Conquistador

Disappointed!

We decided to try this restaurant and we wish we hadn't! First of all the place and surrounding area has the stench of old cooking oil...a bad sign right there. Once inside the place is decorated not bad but nothing to rave about. Our waitress,an older woman should learn about manners and customer service because she was very overbearing and rude. The food itself was overcooked and nothing special for a restaurant charging those prices.We had a very thin layer of fish with rice and potatoes which were just dripping in oil. Avoid this restaurant, its not worth it!

Amazing food... Semi good service... But the food makes it worth it

Conquistador: Meaning conqueror, in Portuguese. On a tip from a work colleague, I decided to check this restaurant out. When one thinks of a Portuguese restaurant, what comes to mind first? Seafood? Of course. The test of any good restaurant that bears the mantle of Portuguese cuisine – is the quality (or lack thereof) of their seafood. In the case of Conquistador, they hit it out of the park! We ordered the seafood platter #2, to be split amongst three of us. We were told by the server that it “may not fill all of you, because it mostly shellfish”. With all due respect to the hostess, and the excellent service she provided, she was wrong. The portions were impressive, exceeded only by the quality of the food and presentation. It filled every one of us. Myself; to the point that I can barely move, a full five hours later. Our meal was ordered, brought to our table, and consumed in just over an hour. The dish consisted of shrimp (both breaded and sautéed), mussels, clams, breaded cod(?), crab, potatoes, and seafood rice. All of which was delicious. We ate every morsel. The environment was outstanding, and the place was very clean. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone that is looking for a good place to satisfy their palette, that has a pining for some high quality seafood. Portugal has given many things to contemporary western culture. Ferdinand Magellan, Brazil, and Christiano Ronaldo. After eating at Conquistador, I will add Portuguese cuisine as well. Outstanding, just simply, outstanding.

I haven't tried the many Portugese restaurants...

I haven't tried the many Portugese restaurants downtown (but who wants to go downtown anyways) but would recommend this place as the food and the people (family run) was great. Good portions, quality ingredients for a decent price, what more could you ask for.

I Find These Recommendations Puzzling

A work friend and I are huge fans of the James St. N. Portuguese food scene and decided to try Conquistador based on recommendations from this board. I honestly have to say I had a much different experience than others here. But let's start with the positive, first -- ambience is definitely nice, tables, chairs and decor quite attractive.Bread was fresh and plentiful. White wine didn`t seem fully chilled, but portion was decent. the Mountain needs more restaurants in this style. The service I found strange. Not unfriendly, mind you, just slightly unwelcoming with absolutely no desire to steer our food choices in any way. When asked for recommendations, our server seemed to be at a loss for what was even on the menu. My friend noticed as we left that it appeared they were closing up before we even got there. Hmmmm... Shrimp Risoles, so wonderfully done elsewhere closeby were fried to perfection, but seemed not to have any filling in them, and certainly no discernable shrimp. Shrimp dinner portion was decent for 12.99. They were large, not overcooked but hard to peel. The garlic butter and herb saute wasn't terrible, it just didn't have the flavour "pop" that I crave and have become used to in Portuguese food. The "seafood" rice was extremely mushy and came with fake crab and a few small shrimp in it. The salad -- simply done with a vibrant vinaigrette at all my favourite Portuguese restaurants -- had the requisite lettuce tomato, onion but no vibrant vinaigrette... in fact I was left wondering if vineger was actually used. The flaming choriso was dry and not worth half of the 10.99 we paid for it. Half of it sat on the plate at the end of the meal and the server didn't bother asking why. Dessert was non-traditional items like chocolate volcano cake etc. Not a ``cream of heaven` or flan in sight I don't think Conquistador is poor, just paling in comparison when you set it beside its far more superior and traditional competitors in the city's northern end.