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    PortuCale Restaurant & Bar

    3.8 (233 reviews)
    ModeratePortuguese, Bars
    Closed 10:00 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)
    Updated 1 month ago

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    PortuCale Restaurant & Bar Photos

    PORTUCALE RESTAURANT & BAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Happy hour specials

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    Beer chicken
    Cynthia G.

    I came here for a party, and while the environment was nice and the piña colada was amazing, the food was absolutely disappointing. * Appetizers: The only good thing! The sausage, shrimp, and calamari were actually enjoyable. Everything else? Not so much. * Beer Sauce Chicken: Way too mushy and just plain nasty. The texture was off, and the flavor was unappetizing. * Ribs: Completely undercooked--pink on the inside, which is unacceptable. * BBQ Chicken: Dry, flavorless, and just sad. * Fish: Overcooked and bland, no seasoning at all. * Mashed Potatoes: Tasted like they came straight from a box, artificial and unappealing. * Rice: It was okay, but not properly cooked. Overall, this was a terrible dining experience. The only saving grace was the appetizers, drinks, and atmosphere and service, but I would never return for the food. If you want a traditional Portuguese resting I highly recommend the "taste of Portugal" in Elizabeth NJ

    Allicia S.

    Five star rating based on the extensive menu, both food and drink, and excellent customer service. My server Tony was an attentive and answered my questions in detail. As I had been wanting octopus for a while, it was a pleasure to be able to sample this Portuguese delicacy along with shrimp sautéed in garlic (with slices of garlic!), patata bravas (potatoes with olive oil) and replaced sausage with calamari. The desire for a green addition was limited to broccolini, which was not desired. Ordered the arroz con tomate (tomato rice) to pair with sampler. The wine list was extensive; Tony suggested pairing sangria with my meal. The food met my expectations and would have surpassed if the octopus was less salty. I was able to combine with the rice to ease the saltiness. The ambiance and service were a large part of the rating. There were multiple rooms including an enclosed patio, large dining area and bar area seating. I opted for the bar area to sit at a high table and watch Olympics on one of the bar area televisions. Other televisions showed FIFA futbol, which was equally exciting. Overall, the restaurant had something for everyone and appeared to be a local favorite. Would gladly return again! Obrigada PortuCale!

    Roasted suckling pig with potato
    Rose K.

    We were attending a dance event at the Portuguese Sport Club in Newark, and this place is a short walk from there. Great service, we requested to sit on the outdoor patio where there was a waterfall wall. The server was very helpful with suggestions on what to order, both for food and wine. We enjoyed our vinho verde and roasted suckling pig. One of our friends took out his bandoneon (accordion) and played some songs, and the servers were so supportive and even applauded and asked for more. Great vibes, highly recommend

    Mussels
    Tina B.

    Nice, warm and clean ambience. Very friendly service. Absolutely delicious food- Bife A Portuguesa and Mussels are phenomenal. Great red sangria. Highly recommend.

    Crocker fish

    Amazing meal all the way around and the red sangria was lovely! Definitely will go back!

    T - Bone Steak a Maitre D'hotel: good size and decent taste for the price
    Ana D.

    Would give 3.5. Good amount of food for the price. -Appetizer sampler: good flavor but everything was very oily -T bone steak: good size steak and decent flavor the price. Side potatoes and green beans were very oily. Unsure if would return to this business mainly because of how oily everything but the steak was.

    Desiree F.

    One of my girlfriends and I got together for dinner. When I arrived I parked on the street in front. I walked in, and we sat at the bar. Roxanna was our bartender, and she was cool. I started with a red sangria and it was good. For my entrée I got the sea bass special for only $20. When it came out it looked amazing! The only problem was that it was full of bones. It was delicious though! My friend really enjoyed her garlic shrimp. The bill was super affordable! All in all we had a good experience.

    Mussels in tomato sauce (tasted like a fresh veggie soup yum)
    Tiffany D.

