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“Modern Portuguese” and “Mediterranean” were the
keywords used by restaurateurs and chefs when Redhot investigated the evolving
Lisbon food and wine scene recently. Hans van der Put reports
While excellent traditional Portuguese food is still widely available in restaurants,
today’s young chefs are experimenting and creating an exciting, lighter,
healthier, more sophisticated and adventurous nouvelle cuisine in Portugal.
“What
is happening is that a new generation of chefs are taking a look at regional Portuguese
cuisine and applying new culinary techniques to it, while maintaining their respect
for local cultures and products,” says 35-year-old Lisbon-based chef Vitor
Sobral. “In fact, there is now a worldwide movement of chefs who prefer
to use local, quality products. In Portugal, we have wonderful cheeses, cold meats,
fish, olive oil and meat.” The new Portuguese cuisine has also changed the
way food is being presented to the client on the plate – an art which has
long been neglected in Portugal.
Vitor
Sobral was honoured with the Portuguese Chef of the Year award in 1999 and wrote
A Nova Cozinha Portuguesa (The New Portuguese Cuisine), among other books. He
is presently supervising the kitchens at two of Lisbon’s best restaurants:
Clube de Golfe da Bela Vista (Av. Avelino Teixeira da Mota, tel:
+351 218 310 865), in the grounds of the Bela Vista Golf Club, and Terreiro
do Paço (Praça do Comércio, tel: +351 210 312 850),
which re-opened recently under new management.
Located
in Lisbon’s Black Horse Square, Terreiro do Paço is part of the Lisbon
Welcome Centre, aimed at tourists. “Because of that, we have to offer 'national
cuisine’,” says co-owner and manager Miguel Júdice, son of
a locally famous lawyer. “But we do it with a modern touch. We don’t
want that sad, heavy Portuguese cuisine anymore!”
At Terreiro do Paço, I enjoyed a wonderful braised tuna steak, from
a fish caught off the islands of the Azores. It was fresh and tasty, with just
the right use of salt, oregano and possibly white wine or vinegar to create that
special bite – and at just under €10, it was a real bargain.
Other
Lisbon restaurants offering their own brands of “nova cozinha Portuguesa”
include Valle Flôr, inside the Pestana Palace Hotel (Rua
Jau 54, tel: +351 213 615 600). Headed by talented French chef Aimé Barroyer,
it is, as one gourmet assured us, “presently the best restaurant in Lisbon”;
A Galeria (Rua S. Bento 334, tel: +351 213 952 552), one of the
country’s best Italian restaurants, where owner Augusto Gemelli likes to
use Portuguese products in his home country’s recipes; Bica do Sapato
(Av. Infante D. Henrique, opposite Apolónia train station, tel:
+351 218 810 320), the Portuguese capital’s most trendy restaurant. People
come here to see and be seen, but Mozambique-born chef Fausto Airoldi’s
creative art gives the place its quality. The 'Bica’ also has a cafeteria,
offering simpler and less-expensive dishes, and a sushi bar on the first floor.
American actor and Portugal-lover John Malkovich is a partner in the restaurant.
Lisbon is a great city for eating out. Restaurants in
the city’s historic areas are abundant
However,
to get a complete picture of Lisbon food culture today, we also have to take a
look at mainstream, traditional Portuguese cuisine – which is what most
Lisboetas love to eat when they go out for lunch or dinner, be it at an inexpensive
tasca or an upmarket classic such as Gambrinus or Porto de Santa Maria in nearby
Cascais.
The Portuguese love to eat out and do it frequently.
They are especially fond of the convívio part of it; having a great time
with their family and friends, often including children.
Lisbon is a great city for eating out. Restaurants in the city’s historic
areas are inexpensive and abundant, and the food is – almost – always
good. What can go wrong with a freshly grilled robalo (sea-bass), seasoned only
with salt and lemon? For a great, upgraded tasca, try out 1º de Maio
(Rua da Atalaia 8, tel: +351 213 426 840). With its old- fashioned décor,
the restaurant offers some of the best classic Portuguese cooking available in
Lisbon. Try the John Dories with açorda, the swordfish with garlic or the
fried rabbit with clams.
An
important aspect of traditional Portuguese cuisine is bacalhau, or dried cod.
It is said that the Portuguese have a different bacalhau recipe for each day of
the year. If you want to know more, go to Casa do Bacalhau (Rua do Grilo 54, tel:
+351 218 620 007), which specialises in traditional cod dishes from various parts
of the country, such as the Bacalhau Espiritual. The restaurant is refreshingly
modern and also offers a variety of grilled meat dishes, including lamb chops.
