Portugal Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

[Eric_Malson]

Did you eat interesting places (or food in them ) in Sintra? I love that little town, not far from Lisbon, but there I mostly ate fresh grilled fish on the beach. What else could you want?

As a matter of fact......I did.

My therapy for dealing with the crippling disappointment of not getting a trip to the Iberian peninsula this summer was to reread some old Portugal threads, and I see this question went unanswered. So, the least I can do....

I definitely share your love for Sintra. I think the glowing phrases Lord Byron wrote about it are still true almost two centuries later.

The obligatory food experience in Sintra is the pastry shop Casa da Piriquita (R. Padarias 1, right across the street from the Paço Real with its huge, conical chimneys). It's famous for its queijadas--small, sweet, cheese-and-egg tarts, but my favorite offering there is the travesseiros--a variation on the perpetual pastry-with-sweetened-egg theme, but this has a lighter, flakier pastry and lighter hand with the sweetened eggs than most. They're baked with a dusting of cinnamon and granulated sugar....warm from the oven, they are heavenly.

If you want a real meal in Sintra, just a couple of doors up the from Piriquita is an excellent and reasonably priced restaurant, Alcobaça. As always with such places, I say peruse the pratos do dia--they usually ain't the daily specials for nothing!

Now, if you've got a car, all sorts of wonderful possiblities are opened up to you. Drive to the coast--you'll probably end up at Guincho, the westernmost point in continental Europe (or is that Cabo da Roca? I can never remember). Enjoy the spectacular views from the bluffs, then drive south on the highway just a few kilometers and stop for a meal at Mestre Zé, an upscale (but worth it) restaurant specializing, naturally, in seafood. Order the cataplana de marisco, the most delicious version of this dish I have ever tasted. The dish is named after the vessel it is cooked in....a cataplana is a pan made from copper, shaped more or less like two woks hinged together. One of the wok sections folds over on top of the other, like a dome-shaped lid, so that it can then be fastened and put in the oven. To call Mestre Zé's cataplana de marisco a "seafood stew" would not in any way suggest its magnificence, but that's the general idea. Lobster, squid, shrimp all cooked perfectly in a sauce of tomato and onions (and one couldn't possibly leave chouriço out of such a mix!) and cream. It is one of the top 5 dishes I ever tasted in Portugal.

Also toward the coast from Sintra is the village of Almoçageme. Here, one eats at the Restaurante Toca do Júlio. Everything is good.....on Saturdays, they have one of the better versions of cozido one is likely to find, and Sundays they have a killer feijoada.

Driving the other direction from Sintra, inland, toward Mafra, is a town called Negrais. They have their own way of making leitão (roast suckling pig)--it's almost as famous as Mealhada's. I have never been to Negrais, but I have heard repeatedly from unimpeachable sources it is worth the drive. Apparently there is one restaurant there that everyone agrees is THE one to eat in.....just go, and ask around.

On the way to Cascais from Sintra (in fact, most of the way to Cascais), past Malveira da Serra, is the village of Alcorvim, near Alcabideche, which everyone knows because of the monstrous mall CascaiShopping. The village itself is quiet and sleepy, and blessed with an excellent restaurant, Farta Pão.

That's about all I remember from Sintra. I can't find find any information on the excellent German restaurant I tried there several years ago--it may be gone.

I'm not sure this therapy had the desired effect.....I seem to want to go for a visit more than ever now.

[Bux]

I'm not sure this therapy had the desired effect.....I seem to want to go for a visit more than ever now.

Yes, but misery likes company. Now at least you can be sure we share your disappointment at not being there.

[luckyzoe]

I too appreciate Eric's post on Portugal as I will be there in Oct.

However, I was disappointed to read that no one mentioned the greatest restaurant in Spain---Botin. Or maybe it was The Sun Also Rises nostalgia that kept me coming back? Regardless...great restaurant, great ambiance, great experience. And you've gotta try the suckling pig...fantastic!

[Eric_Malson]

However, I was disappointed to read that no one mentioned the greatest restaurant in Spain---Botin. 

I take it you mean Casa Botín in Madrid.

That ought to spark some comment! I have trouble imagining anyone on this site agreeing with that.

[fresco]

"The obligatory food experience in Sintra is the pastry shop Casa da Piriquita (R. Padarias 1, right across the street from the Paço Real with its huge, conical chimneys). It's famous for its queijadas--small, sweet, cheese-and-egg tarts, but my favorite offering there is the travesseiros--a variation on the perpetual pastry-with-sweetened-egg theme, but this has a lighter, flakier pastry and lighter hand with the sweetened eggs than most. They're baked with a dusting of cinnamon and granulated sugar....warm from the oven, they are heavenly.

