Simon C.
Yelp
Amazing fine dining experience!
* * * EXPERIENCE * * *
It was a rainy night, we uber'd there and the entrance barely had any light on and it was a bit hard to find. Once we walked in, they helped us take care of our coats and brought to our seat immediately. All the servers we encountered were extremely nice, they were funny too and had a lot of interesting conversations. Each dish they brought over they explained in details what the ingredients were, why they were serving in such ways etc. We also got wine pairing, our sommelier was very knowledgeable and patient, especially since we had very little knowledge about Portuguese wine he was patient to explain details to us. Not to mention there wasn't one wine that I didn't find fascinating. Wine lovers heaven.
We chose the "Portugalidade" menu.
* * * FOOD * * *
Tomato Soup with Cheese: A-
Super refreshing, this combination was surprisingly tasty, the cheese neutralized the tartness from the tomato, yet you still feel the tomato freshness back of your tongue.
Mussel Flan: A
Hard to describe the taste, it was wonderful - I could taste tomato and cucumber, and there was real mussel inside. Very refreshing again.
Croquette: A-
The crab meat used was very fresh, not very salty which I enjoyed.
Ham with Melon: A
The ham was soft, not too salty as some Spanish prosciutto/ham tastes, with the wafer biscuit, wonderful combination. The presentation was beautiful.
Pigeon Meat: B+
A bit gamey, not my favorite but big contrast with the dishes before.
Dessert Cracker: A
This was served with chocolate moose wrapping foie gras, the sweetness blends with the gaminess of foie gras, perfect pairing with Port wine to bring out the berries flavor.
Squid: A
Stuffed with potato and nuts, the squid meat was super soft, so tasty, for a person who loves fishy food this was perfect.
Sting Ray: A
It was served with some herbs, tasted a bit like sea bass, the herbs helped bring out the fishy taste, and I enjoyed the soup even more - herby fishy such a nice blend.
Lobster Risotto: B
It's a bit spicy with creaminess, big piece of lobster, one thing I wasn't impressed was that some of the rice was a bit hard, a bit undercooked or was it the style?
Cabbage with Beets and Beans sauce: A
Can't believe such a simple dish had so much complexity! The beans was the star, super crunchy on outside and smush-y inside, cabbage was super fresh.
Pork: A+
This piece of pork upper leg meat was combined with chips, clams and french fries, we were told to eat in one bite and I was speechless - it absorbed all the soup underneath with so much pork taste, chips and fries were crunchy and overall there was so much complexity.
"Keep it as a surprise": A+
I'm not going to reveal what's used in this dish, you just have to go try, our servers kept it secret what we were about to eat and it instantly reminded me of something unique.... just try it, just do.
Pineapple Guava Sorbet with Raspberry and cream: A
Perfect way to end the night after the super complex dish above, cleaned my palate right after, super refreshing.
Oh man I love this place, it truly showed the beauty of Portuguese ingredients, wonderful wines and Portuguese people hospitality.