Oporto Fooding House & Wine - Review - Fourth Ward - Houston - The Infatuation
"Oporto Fooding House & Wine is a reliable spot for Portuguese tapas and cocktails. The best time to come here is when you need an afternoon snack or during Happy Hour. Not only do you get their best drink—the caipirinha—for six bucks, but you also get a discount on their tapas. Focus on the small plates like the deep-fried cod croquettes and tender roasted sardines. Entrees (like the hanger steak) are under-seasoned and end up falling flat. But with the right snacks and a seat at the bar, where you can get a show of the chefs preparing tapas from the sweeping marble countertops, everything feels perfectly breezy. photo credit: Liz Silva photo credit: Liz Silva photo credit: Liz Silva photo credit: Liz Silva Food Rundown photo credit: Liz Silva Maracujá Caipirinha This beverage is a delicious blend of passionfruit and caipirinha liqueur and packs the right amount of punch to start your meal. The shredded ice chips give the drink a slushy quality. photo credit: Liz Silva Sardinhas Assada We want to eat these sardines in one fell swoop like cartoon cats. But we’ll settle for forking the fish off the bone. Tender peppers on top balance the sardines' brininess, and a fluffy slice of bread at the base catches every spare piece. photo credit: Liz Silva Croquetas De Bacalhau These deep-fried croquetas have minced pieces of lightly salted cod covered by a warm potato shell. It’s like someone thought about how to make fish and chips even more portable, and it was delicious. photo credit: Liz Silva Bife À Portuguesa This hanger steak arrives covered in a fried egg but falls flat as the meat runs a bit dry. We found ourselves pushing the steak to the side and mixing the egg with the potatoes. photo credit: Liz Silva Pastel De Nata You’ll want to order dessert first with Oporto’s pastel de nata. The crust on this pastry is a warm, bubbly cover to a fluffy lemon custard filling. It’s a light finish (or start) to a meal here." - Gianni Greene