If you want a real meal in Sintra, just a couple of doors up the from Piriquita is an excellent and reasonably priced restaurant, Alcobaça. As always with such places, I say peruse the pratos do dia--they usually ain't the daily specials for nothing!"

The pastry shop is an amazing place. Think I have also dined at Alcobaca--the location sounds right. Food was great, although we did get rained on a bit.

[Bux]

I was disappointed to read that no one mentioned the greatest restaurant in Spain---Botin.  Or maybe it was The Sun Also Rises nostalgia that kept me coming back? 

I've not been there, but my guess is that its nostalgia rating is higher than its food rating these days. Michelin notes it was founded in 1725 and may be the oldest restaurant in the world, but there are no stars and no mentiojn of the food. The Spanish Campsa guide is more positive noting is as "recommended -- a level below one, two or three "sols" however.

Botín has been mentioned on eGullet.

Botins [sic] is reputedly the oldest restaurant in Spain and therefore is a huge attraction to visitors.  We noticed that the diners were a pretty equal mix of locals and visitors and the fact that it was a tourist enclave did not mean it was bad.  It reminded me of eating at Rules in London. We had booked as its speciality is suckling pig and huge numbers of the small porkers give their lived over to being crackled in the wood burning fires of this restaurant and it is definitely worth their sacrifice.  We started with salad and a superb morcilla and a horrid salad.  Both of us then followed with pig action and it was delicious.  The thin layer of skin was crisp and crackly and covered a moist fatty slab of meat.  Served on its own, the brit in me screamed out for apple sauce, but it worked as it was without aid nor seasoning.

My wife was there, albeit many years ago, and thought the roast pork was not so moist or recommendable that day. I suspect it deserves it's reputation as "a great restaurant" as long as it's noted that it's a historical reference and not a gastromical one. I agree with Eric and think it's hard to imagine it as the greatest restaurant in Spain or even in Madrid.

[Elissa]

Does anyone have favorite Portuguese manorhouses in the north? Im trying to send two friends who like to hike to the Minho and Douro regions.

Thanks

Edited August 2, 2003 by lissome (log)

[tsquare]

bringing this up for a new poster.

[fresco]

My wife and I are off to the Algarve in a couple of days and hope to sample some of the best of Portugal's spectacular food and wine, in restaurants, cooking for ourselves and in excursions to Lisbon, Alentejo and the tapas bars of Seville.

We'll be joined for part of the time by two other couples, and I'll try to post regularly about what we discover. Meantime, any suggestions for great meals and great wines and places to see would be much appreciated.

[maggiethecat]

Art:

Oh, that I had ever visited Portugal, and could recommend a restaurant! But I'm looking forward to your posts about Portugese cusisine, which, I suspect, is neglected compared to the food of Spain.

Lucky dog.

[MiguelCardoso]

Great news, Fresco!

It would take a year and 500 pages to list my recommendations. But I know from your posts you know a hell of a lot about food so I'm sure you'll know the usual signs.

1) First, absolute advice: ask the locals. The Portuguese are terribly finicky and critical (basically we thinks all restaurants are shite, which is why so many stay on their toes) and to be asked puts us on our honour. Say "queremos comer bem, mas bem mesmo - como o senhor" (We want to eat well, but really well, like you) and people will truly tell you their secrets. Women are far more critical, being cooks - if they recommend a place (which they generally won't, advising you to go to the market and cook yourself) then you can be sure it's superb.

2) There are so many restaurants per capita (as it's still slightly cheaper to eat out) that those that are crowded are always fabulous. Many which are not crowded are also - but, since you'll be here for a short time, I'd follow this rule. There is no such thing as a crowded restaurant in Portugal which isn't great - as we Portuguese are spoilt and hate waiting; don't book; are, in fact, insufferable customers. If I try to compliment the chef, for instance, all other diners will go "Shush!", as they consider praise makes a restaurant complacent and more expensive. A grumpy, insincere "It was OK" is about the maximum allowed.

3) Do not look for culinary invention. Portuguese cooking is all about the freshness of the ingredients and the cooking of traditional, regional dishes which have been around for ever.

