Cotali Mar

I can’t say I had the best 1^st experience here. When I arrived on Mothers Day the (owner) I believe was insisting she seen my name on a list then fumbled around to another room looking for it and then at the podium to try to find it. When she finds a list she now doesn’t see my name on it. Insisted she will still take me. Now I’m embarrassed since another family is putting there names in as she is telling me I’m not on it. Ok I made reservations with Lindsey and I know my name had to be on the list. Next we get seated without menus for about 10 minutes or drinks then waitress comes over to ask us why we didn’t have any. I don’t know you tell me. She then gets us these Mothers Day Menus that are double the price of menu that was listed on there website link for there menu and Facebook. Not everything is available on this menu as what was listed online. Now that I convinced my mom to try this restaurant I feel so bad that she can’t get her prego no prato. Not to mention my boyfriends mom now can’t get what she seen online either. Boy I’m really feeling horrible. If only I was told when I placed the reservations maybe I would of had a choice then. I tell the waitress and she says nothing she can do and they don’t use there website, ok why is there a menu link then. She gets to the last person to order and she offers him a prego no prato in a kid dish. After she told my mom no. Also, insists with me that the prego no prato is only a lunch item. Wrong it is listed on the website as an entrée. We decide on what we want then wait an hour and 45 minutes to eat watching everyone around us who came after us eat and leave. We asked for numerous baskets of bread that I swear we’re 1 popsic cut up for 7 people come on you don’t have enough popsic really. We get our food I now have to eat a piece of steak with a butter knife till the waitress makes her way back to the table. The steak is in a bowl of creamy sauce surrounded by round French fries that were soggy from being in the bowl. Really at that point whatever make the best of it I guess. We had a special cake for Mother’s Day to give to the moms then asked by waitress to hand it over because they have to serve it. Ok but then told it will be $ 1.25 for each person to have a piece of cake. Now we are paying for plating because they have to plate the cake. Now the cake cost me double the price too. Why don’t we have a say in this? Why can’t we slice our own cake on napkins then nope I’m told to go across the street to rite aide to get paper plates then. I guess I can understand in a way, but it’s a horrible rule. Last but not least I had to listen to a waiter get scolded for about 10 minutes by a manager because he was late. Not right pull the guy aside how embarrassing for him and how unprofessional. Never again will I go back. Service and food horrible.

I had the pleasure of dining here on Friday night May 6, 2016 within a party of four. The thing that first hits me is the décor and compliment of lighting. I talked with the host Mariano and it turned out I met him a couple of years ago at a wine tasting. Mariano made our party feel welcome along with Kathy Gillet the event manager. They gave us a lot of positives. We were seated at our table and were waited on by Justin. Justin was there when needed, addressed questions and needs.
Now onto the fun. We started with a couple of cocktails A South Beach which was Absolut Citron, chambord, and cranberry juice served martini style. Very good. There was a Miller Lite, Glass of Chardonnay, and a Coconut Pomegranate Martini. We had scallops in bacon, and clams casino for appetizers. Both were delicious and enough to having us want more.
The main dishes were paella for two, steak cooked on a stone, and scallops florentine. All were tastebud tango worthy For dessert we tried the lemon berry mascarpone cake. Wine with dinner was Columbia Crest Chardonnay.
I would recommend this restaurant if you’ve never been. The menu has so much on it that you can’t try everything in one seating. I intend on returning when time permits.

Only giving it a 1 star because I’m forced to. I never got to sit at a table due to the poor organization of the hostess stand. Had reservations for 7:30 on a Saturday for 6 people. I was a guest of two people who were celebrating their birthdays.
I won’t hold the lack of parking against the restaurant. It was the day after a snow storm and the lot behind the restaurant was poorly plowed and had to circle for 35 mins while the rest of the party waited for the table. Once I was lucky to get a spot I went in at 8pm. The group wasn’t sat yet but I was told that they were brought to a table and told they made a mistake and had the wrong reservation. We then stood near the bar for 10 mins before they offered a table in the bar area for us to wait at while our table was having dessert and they could clear and reset. We then sit at the bar table, which is a folding banquet table with a tablecloth placed on it. We speak to our server who had no idea the owner had told us we could sit and wait and order our entrees and they will be served at our assigned table in the dining room when the table was ready.
Now as a chef who’s worked in the area for 10 years and with another chef who’s worked in the business for 30+ year we knew this was all a lie. No one had their stories straight when they spoke to us. After 30 mins of waiting and 1 round of drinks it was still going to be 25 – 30 mins until the table was going to be ready. It was now 8:30, 1 hour after our reservations and the owner had no reason but that this happens and they can’t kick customers out even if they were late for their reservations causing us to have to wait for the table even though we were on time. We asked for the bar bill and the waitress who had no clue what had been occurring between our party and the owner felt bad. We paid the bill and gave her a tip.
As we walk out the owner still tried to explain that this is common in the restaurant world and that she was not bullshiting us, her words, this is when myself and one of the birthday guests revealed that we were in the restaurant industry and that this is not common and lying to customers about what really happened to cover your mistakes is not good business. The owner offered a gift certificate and made us wait for it. After 10 minutes and her sitting several parties we walked out and took our business some where else.
I personally have never gone here before and have no reason to now that I’ve seen the poor ownership and management of reservations.

