Estrela Bar

This place is fantastic. It’s like stepping into Portugal, right down to the design of the bar (glass fronted with food displayed, glasses above the waiters heads) and the tables. It’s not a fancy place by any means, it’s more the sort of casual restaurant/​café/​bar that you would find in continental Europe, but it is authentic in every way.
I had patatas bravas and they were really good. Good range of vegetarian tapas but very few vegan options.

Bolinhos de bacalao, good espresso and cold beer.

I have been to this restaurant on numerous occasions before. In the past the food has been nice, and staff pleasant.
However, I took a client for a meeting last Friday. We both sat, drank and spent just under £100.
The waiter and the food was fine.
However, what caused me an enormous amount of embarrassment and disappointment was when I asked the waiter to call a taxi for my colleague who had to leave early. I had arranged to meet with my wife, and she also came to the restaurant.
I was shocked when the waiter told me that there was a mini cab office around the corner, and it was clearly a big problem that I had asked him to order a mini cab.
Eventually, after some persuasion the waiter reluctantly brought me a card for the taxi office.
Everyone in the vicinity could see that there were two other members of staff who did not want our waiter to call a taxi. I was so humiliated. You would think that I had come to beg for! For me this was unacceptable, in my view running a good restaurant is not just about catering for the regulars. I see no reason why anyone unless they were extremely busy, which they were obviously not or else the other two waiters would not have had the time to be standing there discussing our matter at length, would refuse to call a taxi for a customer. How extremely odd. At any rate, I think that both of those waiters know why they acted like this and from their attitude I know too.
That said, I will NEVER take my business there again. And if you are a local businessman, I would advise you to think twice unless you want to feel the same embarrassment which I felt in front of my client!
Michael Hawes

Very good Portuguese restaurant featuring great seafood, especially grilled fish. Try the vinho verde Casal Garcia– a very interesting white wine that is slightly acidic and has a very mild natural carbonation.

Very touristy place, overcrowded in the summer, but charming in the winter. They serve good tapas and wine and the atmosphere is overall Portuguese. The service sometimes is slow but they are friendly.

Bad food. Smells. Overpriced. If you have to visit, do it on a sunny summer evening where you can down an ice cold pint of Sagres outside.

Have been going here for the past 8 years and never had a bad encounter, I can only guess that the bad reviews below might have resulted from crap staff on duty.
At my recent visit last week, I tried the Octopus (Polvo) salad which was fantastic, perfectly prepared. The usual dishes, Patatas Bravas and Calamari were fine. Good prices and good sized servings as well. Definitely one of the better value for money tapas places in London.
Staff was cheerful, place generally has a great vibe although not being a football fan I stay away when games are broadcast as I find in annoying loud then. Otherwise reccommended!

Having walked past this place many times over the last couple of years, I finally made it there this week. Whether I had built it up too much, or just caught Bar Estrela on an ‘off’ night, the three of us eating were throughly unenchanted by our experience.
Don’t get me wrong, the staff were friendly and attentive, the beer was cold, but the food was definitely lacking. Perhaps we can blame ourselves for our particularly uninventive ordering — Batatas Bravas, Calamari, Chorizo in Red Wine & Olives. But surely that can’t be it?
The deep-​fried (deep-​freeze) calamari was uninspired, the Batatas Bravas undercooked and smeared with a potent pasta-​style sauce. The chorizo tasted like bacon. I would like to try Bar Estrela again, as I do get the feeling that writing it off completely would mean missing out on some tasty fare… but a restaurant that can’t even get the basic dishes right? I think I’ll try again elsewhere.

Good for basic Portuguese food.

If you like Portuguese TV soaps, football, great seafood, good value AND outdoor dining a’la Europe-​style, this is the place to go. Its simple décor belies its authentic, typically run-​of-​the-​mill European café/​bar minus the mock tiles, fake flowers and ornaments you so frequently encounter in Spanish restaurants in Britain. Real Portuguese food for Portuguese people, including a novel ‘flaming chorizo’ tapas which possibly looks more shocking than it actually tastes.
We ordered tapas: calamari rings, sauted clams with garlic, butter, olive oil and parsley (yummy), pork ribs with broad beans and the house red. They also do razor clams, and cockles, grilled sardines which looks great also, perhaps next time.
Only thing missing is a beachfront and rowdy tourists lurking outside.
.oh and a dry warm climate.

It is strange how you can sit outside on a major road in the squalor of South London and be transported far far away to the land of Portugal where one can drinki beers outside. Nonetheless, Estrela does this.
Estrela is frequented by a ragtag bunch, (i) the local Portuguese at who the place was originally aimed at, (ii) the South London guardianarti who like a place to wear Birkenstocks and read the Guardian outside on the weekend, (iii) the Vauxhall gay movement who use it recover or prepare for a big night out and (iv) the hodgepodge of local South Londoners who aren’t Portuguese.
This weekend we sat there drinking great Portuguese beers and eating ropey Portuguese food in the sun whilst watching a tramp variously hassle the clientelle. A perfect South London day out in the sun.
Price — £35 for two with one beer and a lot of subpar food.

Rob– some interesting points in your considered opinion… what fine knowledge you clearly have and what studied research you are capable of!
Firstly– why are you going to a Portuguese restaurant and eating Lasagne?
Two-​thly, Rebato’s is a Spanish restaurant and yes it is arguably slightly better food.
Thirdly– the half of Portugal that doesn’t drink Superbock, loves Sagres, along with those of us in the Stockwell region who enjoy paying £1.70 for a decent beer.
Woop woop and indeed holler.
C

Great bar. Stopped here once or twice after work as it was on my walk back to the company flat I was being put up in. Awesome place to sit outside and knock a few back when the weather is nice. It was here that I first discovered, much to my dismay, that bars in the UK (used to) close at 11. So sad. So very sad.

Definitely book at the weekend — this place gets absolutely packed with families sitting in large groups. Went last Saturday with a couple of friends and we were the only non-​Portuguese in there, which makes for a really fun and ‘on-​holiday’ vibe. Says good things about the authentic food too.
Friendly, efficient waiters and nice interior (don’t be put off by the sports bar/​café section — the evening restaurant is much nicer). Big portions of food that’s rustic in a good way, and lovely homemade deserts — the passion fruit cheesecake was sublime.
A tip for vegetarians — go with a couple of vege tapas plates (omelette, grilled vegs) and you won’t go far wrong. There are two vege main dishes (garlic spaghetti and veg lasagne) but I bet these are rarely ordered and not the best options.
Overall, one of the best places in the ‘Little Lisbon’ district of Vauxhall.

South London’s Estrella Bar is one of the best bars I have been to in a long time, as soon as you walk in there it feels like you are on an Island of some Spanish destination, it has a really bright and vibrant décor. The bar stock everything from red stripe to Portuguese beer at only £1.80 a bottle. Don’t drink too much of those because it is really strong and you will actually think your on a hot island after a couple of those. The staff are really friendly and make everyone feel like they are on a resort of some sort. I highly recommend this bar I loved it!

Have been here a couple of times and will be back for more. One of several tapas places in the area, this betters most with its outside seating. The steak I had the other night was beautifully tender and the mood is mediterranean mellow at its best.

This place is worth a visit for its Tapas. The South Lambeth Road/​Wandsworth Road area is really vibrant with its Portuguese community. This place has a great summer vibe with its french windows open onto the street, a small number of tables and chairs both inside and outside, with a smattering of Portuguese being spoken. Excellent for watching Portuguese league football, international games and just enjoying a Bock beer in the sun.