According to Fernando Fernandes, co-owner of the internationally famous restaurants
Pap’Açorda (Rua da Atalaia 57, tel: +351 213 464 811) and Bica do
Sapato, traditional Portuguese cuisine is “very genuine”, because
it does not need a lot of sauces to be enjoyable. Mr. Fernandes is always glad
to see visiting foreigners coming to Pap’Açorda, so that they can
get acquainted with “real Portuguese cooking”. Established in 1981
in the historic and fashionable Bairro Alto area, Pap’Açorda is still
full every night and making a reservation here is an absolute necessity. The secret
of its ongoing success? “Commitment and professionalism,” according
to Fernando Fernandes. The restaurant takes its name from one of its main dishes,
Açorda Real with lobster, prawns and bread as its main ingredients.
Travelling food and wine buffs often like to eat at restaurants which have
at least one star in the prestigious Michelin Guide. Presently, there are no starred
restaurants in Lisbon, although you don’t have to travel far to find two
of them, one next to the other. They are Porto de Santa Maria and Fortaleza do
Guincho, both attractively located on the seafront at Guincho, in the resort town
of Cascais, about 25 kilometres from Lisbon. Average price in both restaurants,
without wine, is about €50 per person.
Porto de Santa Maria (Estrada do Guincho, tel: +351 214 897
450) has been an upmarket seafood favourite for about 30 years and has had a Michelin
star for the last 22 years. Neighbouring Fortaleza do Guincho
(Estrada do Guincho, tel: +351 214 870 491) was awarded its star in 2002. Famous
French chef Antoine Westermann, whose restaurant Buerehiesel in Strasbourg has
three Michelin stars, is a regularly visiting consultant here, while one of his
collaborators, French chef Marc le Ouedec, runs the kitchen. Food here is French,
but with strong Portuguese and Mediterranean influences. The wine card, including
French and Portuguese wines, is probably the best in Portugal, and wine waiter
Manuel Moreira is the best in his field in Portugal.
“Portuguese wines are excellent,” Marc le Ouedec says. “They
have improved a lot since I first came to Portugal in 1998.”
The Portuguese love to eat out and are fond of the convívio
part of it
Renowned English wine writer Jancis Robinson agrees. In her book Jancis Robinson
Tastes The Best Portuguese Table Wines, she describes Portuguese wines as “extremely
exciting by any standard”, noting that “a revolution has been taking
place in the vineyards and cellars of Portugal.”
Among
her Portuguese favourites are Fojo 1996, from the Douro region, the Quinta dos
Roques Touriga Nacional 1996, a wine from the Dão region, the Buçaco
reserve 1978 from Bairrada, and the Douro wine Barca Velha 1991. Independent from
the year, the latter is the country’s most renowned wine, described by Portuguese
magazine Epicur as “the flagship” of Portuguese wines. A must for
every food lover visiting Lisbon is Gambrinus (Rua das Portas
de Santo Antão 25, tel: +351 213 468 974). Try the mixed seafood grill
for €48. Meat dishes such as “Roast Beef English- Style” are
also available here.
First
established in 1784, Lisbon classic Tavares (Rua da Misericórdia
35, tel: +351 213 421 112) re-opened under new management last year. The 19th
century, period-decorated dining room is a listed historic site and a tourist
attraction in its own right. Food here is “Mediterranean, with aspects of
traditional Portuguese cuisine”.
A few other tips: A Travessa (Travessa do Convento das Bernardas
12, tel: +351 213 902 034), specialising in Belgian cuisine; Casa da Comida
(Travessa das Amoreiras 1, tel: +351 213 885 376), one of Lisbon’s finest
restaurants since 1977; Coelho da Rocha (Rua Coelho da Rocha
104, tel: +351 213 900 831), set up in 1989 by a former Gambrinus employee; XL
(Calçada da estrela 57, tel: +351 213 956 118), a friendly restaurant that
specialises in soufflés and steaks.
A piece of exciting news is that 11 chefs, including Germany’s acclaimed
Joachim
Named
Eleven and purpose-built in the centre of Lisbon overlooking
the Eduardo VII Park, the two-floor establishment is scheduled to open in October.
Joachim Koerper is to offer a menu of “Mediterranean dishes, based on fresh
and natural products”. The ambitious aim of the venture is to attain a star
during the first year of operation, and to add a second in the following year.
Whether or not this succeeds, Lisbon has already proved that it has what it
takes to make it in the European gastronomic stakes.
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