Dinner for my husbands birthday and we had nine of us. The service was amazing followed by fantastic meals! All devoured the amazing steaks and Seafood dishes. They let you change any sides and were the most accommodating of any request. The owner came around to ensure service and food was to our liking. As we were leaving we were so impressed we asked about the function room upstairs and the owner gave us a tour of the entire place with some hidden gem rooms. We will be back often!

I’m going to start off by saying that I have dined here a few times before and had no issues with food, service, or quality. My latest trip, however, was awful. I will not be going back.
The quality of food here is lacking lately. We had a large party of ten. The service was okay. I had no complaints. The food is what killed the experience for me. The prices here a little pricey, but, that never bothers me as long as the food is great. The first bad experience of the night was the soup. Four people ordered the soup and when they came the complaints started. I had to try it to see what the fuss was about. Sure enough, just about the worse soup I’ve ever tasted in my life. It was so full of VINEGAR. Seriously, it was like I was drinking a bottle of vinegar. Gross. It was so bad we complained to the waitress who said would take it off our bill.
Next came the entrees. I always order the streak with ham in a bowl of sauce with rodellas (round cut potato chip fries). I was surprised to see that steak drowned in sauce. It was drowned to the point where I had to dig out the sauce to find the thing. And the sauce was not tasty at all. There was just so much of it that I felt I was having steak soup.
Then it was time for coffees/​deserts. Let me tell you, my girlfriend and sister ordered a coffee that was so bad it tasted like tea. Honest to god. I understand you’re Portuguese restaurant so you’re probably focusing on espressos and galaos. But, it’s no excuse to charge and serve us a piss poor cup of coffee. Hell, it’s easier to just grab instant coffee and make one cup at a time. It would’ve been a hell of a lot better than the crap they served.
I can’t recommend this place right now as the quality of the food is seriously lacking. If you want a steak on a stone then knock yourself out and come visit. Otherwise stay away.

My wife was looking for a slightly up scale place to take four of us out on my birthday dinner. This was certainly not what she had expected. She was especially disappointed in the cheap paper napkins. To be fair, their prices are not upscale prices.
This was a weekday night in May with cold and rainy weather, so there was no option of eating outside. The only option available was eating in the bar surrounded by TV sets on all sides. What REALLY bothered me was that the TV nearest to us and furthest from the bar had the sound on. I believe they have a real dining room, but if they do, it was not open when we were there.
My wife had the calamari appetizer which was cooked well, but had no seasoning. I went for the flaming Chouriço à Bombeiro which is a single large sausage delivered to your table suspended over a burning plate. The material that was burning was likely a variation of sterno. The problem was that there was way too much of the flammable material and it just kept on burning and burning. The waitress tried to help by suggesting I stab the sausage and move it off to the plate underneath the burning plate. It took a few tries as I was not willing to burn my hand in the process, but I finally got it moved Then the waitress attempted to remove the still burning upper plate and nearly injured herself and had to put the plate down on the restaurant floor. I as then able to eat the sausage which by now was over cooked and dry.
For her entrée, my wife had a shrimp dish. She was happy with the taste, but was disappointed with the quantity of shrimp. She is not a big eater and it is highly unusual for her to complain about quantity.
I ordered a special which is not on the menu but apparently is offered quite often. Steak served on a hot stone. This turns out to be an extremely stupid idea. The stone is so hot that the steak keeps cooking for the next 20 minutes. I ordered it rare and then had to cut off a slice at a time to cook that slice to the desired doneness. There is no place to put the steak to stop it from cooking and the only place I could put part of a slice was in the corner of my separate vegetable plate.
With a significant amount of effort, I managed to get 80% of the meat eaten at an acceptable level of doneness, but the last 20% ended up overcooked.
For my last disappointment, I ordered the tiramisu for dessert. The waitress later came back to tell me that they were out of tiramisu. I also wanted decaf regular coffee but that is something they do not offer. I settled for decaf cappuccino.
All in all, the food is not bad and the service was mostly good.

