Portugal's Fine Dining Restaurants
Innovative Chefs Add a New Dimension to Portuguese Cuisine
From Lisbon and the Algarve to the Alentejo and the far north, creative chefs are giving traditional Portuguese dishes a contemporary look, and a new life.
Travelers in Portugal have always been well fed, enjoying ocean-fresh seafood, tender grilled pork and flavorful sausages, followed by delectable desserts. But the variety of dishes has – until recently – been limited, and fine dining too often meant recipes and styles borrowed from other cuisines.
No more. Bright young chefs are reveling in the wonderful local products and using them in new ways. Their restaurants feature innovative dishes, and look at old ones in new ways. Here are a few of the brightest and best.
Flores
Chef Henrique Sa Pessoa’s fusion of styles from Portugal’s former colonies with the country’s superb fresh products brings nuances of Asia, Africa and South America to local ingredients in his restaurant in Lisbon's Bairro Alto. Presentations are artistic, service deft. Portugal’s famed porco preto – black pig – shows up here deftly paired with porcini.
Praça Luiz de Camões 8, Lisbon; tel. 213 408 288; open for lunch and dinner.
Terreiro do Paco
Owned by one of Portugal’s brightest culinary lights, Chef Vitor Sobral, this smartly designed restaurant celebrates Portuguese culinary traditions with surprising – and always delectable – results. The menu might offer caramelized duck breast in ginger cream with baked banana, or braised partridge with chestnut mousse, and end the meal with a parade of Creme brûlées that include coconut, pine nuts, tonka beans, orange and mint.
Praca do Comercio, Lisbon; tel 210 312 850, open Mon—Fri lunch, Mon—Sat dinner.
A Ver Tavira
A resort area is not the best place to look for brilliant cuisine, but this smart aerie perched beside the castle ruins above the Algarve town of Tavira serves sophisticated dishes, artistically presented. The traditional cod -- long a staple of Portuguese cuisine -- is served as a delicate carpaccio, with balsamic drizzle.
Calcada da Galeria 13 (at the Castelo); tel 281 381 363.
Picadeiro
The setting in the Equestrian center provides entertainment while waiting for dinner to arrive – a full glass wall overlooks the training ring – but the chef quickly lured attention to the table with creative contemporary styling of traditional dishes: Arroz de tamboril (monkfish with rice) and rojoes com castanhas (pork with chestnuts) go way beyond the usual versions.
Centre Equestre Vale do Lima, Feitosa (Ponte de Lima); tel 258 943 834; closed Mon.
Hotel Rural Monte do Carmo
The dining room at this beautifully renovated pilgrim hostal near Evora makes it a destination in its own right. Firmly rooted in the local products of the Alentejo region, the menu created by Chef Duarte Larajinho makes the most of the local specialty, porco preto, pairing it with cream and a robust red wine. Preparations seem uncomplicated, giving the natural flavors of the ingredients full play, but the genius is in choosing just the right flavors to compliment each other.
Azaruja (near Evora); tel 266 970 050, fax 266 978 070.