4) There is very little relation between price and quality. A lot of great restaurants are very cheap but a lot of terrible ones (in fact most) are very expensive. Good, fresh wild fish and shellfish are ALWAYS very expensive (more expensive than Spain and France) but to miss out on them would be a great loss, as it's Portugal's greatest treasure. There are very good fresh, wild fish which are cheap (peixe-espada/scabbard fish, carapaus/horse mackerel) but you need rule #5 to find them

5) Do not trust menus with a long list of different fish or, in fact, a long list of anything. What you will always want is a "prato do dia" (daily special - always excellent, whether meat or fish) which depends on the market and is always one-day-only. Be careful, though - the best run out about one-thirty in the afternoon. This is often the cheapest dish, but it's the best. Almost all restaurants have the most popular dishes on a particular day, which tend to be the same. "Cozido à Portuguesa", the magnificent and most-loved dish, is almost always on Wednesdays and Thursdays. It's very important in Portugal not to go somewhere with an idea of what you want to eat. You have to go with the flow. If you ask the waiter what's good, he'll be on his honour to tell you and won't fool you. It will always be a "prato do dia" or a "especialidade", something the restaurant is famous for.

6) The most reliable online guide to Portuguese restaurants, written by one dedicated guy, José Silva, is Netmenu

7) That's about it, at such short notice and with so little space. Apart from Netmenu, an invaluable aid is the nifty Yellow Pages restaurant guide. Although it only lists addresses and the information provided by the places themselves, it's thorough and will give you a reliable idea of prices and specialities - apart from phone numbers and addresses. Create your own "my favourites" section to keep track of your choices. Here it is.

Feel free to e-mail me so I can give you my telephone number for emergency gastronomic calls.

My favourite restaurant in the Algarve, a spectacular one-man extravaganza of authentic "cozinha algarvia" is Vila Lisa, in Mexilhoeira Grande. It's very small and there's no choice but it's heaven. There are usually one or two-hour waits (no reservations) but this time of the year you might get lucky.

I hope you and your wife enjoy your trip immensely, it goes without saying! :)

[fresco]

Miguel,

Thanks for all of your advice and counsel. We spent a month in Portugal last year, and all of what you say rings true, especially about looking for innovation, which is both wrongheaded and asking for bad food.

As you note, the true genius of Portuguese cuisine "is all about the freshness of the ingredients and the cooking of traditional, regional dishes which have been around for ever." What more can you ask for?

Your offer of emergency advice is very generous, and I will take you up on it.

[fresco]

Art:

Oh, that I had ever visited Portugal, and could recommend a restaurant! But I'm looking forward to your posts about Portugese cusisine, which, I suspect, is neglected compared to the food of Spain.

Lucky dog.

Maggie,

As a sister Canadian (albeit an expat) you must know that Portugal is fast becoming Canada's new wintering ground.

You must find an excuse (or a junket) to visit Portugal.

[tsquare]

You might check out my report from last April. The most memorable meals were the lunches of oysters, cockles, and fish eaten by the water's edge on the terrace at the East and West edges of the Algarve. Sun, salt, waves...of course, it helped that we walked for hours each morning to work up those appetites!

[fresco]

You might check out my report from last April. The most memorable meals were the lunches of oysters, cockles, and fish eaten by the water's edge on the terrace at the East and West edges of the Algarve. Sun, salt, waves...of course, it helped that we walked for hours each morning to work up those appetites!

I remember reading it, but will refresh my memory. Sounds like you had a great time. What would you look to do the second time around?

[MiguelCardoso]

You're very welcome, fresco. I've agreed with all your opinions about Portuguese cooking (and food in general) and so you'll appreciate my addressing you as a fellow Portuguese. :)

However, not on this trip but (I hope) the next, I sincerely wish, since you like good food, that you'll visit the part of Portugal where it's extremely difficult to find a bad meal: the North. In places like Guimarães, Braga, Viana do Castelo and Porto you have to be really jinxed to alight upon a place which doesn't serve the most marvellous food.

Imagine a country where everywhere you go, you're bound to find the cheapest, most delicious, freshest and just-cooked food you can think of - well, that's the North of Portugal. Galicia, in Spain, is much poorer and less refined, with a much more limited cuisine.

That's the North of Portugal - divine! The wines too. And the people! Our fellow member Chloé lives there and she seems to know all there is to know.

The Algarve, though attractive, is the least interesting of all Portuguese regions. It's not really Portuguese - as it's only been ours since the middle of the 13th Century. Plus, the sea there is vaguely Mediterranean, not really Atlantic, so full of rotten Mediterranean fish.

Nearby, though, is the Alentejo - a great place for the best "enchidos" (cured pork products) and simple fare. Coastal Alentejo (all Portugal is both coastal and interior) is very rich in lovely warm, Atlantic fish (nothing to do with the sewer-ridden, soft, disgusting Mediterranean fish of Spain, France and Italy) and delicacies like "percebes" (goose barnacles").

