Matteo R.
Yelp
As far as authentic Portuguese seafood, it probably doesn't get any more authentic than this. Everybody speaks Portuguese at this restaurant, from the patrons to the waitstaff to the menu.
On an early Saturday afternoon, the restaurant was very busy, but we were able to score two seats by the bar. In fact, as you enter the restaurant, the first thing you notice is the beautiful marble-top bar, with some wonderfully looking chilled crabs and shrimp on display. I was impressed.
Unfortunately the rest of our experience was not up to par with that first impression. Having seen percebes/goose barnacles on the menu, we promptly ordered this item. This was the first time for me trying percebes, and I enjoyed them. First I had to figure out how to eat them, so thank YouTube for that! There is a tiny, tasty morsel of meat in each barnacle, so it's a lot of work[1]!
The octopus salad was surprisingly bland. The octopus itself had very little flavor outside the vinegar-based sauce drizzled on top. Properly cooked, nice and tender; just not very flavorful.
And not much better was the garoupa/grouper steak, which was grilled and served with a very large slab of butter on top, plus some pretty sad boiled vegetables (broccoli rabe, a couple of slides of carrots, and a piece of potato) on the side.
In retrospect perhaps we should have ordered a more traditional Portuguese dish, but the whole fresh grouper looked delicious, and this is a type of fish you don't see often in American restaurants. Who knew that grilled fish would end up being just meh.
Portions are generous, so come hungry.
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[1] Also, be careful, as these things squirt like crazy when you squeeze them.