Talismã - Braga

22/6/22 Wednesday Evening We three middle aged pescatarian London guys are three days into our ten of touring Portugal by public transport. This is the first proper sit down evening meal we were to have so we wanted it to be good, using TA as a guide. We had seen this set back restaurant on our walk up the main road and it seemed busy and well priced. We found other good choice too but yesterday it was convenient for the concerts we were seeing in the local St John/Sao João Festival. We arrived at about 7:50pm to find a quiet restaurant (probably because of the concerts and festivities . I asked the friendly waitress if there was a wine list as none displayed, she showed me the shelf of unpriced bottled on display. I asked if there was a house wine and she got a vino verde out of the fridge..price?....€5..... good, we are staying! We took a table near the entrance, the TV was on showing the Portuguese CNN news so this was not geared to tourists, although there were a few already. The waitress delivered a menu between us but as the menu was limited and we knew what we wanted....a main fish dish only...that was fine (we had had a snack at our apartment shortly before in anticipation of wandering round looking for a restaurant . The menu was a bit confusing as it mixed up the fish species in the translations between French, Portuguese and English. Other diners had piles of thin chips on their plates but we were not into fish and chips so had doubts about the food coming. The waitress came to take our order. We each chose a different fish cod €8, hake €7 and swordfish €6.5. She advised the cod would take 30 minutes which was no problem for us. On remembering a TA reviewer complaining about vegetables being charged for I asked if it was vegetables included and the answer was yes. She asked what we wanted to drink and then remembered my initial request and went off to get that chilled bottle... by 8pm we were toasting to the meal ahead. A waiter dropped off some fresh rolls, condiments (evoo and vinegar and more people arrived making the place quite busy. The wine was a young weak (10.5% Vinho Verde, slightly frizzante. It was Not the Finest Wine Known to Humanity but it was cheap and cheerful! The TV kept us up to date with the latest atrocities in Ukraine unfortunately (so sad as we have been there four times and Britain's cost of living crisis..... The rolls went down well during the wait which turned out to be more than thirty minutes which was still not a problem. By 8:38 the fried swordfish arrived and was most generous, piping hot and garnished with rice, most of a beef tomato sliced up, sliced onion, lettuce, and a huge slice of thick skinned lemon. No chips in sight thankfully! Our friend tucked in first as our hake and salted cod arrived later at 8.45, no problem at all as we were not in a hurry. We had run out of wine though so ordered a house red at the same price. It came chilled in a cool jacket, the same vinho verde brand and again frizzante and Not the Finest Wine Known to Humanity. Our two dishes again were generous. My huge salted cod smelt overwhelmingly of the Atlantic (I've never had salt cod before and was garnished with boiled sliced potatoes, string beans and half a carrot, plus half a boiled egg. My friend's boiled Hake was a similar sized slice of fish through the backbone with the same garnish, no chips in sight but no lemon either. We shared bits of each other's fish to confirm the differences and general deliciousness of them all! We did not need a desert at all as we were quite full! By 9:20 we ordered the bill which came as a printed accurate slip quickly and paid by cash as they did not like cards (seems to be the norm for accommodation and museums too . The price was very good at €32.95 and we left a €3 cash tip. We left the now busy restaurant around 9:35 very happy and full.

I was looking for a good basic meal which would be reasonably priced. I was disappointed when I got the bill. They added on things I did not request at an overpriced rate. Overal the place is expensive considering the food is very basic and the restaurant has no windows or terrace.

We had diner here and can highly recommend it. We have sampled many restaurants during our holiday in Portugal and this is definetely one to recommend. Its not posh and simple interior (which by the way is often the case we noticed), but price quality and freshness makes it a very good meal and experience.

Great family restaurant. Lots of locals. The food was excellent and very reasonable. Excellent strong coffee Highly recommended

In Braga for the Super-Special stage of the WRC Rally and needed to eat before heading back to Porto, all the main places fronting the tourist areas were full when I spied this little door with a sign saying Restaurante Talisma. Through the door into the restaurant itself to be greeted by a friendly local chap, who in addition to fixing the drinks also ran us through the daily specials and gave us a printed menu. He speaks a little English, though knowing Portuguese will definitely help you, the written menu is only in Portuguese. My friend opted for the house special chicken plate whilst I had beef-steak Portuguese style with a lovely garlic butter, home made fries and an egg. Both dishes were piping hot, freshly cooked and tasted great, whilst the local wine was tasty. Service was excellent, always with a smile and the fresh Pudim dessert was one of the nicest I've tasted. With a total bill of just over 25 Euro for 2 this was cracking value and I'd recommend Talisma without hesitation.