Cuisine:

• Portuguese

Chiado Description:
Elegantly European, this cozy restaurant on a busy, multicultural street serves what has often rightly been called the best Portuguese cuisine outside of Lisbon. Owner Albino Silva has fresh fish flown in daily from the Azores islands. He makes sure all dishes are artful and authentic, whether it be grilled squid, gently roasted salt cod or assorda (a dry soup of monkfish, lobster, shrimp and clams). No details are missed---from the smooth, professional service to the little touches. Fresh-baked Portuguese bread, oil and olives are brought out while you peruse the menu. An amuse comes while you await your order---perhaps a delicate, fresh cheese, sliceable with a fork and dressed with balsamic and honey. The fish shines, from simple grilled, marinated sardines to pan-seared grouper. Meats, all organic or vegetable-fed, may include beef tenderloin with tawny port sauce and roasted pheasant with Madeira wine. Be sure to leave room for the classic Portuguese desserts. Natas do ceu (crème layered on almond liqueur-soaked ladyfingers, topped with egg nectar), molotof and pudim flan raise the traditional egg and cream base to a refinement far beyond their rustic origins. The wine list showcases Portugal's best Niepoort Douro wines, Barca Velha, Quinta do Crasto, Luis Pato and other treasures. Ports include a good selection of tawnies and whites by the glass. Rare vintages of Madeira and port are offered by the bottle. The adjacent tapas and wine bar is a great place to hang out before or after dinner.


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