Stopped in for lunch today. We were the first people there. My husband ordered a Coors Light draft. It was warm, and the taste was almost unsettling. I had a margarita, which was good. We ordered kale soups-​delicious, and burgers. We waited about 45 minutes for them to arrive. In the meantime, we watched every person that came in after us receive their food. These were entire meals, not quick burgers like we ordered. The people next to us got food they didn’t even order. Finally, our cold burgers arrived, complete with cold, hard cheese, impossible to pick up from the plate. They also came with those terrible frozen battered fries, NOT the homemade chips as stated in the menu. There are so many wonderful restaurants in our area. Do not waste your time or money here.

Easily the best Portuguese restaurant in New Bedford. The waitress Joy was excellent and the waitress that was taking care of the table next us, had a great sense of humor The food was excellent too We had a cup of clam chowder which had a taste of diill and fried calamari that was tender and not chewy for appetizers. For our meals I had the steak dish that comes out on a stone still cooking round fried potatoes and rice It was suggested to get the steak cooked one level lower because it still cooks while it is at the table my wife had seafood casserole with mashed potatoes and vegetables everything was cooked perfect unfortunately we were to full to have dessert. Next time. Lol We have been to 4 or 5 different Portuguese restaurants in New Bedford and were disappointed each time to the point where we were all done eating at Portuguese restaurants This is the first time my wife and I ate here and we will be coming back soon.

My waiter Ricardo was excellent. Knows how to space food arrival (no one wants salad served while still working on the appetizer — unless requested that way). He listens and can make suggestions. The seafood pasta is worth a return. Having Ricardo was a bonus indeed. The atmosphere is soothing with a nice working fireplace. The kale soup is a must have :=)). When anyone visits — say hello to Ricardo.

5 stars for Joy, the joyful lovely server. She was spunky and enthusiastic, trying to please in all regards. 4 stars for the rest of our dining experience. The setting is ornate and decorative. It’s spacious inside and the noise level was comfortable. I betcha the outdoor patio is super fun on a warm summer night.
We reserved a 4 top for my man’s b day. It was a comfy table in a large dining room. The place settings are lovely. Portuguese bread is served with whipped butter. We ordered a few apps: their award winning kale soup which was lovely, fried calamari, standard and tasty and a Portuguese little neck dish which was heavily salted almost burning my palate. The red wine drinkers loved their Malbec. I tried two Portuguese white wines by the glass and did not enjoy either too well. I ordered at the waitresses recommendation so cannot recall the name. My boyfriend ordered the 16 ounce steak on a hot stone. He loved his meat and loved the presentation. His parents chose the Paella for two (huge and lovely presentation) and I chose the Paella for one. We should have shared one portion. The dish looked nice but had the same flavour as the littlenecks, way too salty for my enjoyment. The seafood was ok, not fresh tasting and not wow. I asked for a b day treat so the served us a lovely Cappucino Mousse with a candle.
The owner came around and was very attentive. Wait staff were bustling. This is a customer oriented dining spot. I’d go back but would try something different. The owner comped a lovely Portuguese cocktail for my boyfriend’s b day. How kind, really!
The bill with a generous tip was 258.00.
A few side notes: The bar looks lively and fun. The bathrooms are immaculate. There is plenty of parking in the rear of the building.

Incredible food. I had churrise, clams casino, this chicken plate i forgotten what is called and some of my cousins portgese steak that she ordered. everything was great, but im not used to eating something fairly dry that churisse is.
the sauce on the chicken plate i had was so completely to die for. perfect portion, great sauce, so good that i dipped my bread in it to finish every drop, and the rice was an excellent mix in. the steak was great as well. cooked rare, juicy, with a side of fried potatoes. I even saved every drop of sauce to dip my bread in as well.
Im most surprised on the prices for their good quality food they serv. Each entre was around $ 10, which was a steal. so it is quite affordable if you like to make a great impression on a very attractive looking restaurant for a price thats more affordable and better tasting than an olive garden.