Phone me and I'll do my best to make sure you'll enjoy Portugal as much as we Portuguese!

:)

[fresco]

I totally agree with you about the Algarve and its charms relative to the rest of Portugal, but travel agencies in Canada make it extremely easy to book a long vacation there, and less easy to do so elsewhere in the country.

What we try to do is cherry pick the best of the Algarve (and there are very good bits) and otherwise use it as a base to explore other areas.

We keep talking about finding a way to base ourselves in the north, and eventually, we'll do so. And again, thank you for all of your advice and encouragement. If you ever plan to visit Toronto...

[MiguelCardoso]

Thanks, fresco! I've never been to Toronto, but it's always whetted my appetite - so much diversity and a nice, big city. So stand by - perhaps I can convince some editor to send me there ostensibly to investigate Portuguese cooking there...

Meanwhile, let me reiterate my one Algarve recommendation, Vila Lisa. (along with Sudoeste in Ferragudo, near Portimão and Clube da Pesca Desportiva, recommended in the latest Algarve thread). He doesn't have a phone number and I've mislaid the number of the café next door, useful for knowing how long the queues are, but here's an article by reliable old Corby Kummer in The Atlantic about it.

A good game plan would be to ask Mr.Lisa himself where else to eat (he knows everything). If he's in a good mood. Some people I know have bought his rather unattractive paintings just to ingratiate themselves with him.

It's still absurdly cheap (I think he's a Communist who hates profit) but the cooking is truly sublime. The wine is no-choice and, I must say, very awful, but with food that good, who cares? People have to sit with everyone else and take what's coming. He himself, swigging Glenfiddich, sometimes doesn't know what to cook next. But it's all superb and impossible to find elsewhere.

The Sopa de Conquilhas (baby orange clam soup) is a life-changer, as is the Raia Alhada à Algarvia (garlicked skate) and, by the time you arrive, the first fresh "favas" (broad beans) will have appeared and he'll make his unbeatable "favas com chouriço".

I'm looking forward to reading your report!

[fresco]

This place sounds good enough to justify a trip to the Algarve all by itself.

[MiguelCardoso]

I see that Corby Kummer includes a telephone number and says reservations are accepted - that hasn't been our experience at all, the bastard! ;)

By the way, the Joaquim Figueiredo mentioned in the article is one of Portugal's most exciting new cooks. French-trained, he's been reinterpreting Portuguese ingredients in the most delightful way. He's now at one of the oldest and prettiest restaurants in Lisbon (it's 220 years old and out-Prousts Proust, all chandeliers and unchanged 18th Century charm), Tavares. Here's a review by Portugal's best restaurant critic, David Lopes Ramos. It's a real treat, though very expensive (200 euros for two if you choose a cheaper wine, not a problem here).

But, as I said, coming to Portugal for innovative cuisine, such as you get in Spain, is like visiting Saudi Arabia in order to study Catholic architecture...

The other two innovative cooks in Portugal, if you're interested, both very good and traditionally based, are Vítor Sobral, at the Clube de Golfe da Bela Vista in Lisbon and Júlia Vinagre in the Bolota Castanha in Estremoz. She also presides over the lovely Terreiro do Paço restaurant in Lisbon; though BC in Estremoz is by far your best bet. Estremoz, where winemaker João Portugal Ramos is based (see the e-mail I sent you) is where Margarida Cabaço's magnificent São Rosas is. The Pousada there is enchanting, but so is Cabaço's own private inn.

All the best!

[ann]

Miguel, we're spending the month of October in Portugal, and have decided on an itinerary I think you might approve: Porto, Viana do Castelo, Pinhao, near Nazare, Evora, Sintra, and Lisbon -- using these as bases to visit the places of interest in each area, and staying mostly in manor houses. We're skipping the Algarve completely, since we have beaches and warm weather aplenty here in Hawaii. I hope when the time comes, you'll be willing to share some of your recommendations in the north -- I've already filed away your suggestions in Estremoz and Lisbon. If you have any advice about our itinerary, please feel free to e-mail me, and maybe you can convince your editor to send you on from Toronto to Hawaii -- we have a large Portuguese community here too!

[tsquare]

There is no way I can compete with the recommendations of Miguel. I guess now I want to go back and try all those places. In the Algarve, I was fortunate to not have to do any research as I was in the hands of two experienced Portuguese diners. Most of our meals were quite traditional, but I would go out of my way to go to the oceanside cafe near Cacela Velha, if I could find it (sorry, no name), Casa Paixanito, near Loule, and Restaurante Sitio do Forno on the cliffs at Pontal - though the food here was pretty simple, the location is remarkably scenic.

