Rachel W.
Yelp
Porto Due is a quirky, but elegant restaurant decked out like an antique rustic Portuguese style taverna. With terracotta walls adorned with what my mother would call 'typicos', (ever since her two week holiday in Madera, where everything on sale in the souvenir shops that was characteristic of the island was labeled 'typico', for the benefit of the tourists), it makes for a pleasant setting for a relaxed evening out. Although occupying two floors, it still manages to retain an intimate feel.
The food is a synthesis of authentic Portuguese fare and classic Italian cuisine, and quite unsurprisingly, there's plenty of meat on the menu. Porto Due is probably most famous for its Kebabs, served on large metal skewers, measuring about a couple of feet in length, that are hung from the wooden beams above your table. All options are available with a choice of beef, pork, lamb, fish, chicken or a mixture of all five, which is then drizzled in garlic butter and served with fried potatoes and vegetables. It's food with a touch of theatre for the more dramatically inclined. The waiters apply the garlic butter by tying it around the tops of the skewers and then vigorously rubbing it with a cloth until it melts its way down the meat.
If you prefer fruits of the sea there's plenty of choice. The muscles are particularly good, (I'm reliably informed... I don't like them myself), and are made in the unfussy traditional way, then piled high in big dish. They look impressive, and smell pretty good too... lots of garlic and butter... so they're bound to!
Inevitably the wines are great. Italian red is my wine of choice wherever I am, so I'm well served here. There's some full-bodied Portuguese offerings as well.
The only down side of eating here is if you have a vegetarian in your group. There's a couple of veggie options on the menu, but they're nothing to write home about... standard veggie lasagne, amongst one or two other pasta dishes. They're made extremely well, but are hardly inspirational.