I come from a beach village where, during summer, the usual festive dinner consist in those huge seafood grilled platters – these, together first with my family, are one of the things I miss most living abroad.
I tried several seafood restaurants in and out of Luxembourg but unfortunately the sophisticated (even if yummy) French approach when it comes to fish is pretty different from the one you can find in my hometown. Indeed, one of the only places where I find a very similar attitude, is Atlantico, a tiny, cozy Portuguese restaurant specialized in seafood, located at the edge of Bonnevoie, in Howald district.
After a business event, I decided to take there my partner in crime M., who is equally a seafood lover. We called a bit in advance to ensure there was place for us – the restaurant is quite small – and we arrived there around 9 pm. All the tables were occupied except ours and a pleasant smell was pervading the room.
We had a mix of fried seafood – anticipated by a small appetizer olives platter “pour la maison” – and continued with the mixed seafood grillade for two persons, including lobster, shrimps, octopus, salmon and much more and accompanied by chips and rice.
We had a Portuguese dry white wine – as “Esporao Reserva”, my favorite one, was not available, the waiter chose for us and the choice was perfect – and concluded – what’s new? – with Portuguese grappa and espresso.
Enjoy the pictures and find my comments about the restaurants after the break.
What I liked about Restaurant Atlantico:
- The food is delicious: if you are not into formalities and like the grillade style sea food this is the perfect place for you. The dish is huge, the fish is tasty. There are other options available on the menu, including simple gambas, codfish, as well as some meat dishes.
- The price is incredible fair for the quality and the quantity of what you eat, as well as compared to similar places.
- The atmosphere is informal and lively.
What I liked a bit less about Restaurant Atlantico:
- There was unfortunately just one waiter for all the tables and it ended up in a service very fast and approximate. He did not have the time to stop by for our requests, wait was a bit long and sometimes we had to call him couple of time before being served. Not his fault, obviously.
- Compared to similar places I have been, while the quality and the quantity of the seafood is better, in the grilled platter the side dishes are not exceptional – rice is plain white and chips were a bit soaked. No complementary sauces.
- As you can clearly see from the pictures, it is not a posh place: presentation is quite hurried, location is old fashion and also the customers are generally pretty noisy. Still for me a lovely place to visit.
In conclusion: Restaurant Atlantico is included in my top choices in Luxembourg for seafood. While the location is not fancy and the service a bit superficial, the quality / price for grilled platters is fabulous and I would recommend it for seafood lovers in couple and among friends.