Miranda P.
Google
This restaurant was recommended to me by Diana from Peniche360 (I highly suggest taking one of their tours, see my Trip Advisor review) and I was pleasantly surprised to find that instead of your typical wine bar environment it felt more like I was sitting down to eat at someone’s house with the rest of their family. The owners had many years of experience in the New York City restaurant industry, which definitely showed. I ordered the branzino, a fish more commonly found on a menu in an Italian restaurant than a Portuguese restaurant, which typically features salt cod, sea bass, or sea bream. Plus, the presentation and preparation was more flavorful and beautiful than what generally arrives on your plate coming out of a Portuguese restaurant kitchen. The use of olives, tomatoes, garlic, and plenty of fresh citrus and herbs gave the dish a distinctive Mediterranean flair, while the traditional Portuguese preparation would have been much simpler, consisting of a grilled or roasted filet dressed with olive oil accompanied by potatoes and a vegetable. This is not to say that authentic Portuguese cuisine is bland and unappealing—on the contrary, I found it to be consistently delicious everywhere I went because it is heavily dependent on the freshness of the ingredients that aren’t hidden by breading or sauces. However, I can see why this expats flock to this restaurant (the place fills up with Americans when they serve up a traditional Thanksgiving dinner every year) because there are times when you’re craving the comforts of home, and as an Italian-American from Philadelphia, this meal tasted like home to me. But the owners have not lost their European roots either (husband is Portuguese, wife is Russian), which showed in the way that they came out to the tables and chatted with their customers like they were old friends (and indeed, some of them actually were). Make no mistake about it, this couple oozes charisma, which is becoming a necessity to stay afloat in the “industry” these days, particularly in small towns like Peniche where everybody knows everybody and the tourist hordes disappear in the off-season. Sure, it might be the fun items on the menu like “Piggys in a Blanket” and the chefs’ skill at creating reductions and glazes that wows the crowd, but it’s the warm and welcoming, convivial atmosphere at Os Americano’s that keeps them coming back.