    I had the most amazing night here! Two weeks ago I was in Newark for a concert so I sought out a good restaurant and ended up choosing this place. The restaurant, when you come in, is a bar/high tables scene but when you get to the second back room it is very homey and cozy. I felt like I was IN Portugal! We had a host and a waiter, both super sweet and helpful! I already had looked at the menu so first ordered the appetizer platter, great idea! It was garlic shrimp, garlic octopus (my favvvv I already knew I needed to have octopus that night, they had three dishes of octopus btw), "flaming" Portuguese sausage, and hot potatoes! Def get this to share, if you ordered separately it would've been too much food and probably 3 times expensive!! Everything was soooo delicious! (Post for my IG): Dinner at @portucale_restaurant in Newark Friday night App sampler: * garlic shrimp * garlic octopus (my fav, sooooo tender) * hot potatoes * flaming Portuguese sausage * clams in white wine garlic sauce * mussels in tomato sauce (it was like a delicious veggie broth) The octopus was heavenly and I inhaled the portion. Perfectly cooked, tender and full on flavor explosion! I'm not a huge potato fan but delicious! Obviously the sausage was soooo flavorful with a nice crisp! The garlic shrimps were small but yummy, not overly garlicky. Entree: * Chilean sea bass in champagne sauce I LOVE Chilean sea bass, they gave two fillets and every bite just melted in your mouth! Yummmm... creamy mashed potatoes and fresh veg! Desserts: * flan (eggier than usual, so good) * extreme bamba (sherbet) * coconut sherbet (creamy with chunks of coconut, my favvvv of the three) I wanted the egg tarts but they were out (we were there late, so I suggest you ordering them as soon as you sit down) The coconut sherbet stole my heart and stomach! Soooo coconutty and refreshing with pieces of real coconut flesh! It was SO amazing! The flan was delicious, not too sweet - it wasn't the silky creamy type that I'm used too, it was eggier and had bubbles when you cut into it. Definitely "heartier" feeling because of that (but actually light) The Bambara is HUGE so be ready! Everything was absolutely delicious! The wine that they paired for us worked perfectly with all the dishes and our waiter was THE sweetest!!!! Highly recommend this place will definitely go back if I'm back in the area! #octopus #garlic #garlicshrimp #portuguese #portuguesesausage #potatoes #mussels #clams #seafood #shellfish #newark #dinner #chileanseabass #seabass #champagnesauce #dessert #sherbet #coconut #bomba #coconutsherbet #flan #olives #piawine

    Filet Mignon Com Bacon
    Vanessa A.

    We had an excellent dinner here! Seems like it's an old restaurant. A bit rustic inside. You walk into the bar area where there are a few high top tables. There's a smaller room off to the side with 6 tables. There's an outdoor patio area and a more formal dining room on the other side of the restaurant where the bathrooms are. They offer free parking but we found street parking with no problem. The menu at the restaurant is different than what's online. There were more dishes to choose from. The prices are also different (now slightly more expensive of course). We started with the octopus salad for $20. It could definitely be shared with a few people as an app. The octopus seemed fresh. The seasonings were perfect. For my entree I had grilled cod in a clay pot with peppers, onions, broccoli rabe and potatoes with the skin ($30). I expected to get a clay pot bowl. It was this long rectangular dish that the food came out sizzling on. The fish was perfectly cooked. I ate maybe about half the dish. The portions are generous! My other half ordered filet mignon wrapped in bacon. To me the bacon wasn't cooked to my liking (not crispy enough) but I wasn't the one eating it. The filet was perfectly cooked. I'm not much of a meat eater and I was impressed. Service was good. Our waiter was attentive enough. Checked on us and was pretty much always in our sights if we needed him.

    Stuffed salmon
    Tiffani M.

    Staff, atmosphere and food were great! I went for my sister's birthday and all the food was delicious. Great portions too, everyone had leftovers to eat the next day.

    Garlic Shrimp
    Kimberly S.

    Found this place on Groupon while looking for a place to have dinner before attending a concert at the Prudential Center. Let me tell we couldn't have been happier... The offer included an appetizer to share, 2 entrees, a 1/2 pitcher of sangria, and 2 cappuccinos... they were having a 20% off on the Groupon so it was only $36.80 before tax, gratuity and whatever overages above the base prices. Still a terrific bargain... We were greeted at the door and chose a seat in the dining room... We were served some nice fresh rolls and butter and our drink orders were taken. We decided on the red sangria. After looking over the menu we decided on the shrimp in garlic sauce for our appetizer and for the main course the hubby went with the Grilled NY Sirloin Steak that comes served on the clay roof tile. That comes with rice and red beans as the accompaniment. I decided on the Stuffed salmon with crab meat served with mashed potatoes and broccoli. The garlic shrimp came out and it was really tasty and the sauce was great for dipping the bread in. Then the main courses were served... the steak came out sizzling served over a flame on the tile that kept in warm. It was topped off with some herbed butter that melted all over and made for delicious flavor because of course I had to steal a bite. He said he also enjoyed the rice and beans that also included some chorizo. My stuffed salmon was quite tasty as well and a very large portion. I ended up taking quite a bit home. Unfortunately no room for dessert but we did enjoy our cappuccinos before we headed off to the show. I'm very happy we found this spot and I look forward to returning and trying some of their other selections.

