrees but I didn't mind as much because we ate a lot of apps. Once we ordered, it didn't take long for the food to come out. Everyone at my table was satisfied and enjoyed their dinner. The only downfall and the reason for four stars instead of five is that there was a lot of fruit flies. I spent most of my time at the table swinging my hand trying to get them away. Good food, tasty drinks, and friendly environment. Would definitely visit again!

Julius S.

A little taste of the Ironbound right in Long Branch. It's not quite up there with the very best in Newark, but I was nevertheless impressed. At first it puzzled me that, although this place is rated 4 stars on Yelp, it had only 26 reviews despite the fact that it's been at this location since... forever. I've passed by many times, but I guess the words "Sports Bar" dissuaded me from considering it as a serious place to eat . Only after seeing Brian S.'s review did I realize what I've been passing up. Although we may not always agree on how many stars to give a place, Brian's reviews have been spot on. If he likes a place, I know it's going to be good. I think I know the answer as to why only 26 people reviewed this place: it's old school. It's not some hot and new chic tapas and wine bar. A lot of the clientele are older, and Portuguese. So it's not the hip new (overpriced?) scene that a lot of Yelpers seem to be drawn to. However, it's old school in a good way. It proudly proclaims to be a Portuguese restaurant; there's none of this equivocating between being Spanish AND Portuguese, in an effort to draw a wider crowd, as many Iberian restaurants are wont to do. My *Rule of Complimentary Offerings* is reaffirmed once again: If whatever they give you as complimentary (bread, bruschetta, chips, kimchi etc) is good, the meal that follows will be good as well. If the complimentary stuff sucks, walk out before you waste your money. They had delicious Portuguese rolls waiting on the table, crusty exterior and airy and chewy interior. They were so good that they didn't even need to be warmed up. My mouth still waters when I think about them. The place is busy, but the service was good, with young, friendly, energetic, and pretty waitresses, who all seemed to be Portuguese. We ordered a half pitcher of white sangria. I'm not really a sangria drinker, but this was good enough to convert just about anyone. In fact, I'd probably get a mental hernia trying to remember when I've had better. I ordered the baccala (or "Bacalhau" as they call it) on the bone. This was simply sautéed in good olive oil with peppers and onions and served with boiled potatoes. Very simple, very good, and very traditional. This is one of my favorite Portuguese dishes, and they make a very good version. I washed it down with a half bottle (they sell halves) of some good Portuguese dry white wine, which seemed more appropriate here than the sangria. This is what I mean by being old school. Although many would no doubt be put off, serving it on the bone, as it should be, enhances the flavor. Baccala goes back to something like the 16th century, the process originally developed by Basque fishermen. In case you don't know, before there was refrigeration, fishermen would dry and preserve cod by storing it in salt. This would stay good for almost forever. In order to prepare it, the salted cod has to be reconstituted by soaking it in water for at least 24 hrs, changing the water several times to rinse away the salt. GF had the Garlic Shrimp, which was perfectly seasoned, and was to die for. It was served with good rice and beans and French fries. I only wish that instead of fries, it was served with fried Spanish, or in this case, Portuguese, potatoes... you know, the ones that look like thick potato chips. The one major hiccup was the dessert. We ordered the chocolate mousse since it's not as common as in Manhattan. I fancy myself a decent amateur cook, however, the one glitch in my culinary endeavors is chocolate mousse. My problem is obvious: I don't know how to "fold". Chocolate mousse (mousse is French for foam) is simply a mixture of a chocolate and egg yolk (or butter) base with wipped egg whites, and sometimes whipped heavy cream, folded in. If you over-fold, you collapse the beaten egg whites forcing the air out, the result being more like pudding than mousse. And that's exactly what happened here. It was still OK.. sweet and chocolate tasting, but not mousse. Maybe they should just stick to flan. The espresso we finished the "mousse" with, on the other hand, was strong, rich, and very good. Overall a very satisfying meal.

Xiomara B.

Came here for dinner. Nice find and great food. The red sangria is strong just how I like it. My order of fried rump beef cubes with cheese and yucca was out of this world. Steak with Spanish potato, rice and beans was very good as well. Service was prompt and friendly. We will definitely return when in the area.

Bryan G.

My goto Portuguese spot. As good as anyplace in Newark. Good atmosphere and the food is awesome. 5 stars!

I really tried to give this place another chance but I am truly disappointed. I finally got a cooked steak unfortunately this steak is as dry as jerky. The cooks truly are terrible. They should have an in service or be properly trained. I have never been to an establishment who prides themselves on their steaks and out of the 5 steaks we ordered all of the medium steaks were over cooked. Unacceptable.

Rey U.

The best Portuguese/Brazilian restaurant in town. I highly recommend "Bitoqui"! Great service, great atmosphere great food! Perfect combination!

Gary D.

Great food get the filet mignon. Really good. Great service and seafood to. Get the sangria.

Joel F.

This place is like one of the unique places on ferry street excellent food n drinks friendly staff family atmosphere when ever I'm in long branch I always grab a paella great job