Portugese Restaurants

[Andrew Fenton]

I'll be up in Providence over Memorial Day weekend. Am looking for some good food, especially Portugese. I've seen Estrella do Mar and Madeira mentioned: does anybody have thoughts about these or other restaurants?

[Chris Amirault]

Them's the big two -- and I can't recommend either to be stunning. But they do indeed serve Portuguese food. I wonder if New Bedford or Fall River have some other options worth trying.

[ErinB]

I went to a total hole in the wall in Fall River ... really good food. Did a lot of take out business. Of course, I can't remember the name.

[Andrew Fenton]

Them's the big two -- and I can't recommend either to be stunning. But they do indeed serve Portuguese food. I wonder if New Bedford or Fall River have some other options worth trying.

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Hmm. By not stunning, do you mean they don't do a good version of Portugese, or that the food is objectively not very good, or something else? If it's one of the first two, I'll skip them, I guess. But I was hoping to try something I couldn't get in Philadelphia: Portugese is one of those things.

Erin, if you remember the spot in Fall River, let me know. I'm down for a hole in the wall, and I've got a car and the willingness to travel...

[Chris Amirault]

Them's the big two -- and I can't recommend either to be stunning. But they do indeed serve Portuguese food. I wonder if New Bedford or Fall River have some other options worth trying.

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Hmm. By not stunning, do you mean they don't do a good version of Portugese, or that the food is objectively not very good, or something else? If it's one of the first two, I'll skip them, I guess. But I was hoping to try something I couldn't get in Philadelphia: Portugese is one of those things.

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Andrew, I wish I could be more useful, but I think that I'm a poor judge of good Portuguese restaurants or something. I have had meals at those two restaurants that others have enjoyed; I however found the food uninteresting, overcooked, and generally not worth it.

That's not to say that I don't like some Portuguese food. There used to be a great place here in Providence, the Blue Point, that had a great Portuguese kale, littleneck, and chorice stew, but they're long gone. But I haven't found dishes at the two places you mention here that were up to that standard.

If I were you, I'd drive down to Flo's clam shack on the Portsmouth/Newport line and get fried clams!

[Andrew Fenton]

Well, after all that, the need to accomodate nostalgic friends (we were there for my wife's college reunion) won out over other urges. So, no Portugese this time. Instead, we had some decent Cambodian at Apsara. I liked the wonderfully-named "Strange Flavor Shrimp" a lot, and the Cambodian version of summer rolls were solid as well. Plus, it was cheap as hell: like $11 per person for a lot of food. Can't go wrong at that price...

Thanks for the recommendation of Flo's; that'll have to wait until the next time we're in RI, I'm afraid.

[OwnReward]

Them's the big two -- and I can't recommend either to be stunning. But they do indeed serve Portuguese food. I wonder if New Bedford or Fall River have some other options worth trying.

←

Hmm. By not stunning, do you mean they don't do a good version of Portugese, or that the food is objectively not very good, or something else? If it's one of the first two, I'll skip them, I guess. But I was hoping to try something I couldn't get in Philadelphia: Portugese is one of those things.

Erin, if you remember the spot in Fall River, let me know. I'm down for a hole in the wall, and I've got a car and the willingness to travel...

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Another one that a couple people have told me is good in the Riverview (or Riviera-I haven't been by in a while so I can't remember the name... it's on the same street as Estrella do Mar (one of my worst restaurant experiences ever), on the same side toawrd Pautucket. I never would have guessed it was a good place-- it looks like a run down banquet facility...I'll be trying in the next couple weeks..

Madiera can be satisfcatory, but they take the 'leisurly European paced meal' to the extreme...their 'littlenecks with wine and garlic' has the best butter based sauce...mmm..dip the bread in it.

KV

[lambretta76]

I find it hard to believe that the remnants of Portuguese culture have dried up in this area so much, while places like the Ironbound in Newark, NJ, and Mineola in Long Island, NY, continue to thrive.

No little hole in the wall places to speak of? I'd hope there were some hidden gems, but I'm not very familiar on these two cities in general.

Are there any good Portuguese markets in any of these towns left? And, if any of the Portuguese immigrants around these parts hailed from Oporto - is there any place I could find a francesinha? Lastly, and a bit off topic, but are there any Portuguese restaurants in the Newport area now that the bar with the peek-a-boob mermaid (I forget the name of the place, but it was on Aquidneck Road in Middletown) has closed?

Edited July 8, 2005 by lambretta76 (log)