Petiscos "Downtown" - San Jose (CA)

4 /5 narae kim: I was really looking forward to trying authentic Portuguese food today. Overall, the flavors were on the saltier side for a Michelin-rated restaurant, and the wine list wasn’t very extensive. Corkage is $45. Compared to other Portuguese restaurants I’ve tried in San Jose, a few dishes here are quite close to the authentic local taste. The white sangria was pleasantly balanced—not too sweet—and very refreshing. The blood sausage was chewy, aromatic, and tasted truly authentic, with just the right amount of salt. The duck rice was my absolute favorite. The seasoning was perfect for my taste, and I loved the chewy texture and the rich, layered broth with mushrooms—it was full of depth and flavor. The cod casserole tasted like a gratin, but it was way too salty. If it were slightly less salty, it would have been much better. Still, it paired nicely with the duck rice—but I probably wouldn’t order it again. The tempura beans were crispy on the outside with a nice bite from the beans inside—tasty but nothing special. The house aioli wasn’t the traditional Portuguese or Spanish yolk-heavy version; it was more like the American-style aioli. I would definitely come back for the blood sausage and duck rice—those two dishes are must-tries! Service was excellent—the staff replaced plates, cleaned the table promptly, and were very polite throughout.

1 /5 Khiem Nguyen: The place looks great but thats about where it ends in terms of complements. It seems like they want to charge fancy restaurant prices and portions while giving you casual restaurant quality. The pork croquettes are fairly salty so you need to douse them in the sauce to abate it. This actually made them pretty good. The portion for the octopus was non-existent considering, at time of this review, they charged $45 for an octopus tail and 5 baby potatoes. Even without considering the price, its just alright. The serving size of the Francesinha was good but its honestly so one-note and reminiscent of malt that it became boring to eat. Additionally, the egg was fairly overcooked even though I cut it immediately. Also, its so hard to cut it with the knife they gave to you. Wish it came pre-sliced. And for the service, boy that mess was rough. They tried but they were both understaffed and also incentivized. Instead of a server for your table, you kind of got three people just walking around and you have to constantly flagged people down to get service. Thats fine for a place thats like $15 a dish. Not $40.

3 /5 Justine: I came for my birthday dinner. I love the idea of Portuguese tapas, but the overall experience was very underwhelming. It didnt live up to the Michelin guide for me. Service was okay and food came out rather quickly. However, there was no silverware given with the dishes so we had to use our personal utensils to dish out food for everyone. Our sangria came out after we finishes 2-3 dishes. Normally drinks should come out first. On the sangria note, it is dang near impossible to pour without spilling it all over the table. It tasted watered down and not that flavorful anyways. We ordered an array of dishes. Starting with the cheese bread. This was pretty tasty. Not your regular pao de queijo. It was a lot more dense and had a more sharp cheese taste, like a pecorino or sharp cheddar. Super tasty, but super oily. The codfiah cake was bland and the presentation was terrible (see photo). It looked like two burnt longs on a tiny plate, no garnish or finish whatsoever. The clams were nice and plump, but sandy and the flavors were basic. The roasted octopus was probably my favorite dish - super tender and the flavors were popping. The octopus went great with the garlic spinach and potatoes. The filet mignon had a deep herty sauce and the meat was tender. Hot take, but the duck rice was a miss for me. Bland, greasy, barely any duck, and overly expensive for what it is. We also had the broa bread which was dry and crummy and the flamed chourico. The chourico was a show more than anything. I didnt think anything special of the sausage. Overall, underwhelming experience that did not meet expectations and we will not be returning. Also note that they have a cake cutting fee and living wage fee!

3 /5 G Lee: I think it’s a Michelin star restaurant so maybe it’s just me because it was ok but I wasn’t overly impressed. The service was certainly stellar and the ambiance pleasing. Sort of Portuguese nouveau chic. The food wasn’t the level I assumed it’d be. Here’s what we had, perhaps you want to try the same or something different. Start with the Pão de Queijo. Delicious and puffy cheese bread. Based on the rest of the food, I had to eat a lot of these. The beef tongue in tomato sauce was the best dish IMO. Tender pieces of tongue in a tangy sauce. Nicky cooked to the right texture. Perhaps a little too lukewarm instead of hot. I can’t find it in my menu picture for some reason but the next best dish I think was paella. With mussels and clams. Or maybe it was risotto. It was sort of watery, so maybe… We also had some kind of rice dish with a sausage and a pork belly on top. This one was pretty good. At least it fills you up. But it really needs more meat. Pata Negra fries with fried egg on top was another good one. Very tasty and surprisingly a little spicy. Quite pricey at $34 though. Octopus is always good and theirs was no exception. Cooked just right so good texture and not rubbery. We had the oven roasted version. They also have a cold version. Sautéed veggies were solid. Nothing explicit to describe. Grilled sardines were very bony and not really my thing. Especially what you get for $33. Pigs eat salad was the most, um, interesting. Taste was ok but the texture was odd. Basically cartilage. The last thing was some kind of fried cheese (I think) with an egg on top. I really don’t have anything to say about that one. Overall, quite a price tag and overall not my thing. Most dishes are around $20 but climb to upper $30’s. But you may love it! I Terri’s to take photos of our dishes so you can see for yourself.

4 /5 Jenn Jiang: Went for dinner Thursday for dinner before heading to San Jose Improv. We arrived at 6 PM when there were plenty of seats and at 7:30 it was half full. The dishes we enjoyed most are beef tongues and pork with clams. Meats were tender and flavorful. Highly recommend. Enjoyable but with flaws dishes included filet mignon salad-vegetable fresh and seasoned right but meat cut was off too tough to chew; cheese bread - not sure what cheese they used but definitely lacking the creamy texture; and blood sausage- a little salty and too little blood so it tastes like just another normal sausage. Lastly not recommended the francesinha sandwich. Coming at the end of the meal the sandwich is very heavy with a lot of greasy sauce. If you just come for one dish this might do, fried egg ham and steak simmering in tasty sauce. The steak in the middle again I think is too tough. Overall I would say avoid their steaks. We would love to come back to try their seafood tapas and duck rice another time as people praised them highly online.