I would like to go back and spend more time in the North and also spend some first time along the eastern border - the fortifications / mountain towns / historic places. And along the coast south of Lisbon. I'd also eat suckling pig in Mealhada! And go back and spend at least one night at Bucasso (sp?) Palace and wander slowly through the forest. When I was there, I had a couple of hours between buses, with no back-up plan. I just about ran through the place, trying to see most of it. It was slightly foggy and cool, almost ghostly. I had the amazing experience of feeling that if I were to disappear into this forest and never return, it would be an okay way to go. Not somber, but released.

[maggiethecat]

It was slightly foggy and cool, almost ghostly. I had the amazing experience of feeling that if I were to disappear into this forest and never return, it would be an okay way to go. Not somber, but released.

tsquare:

As magical as travel-writing gets. Thank you.

[fresco]

We've been in the Algarve for a week, and life could not be better--great weather, wonderful food and wine.

Last Friday, seven of us dined at Vila Lisa, and it was, as Miguel has said above, the best restaurant one is likely to encounter in this part of Portugal.

I have no idea how intentional this is, but the place has much the quality of the little taverna or trattoria that a lot of us from North America harbour fantasies about when go to Europe--it's completely anonymous, no name or other form of identification on the building, which looks like every other humble white stuccoed cottage in the village.

You are seated on benches at long tables, and Jose Lisa (one of the two owners) arrives immediately and begins pouring white wine from cheap plastic wicker covered jugs.

The wine is every bit as mediocre as the paintings which adorn the walls, the product, I think, of the other owner, one Jose Vila, hence the establishment's name.

The food begins soon afterward, and while it is not perfection, and as you'll see, oddly out of balance, it does add up to an extraordinarly good meal.

For starters there are small bits of garlicky roast potatoes, slices of chorizo and a good local cheese.

Keep those potatoes in mind. They'll make a few appearances.

Next is the clam soup Miguel also mentioned above--clams about the size of your fingernail, with rice and coriander in a chicken broth. I'd be prepared to accept Miguel's assessment of the soup as life changing, except that the kitchen (it seems to be a man and a woman, not the owners) has not taken enough care with the clams, and they are gritty.

Once again, we have roasted potatoes, this time with chunks of octopus, lots of garlic and olive oil. And once again, someone didn't take care, and the octopus is gritty. Still, a hell of a dish.

The main course consists of two smallish, whole roasted pork shoulders, with--you guessed it--roasted potatoes. We carved the roasts ourselves with a couple of flimsy serrated knives, and found the meat tasty, but overcooked.

Mr. Lisa then began pouring red wine, bottled in the restaurant, I suspect, and better than the red.

Next came a second soup, chick peas, with shreds of beef. To my mind, this was the star turn of the evening, no grit, perfectly textured chick peas, extremely flavourful beef and broth.

We finished up with truffle like desserts of fig and almond, and I think, almond and chocolate, as well as coffee and the local firewater, a grappa-like liquer made from medranho fruit.

As you can see, the courses we a little out of whack (three servings of potatoes and no other vegetable?) The reason for this I think, is to keep the demands on the kitchen to a minimum--a separate vegetable course would require more preparation, even if it was just a simple salad.

The bill for all of this, though, was 192 euros, including all of the wine and the firewater.

It's almost unseemly to suggest that the partners would do better to charge a bit more, hire some more help, offer a better wine selection.

That might bring the place closer to perfection, but more likely, it would just ruin it.

[MiguelCardoso]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Fresco. Sorry about the grit. I'm afraid it's quite a feature here in Portugal. Fancier places will put their clams to "pasture" in clean salted water (some add a little cornflour for them to eat and allegedly grow fatter) but the truth is that the flavour is affected as the clams (whether they're ameijoas, conquilhas, lambujinhas or mussels) release their juice (the best part) into the surrounding water. Hence the grit - a sign of authenticity. As all "viveiro" suppliers (who raise their clams and oysters in controlled sea-beds are required to "depurar" them (rid them of grit and sand), serving them with grit is the only way to announce that they were caught wild. Only yesterday I procured 2 quilos of delicious "percebes" (goose barnacles) which were also gritty. That John Wayne film, "True Grit", was actually about tough, no-nonsense Portuguese clams in a Western environment. ;)

Also (though this is quite recent), because of aquaculture, a lot of very expensive restaurants, to prove their fish and shellfish are hand-caught from the sea, will leave it as is, with the algae and that slime which all fresh fish have. Also, they just might have a bucket of sand in the kitchen...!

You're quite right about the potatoes and your sage advice to continue as they are!

All the best!

Miguel