    Tapas : Prosciutto, Cheese & Portuguese Sausage

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    PortuCale Restaurant & Bar Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - PortuCale Restaurant & Bar

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    Bar Vanquish

    Bar Vanquish

    3.6
    (31 reviews)
    0.5 mi

    Came here on Sunday afternoon a couple of hours before a concert. This is the perfect place to eat…read moreprior to a concert. It is right around the corner from the Prudential Center. There was no way for me to make a reservation online so I took my chance. I was there with two other people and we were lucky to get enough to get there when we did. The place started to get packed quickly. We got a table on the top floor (there is a bottom floor). Our waitress/bartender CiCi was great. She was busy but still attentive. We got Louie Char Grilled Oysters, thai chili wings Catfish nuggets, fries and burger with fries. For drinks, we got blueberry lemon drop martini and margaritas. Both drinks were tad a bit too tart and not strong enough. Our food was delicious. Though I wish the fries were shoestrings fries and it they had a parmesean truffle option. Great place to listen to music, have some good food and drinks before a concert at the Prudential Center

    I was there to meet with a friend before a concert. Sat at the bar and had a drink . We ordered…read moreseveral drinks before heading to the venue. If you want a martini be very exact as to how you want it. My friend's first version was weirdly sweet with triple sec added. The bartender claimed that was how it was made at their bar. Once I instructed him how I wanted it made it was fine. Both bartenders were friendly nD drinks came out quickly

    Photos
    Jamison on the rocks
    Jamison on the rocks
    Fried salmon sliders
    Fried salmon sliders
    Caribbean tacos and chardonnay

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    Caribbean tacos and chardonnay
    Consigliere

    Consigliere

    4.4
    (16 reviews)
    0.9 mi

    Went here for after dinner on Valentine's Day .... I lived the vibes! The bartenders were dope and…read morereal mixologist! My drinks were very tasty, will be back!

    I've been to this bar 3 times. Once when it just opened and twice within the last month or so. The…read morelast two times were not good experiences. Most recently was last night and that was my last straw. The music was incredibly and unnecessarily loud which they knew because they told us they'd turn it down before we got the chance to ask. Next, there was one waitress on the floor, clearly overwhelmed. Told us she would be back with water but came back almost 20 mins later. We ordered our wine when she came back because who knows how long it would take to receive it. Another 20 mins, maybe more. We watched her seat several groups and I literally had to scream across the room to get her attention and to remind her of the bottle we ordered, which she had the nerve to appear annoyed about. We asked her if we could move from our tables to a nearby couch which she said yes. Before we had a the chance to finish the bottle the GM comes over and tells us to move our seats and that he would take care of us (NEVER DID NOR DID HE CHECK IN). This is the same GM who asked me to give the place another try after the last issues we encountered where they screwed up our checks due their own carelessness. I should've raised more of an issue and questioned him more. But nevertheless we move to these two musty smelling seats. At that point we left and decided that would be the absolute last time. Go at your own risk!

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    Consigliere
    Consigliere
    Consigliere

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    QXT's Night Club

    QXT's Night Club

    3.9
    (63 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $

    I was pleasantly surprised!…read more What a cool spot! Located not far from Prudential Center.. came here for Wednesday night karaoke. Found street parking with no meter which was great. Smaller spot, but you don't feel like you're on top of each other. It reminded me of a Village kinda spot.. very dark interior... but a whole vibe. Bathrooms were really clean.. nice bar in the back of the space. The only reason I will give it 4 is because even though the drinks were reasonably priced, the bartender wasn't making the best drinks... you could barely tell that there was any alcohol in them.. I had to order an extra shot just to make it taste good. I think she needed some help because she seemed sorta flustered in taking care of everyone. I would definitely return!! Especially for karaoke!

    i don't think they actually serve alcohol here. i went with a group of people on November 1st, was…read moremy first time there. i personally got around 5-6 drinks within the first 45 minutes and didn't taste of feel the alcohol at all. at least three other people in my group had the same complaints. additionally the security seemed quite relaxed. i saw a few people with bags walked in and did not get searched. i also had a bag but didnt get searched. i don't know if they just decide on bag size to search or not but either way, it didn't feel that safe. aside from this, the service was nice and the bartenders were doing their best to serve everyone as fast as they could. i like how everything was themed and such. i was not a fan of the music playing in any of the rooms but thats subjective so i cant take off points for that. i didn't order food so i can't comment on that. in conclusion though, i wont be returning for the first two points listed above. i cant say it was the same for everyone but it felt like this for myself and three others so i wanted to share my thoughts

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    QXT's Night Club
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    On June 18th The Diva Lady J celebrates another Birthday at NJ #1 Alternative Night Club
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    Alter der Ruine (live)

    PortuCale Restaurant & Bar - portuguese - Updated July 2026

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