Once again, I love Cotali Mar. It’s beautiful inside. Service is excellent. Food is so good.
Tonight we started off with the salmon chowder. Thick and tasty. It’s a good thing they brought lots of Portuguese rolls because Abner and I were soaking up every last drop of that chowder with it. We were told that this was the first time they ever made that and we were the first to try it and loved it.
Abner got the Steak Pedro that is a huge hunk of steak brought to your table on this red hot stone, where the meat keeps cooking at your table. It comes with two types of sauces. I got my usual Pork Alejantana.
For dessert, we had the turtle cheesecake.
Another perfect meal at Cotali Mar.

If you live in New Bedford or the Fall River area Portuguese restaurants are everywhere. So to competition is high. I went Saturday night with 10 friends.
First let me warn you, The location of the restaurant is not in the greatest location in the city. The front of the restaurant is facing Acushnet Ave, with plenty of off street parking behind this business.
OK, once you enter you will forget where you are, inside is beautiful, a spacious entrance, with separate room with a bar and lounge, and the main dining room has a large fire place.
Our table was ready upon arrival and we came with some heavy eaters. We were quickly asked for our drinks and app orders. Service was slow, but that could have been due to the large crowd inside and I was not sure if they were short of help.
Anyways, we got 2 pitchers of Sangria which was served in a very large carafe.
Our App order was flaming Chorizo, calamari, and shrimp Mozambique. two out of three were excellent. The Chorizo was a little dry and tasted of the alcohol they use to set it on fire.
Now to the main course. I ordered the Seafood Paella and and I arranged to split my meal with my friend who ordered a steak. first the Paella, HUGE, lobster, scallops, shrimp, chicken, Chorizo, mussels, little necks, in spicy rice. EXCELLENT.
Now, the steak order was 16 oz looked more like 24 oz, steak served rear. Now before you say «rear?» let me say they serve it on a HOT STONE which continues to cook the meat. The waiter showed us how to eat it. If you like it rear, cut in and enjoy, if you like it medium to well to well, cut pieces off place on stone and watch it cook quickly. Meat was very tasty. and I could not have eaten the whole thing, glad we shared.
All and all I will be returning, and I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves Portuguese food. This place is Fella approved!!!

Mediocre at best and terribly overpriced food. I’m stunned by the number of positive reviews. There are dozens of Better local options, don’t waste your time or money.

This place has never been in my Portuguese restaurant rotation, but that will change now that I’ve finally gotten around to eating here.
The kale soup was one of the best I’ve tasted in New Bedford (no chewy linguica here), and the bread that accompanied it was worth eating. I rarely eat red meat, but I’m so glad I tried their steak special. It was served on a sizzling slab of granite and accompanied by two fantastic sauces: one featuring garlic and butter, the other a mustard sauce about which I’m reminiscing fondly a week later. The mashed potato and mixed veg were edible but forgettable, but I can still taste that fabulous steak and mustard combo!
The service met my expectations and the atmosphere was unremarkable in a good way. I look forward to sitting in their courtyard next summer and sipping a nice glass of mustard sauce.

Went there just a few hours ago, was great in every way, food service was perfect, my waiter Rick was awesome, it was my first time and won’t be my last, tysm for a great night:-D

We were in the area for a funeral, unfortunately, and had not made prior plans. On a Friday night, we called up last minute for a reservation for a party of 27. Not only were the able to accommodate us (because their space is huge and versatile, not because they weren’t busy on a Friday) but they super served us! The waiters were fantastic, fast, and flexible.
The food, impeccable. OMG that stuffed shrimp. I had the kale soup, steak tips, and stuff shrimp added. It was fantastic.
I didn’t realize at first, but this place also has rooms for private parties which is a huge plus. The best part of all, even with bottles of wine, pitchers of sangria, and other drinks, the bill came out to approximately $ 50/​person. Plenty of us walked out with doggy bags and with full bellies.
I really can’t say enough good things about this place. Thank you for making a sad weekend a little better. We truly appreciate it and so does our angel in the sky.

Beautiful restaurant. But the Portuguese food is far from authentic. The sauce from my pork alentejana tasted like something from a Chinese buffet. Gross!

I’ve enjoyed every meal I have had here so far… Excellent food, professional staff, nice atmosphere. What more needs to be said?
Do yourself a favor and give them a try…

Ran in here over the weekend for lunch and was impressed. Here’s the rundown:
–Shrimp Alhinho — solid but not mind blowing
–Portuguese Soup — excellent
–Portuguese Steak — the staple by which I measure every restaurant by — thoroughly satisfied — sauce was not watery or too think — just perfect
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