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2016-04-18
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Been a while since I last visited this Portuguese restaurant, and like always by the time I arrived it was all packed despite only at 6:10pm. It is frankly quite crowded and not too comfortable with so many tables around, however I can understand with the fame nowadays it would only be normal to fit in as many tables as possible.The wine selection was interesting, and I opted for a Alexandre de Almeida Bucaco Branco Reservado 2008. Quite pricey but certainly good in quality, it got me off to a g
Been a while since I last visited this Portuguese restaurant, and like always by the time I arrived it was all packed despite only at 6:10pm. It is frankly quite crowded and not too comfortable with so many tables around, however I can understand with the fame nowadays it would only be normal to fit in as many tables as possible.
The wine selection was interesting, and I opted for a Alexandre de Almeida Bucaco Branco Reservado 2008. Quite pricey but certainly good in quality, it got me off to a great start. We ordered two Caldo Verde, and the soup was fairly well prepared, with olive oil mixing together well the spicy chorizo sausage. But still if I have to rate this soup the one from Solmar was still my choice.
Then we had the Pata Negra, the Portuguese cured ham that is pretty similar to Iberico. The ham were freshly cut out from the leg, and got the right saltiness and softness that paired perfectly with my wine, which people might believe would be a better match for a red. However, for most people (including me) this would be a bit too expensive.
I always go for some grilled sardines in Portuguese restaurants, as this was a good test of the culinary skills of the chef. The ones from Antonio was reasonably good, with a crispy skin sprinkled with salt and a perfect grill to bring out the best flavors of the fish. Paired with potatoes, by itself it would be a nice main dish, and the portion was generous with three sardines in total, plus some bell pepper salad as side.
Seafood is Antonio's signature so we ordered the wet seafood rice, since we had tried the paella last time already. The dish is good for two persons, with crab, mussels, clams, prawns and scallops. A bit too salty for me and the crab meat was mushy, nevertheless the seafood stock is delicious and the rice was tasty and a must try. Personally I still prefer the paella more.
We ordered a Serradura and vanilla ice-cream with cherries and cherry sauce, though the latter turned out to be not available. The dessert was decent, but Ivy thought it was still not as good as the other one from a dessert shop nearby. But altogether it was a good dinner and with Antonio himself coming out to check with the customers the services were nice and friendly.The bill was $2,451 on the night, and I would rate this as definitely a good Portuguese restaurant that I would recommend, even if overall a bit too expensive for the quality of the food and the environment. My overall rating is 60/100.
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