Restaurante Maria Rio

Delicious food. The smoked salmon salad and the soup of the day were so good! Super nice and attentive staff! Great location

We found this little gem in our walk and it was an excellent choice! The food was delicious at really very good prices. The staff is friendly and helpful.

Went to visit the library and needed to find a place to eat after before our drive to Lagos. My son chose this and it was outstanding! We each ordered 1/2 litre beers and my wife had a glass of white wine. Server was friendly and provided great recommendations when we asked, although i had made my mind up before we asked and she reinforced it. My sons and i had the goat stew and my wife had Bacalao Rio. We also had the cheese plate appetizer which included at least 6 types of delicious cheeses. Goat was simmered for what had to be hours if not days. One of the top 5 meals I have had in Portugal this week. My wife was also very happy with her cod, but not as happy as my sons and i were with goat 😃

Perfect location near Biblioteca Joanino. Quaint appearance and outstanding food. Small selection but just right. Lots of seafood choices and vegetarian options. The service is impeccable, Adriana was sweet and professional. The servers speak almost every language. A+

Recommended by our host. Easily the best meal experience we had in Coimbra. Felt like we were having food prepared in a family kitchen.

FOOD: 5.0.
Chose 3 petisco dishes for two:
- 5.0: Octopus salad. Outstanding. Not only was the octopus excellent, but we finally were able to have robust peppery arugula in Portugal.
- 4.5: Dogfish with (I think) polenta and soft egg
- 4.0: Legumes à Brás

WINE: 3.5: House green wine. Pleasant on a summer evening.

DESSERT food and drinks:
- 5.0: Premiado à Rio: portion was quite large. Local specialty dessert that hit the spot on a summer evening. Not too sweet. Heavenly.
- 5.0: Amarginha: Local almond liqueur, on ice. Wonderfully refreshing, and not too sweet. Also heavenly.
- 4.0: Tawny Port.

AMBIANCE: 5.0. Simple and intimate, with open door looking out over river. Very comfortable.

SERVICE: 5.0. Amiable and very considerate. And -- unlike many restaurants in Portugal -- in reaction to our US credit card, the credit card machine did not present the two-trick-questions designed to earn the restaurant a commission by doing a disadvantageous (to us) exchange rate to dollars; rather, it simply charged us in EURO.

Great find, food is superb, and servings and prices are appropriate. The view down to the river is outstanding. Service is personal, friendly, and quick.
Better make a reservation for dinner, or you might be out of luck.

We stumbled past this on our way back to the car and decided to stop for a snack. So pleased we did. Delicious fresh food, We had dogfish balls and a salmon salad. Friendly service and great views. Hope to return one day to try more from the menu.

Excellent little local restaurant, non-touristy, very small & cozy vibe with extraordinariy tasty food and an amazing view.

We tried a couple of things from the menu - all of them were super delicious (definitely try the octopus salad), the staff was personal and friendly and the wine selection was good. Prices were very fair!

Maybe reserve via phone a couple of hours earlier, there are just 5-6 tables and they do speak english.

I can highly recommend this little place!

Such a nice, small place.
Traditional portuguese food with a familial vibe to it. Staff was extremely nice and polite, and made great food recommendations.
Amazing experience!!

Welcoming place in the heart of Coimbra. Incredible menu and great taste. My favorite spot in Coimbra.

Highly recommended. The food is so good. The location is perfect. And the service is just wonderful. One is my best experiences in Portugal so far. We will definitely go back.

So glad we found this place! So cosy and the view of the river at sunset was magical! The hostess was very lovely and took her time to explain the dishes. We had the shiitake mushroom sausages and the legumes dish (with thinly sliced fried potatoes) with the cheese board! It was all very delicious and we were very happy to have eaten here <3

A true hidden gem in Coimbra! Maria offers a small but well selected menu with homemade Portuguese food. We we're so surprised and had the best lunch. It's like coming today a family lunch on Sunday and not wanting to leave.

We stopped in Coimbra for lunch, already very hungry, so we started looking for a nice place to eat. We ended up in Maria Rio, and it was a very good surprise. With a cosy ambience and very nice Portuguese dishes, full of flavor. The staff very attentious and the food was very tasty.

I cannot find anything negative in this place..

Not a tourist place, so you don't have to wait.
It's little but really cozy, the food is really good, as the location, the service and also the music and the atmosphere 😍.

I would recommend this place to everyone who come in Coimbra and I would defenetely come back again.

Great value for money!!

Feijoada was.... Awesome! As the bacalhau and the bread with sardinhas and pimentos 👌

Perfect! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Excellent, non-touristy, Portuguese restaurant with a million dollar view. Maria makes all the dishes(and a killer sangria). Her three dish sampler platter of pork cheek, cuddlefish and peppers were all fantastic. Dessert was a delight. All for a very fair price. Friendly host. Best sunset dinner. Get here early so you can get the outside table!

Today I went with my boyfriend for lunchtime in this wonderful place. There are Traditional Coimbra dishes, really delicious and the service was excellent!

Thank you for this beautiful time. Highly recommended.

Absolutely fantastic restaurant. We ate here on our first night in Coimbra, and it did not disappoint. You can tell the food was cooked with love. Our server was also fantastic. We ordered the octopus salad, pork cheeks, cuttlefish strips, and the mushroom and beans dish. The octopus salad is a must. For dessert, we ordered the chocolate mousse and the cheese with pumpkin jam and walnuts. Delicious. We will be back!

A little hidden gem, out of the tourist crowds. Amazing home made food, carefully prepared by Maria, who pays atention to every single detail. A great experience with great views.

Maria Rio is a hidden gem in Coimbra- a smaller restaurant run entirely by the chef herself, with brilliant service and food to match! The choco frito was soft and delicious, and the bacalhau and chickpea salad also. Felt like homemade food to top standard. Would reccomend for a cozy, romantic dinner with a great view of the river at sundown. Will definitely return on the next visit to Coimbra!