On my first day I found this restauant called A Licorista O Bacalhoeiro just by chance. It is a small restaurant located at Rua dos Sapateiros, just next to famous Rua Augusta. This is a typical Portugese restaurant where you will mainly see locals and have good food and good service at a great value. I tried calamari and fried cod fish, which were quite tasty. The portions are quite big, but the price is quite reasonable compared to the taste and portion.
Yesterday I decided to go to a nearby restaurant which was recommended by my hotel. The concierge defined this restaurant as a small, cosy and calm traditional Portugese restaurant, which is called Restaurante As Velhas (the “Old Ladies” Restaurant) located at Rua da Conceicao da Gloria no.21. I tried shrimp with butter and garlic sauce as starter, sea bass as the main course and chocolate and almond cake as the dessert. Every single thing I tasted at this restaurant including the bread, olives and olive oil were simply delicious. They were all so good that I even forgot to take the photos of all of them as I concentrated on their taste. Not only the food, but also the service was simply wonderful. All the people working in this restaurant were very polite, cheerful and friendly. Apparently they all love the job they do and you just feel it from their faces. I highly recommend this restaurant and can assure you that you won’t regret going there.
I quote a line from the restaurant’s website: “Show me another pleasure like dinner which comes every day and lasts an hour.” (Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, 1754-1838) Isn’t this true? 🙂
The origin of the establishment as Casa de Pasto dates back to the late nineteenth century, with the genesis and the beginning of the Republic, a time where old ladies from the north of the country here cooked and served lunches, dinners and suppers. Throughout the years they were captivating the palate of the alfacinhas, lovers of the Portuguese food in its best pickle. To better accommodate the guests, the space obtained new configuration in May 1925, when it was also named “House of the Old Ladies” – a projection of the age of the cookers in a commercial identity. José da Silva Gonçalves, restaurateur from Mire de Tibães – Braga, took the legacy nearly three decades ago and since then has sought to preserve its essence – to serve in (t)his Restaurant the excellence of traditional cuisine. “As Velhas” – house of timeless cooking (quote from the website of As Velhas).
And finally today I had dinner at my hotel’s restaurant, Brasserie Flo Lisboa, which is right on Avenida da Liberdade (both French and Portugese cuisine) and is a classy and high quality restaurant with great food and service. I had crispy goat cheese with kumquat compote and walnuts as the starter (this was reallyyyy gooood), pan-seared sea bass crusted with almond and citrus, sauteed green asparagus, cherry tomato confit and courgette (yes, I know, I had fish again on my third day, but can’t get enough of it due to great taste) as the main course and finally as the dessert I had religieuse of hazelnut with chocolate sauce (duo profiteroles). They all tasted delicious. Highly recommended!
Now time for me to rest. It was a long tiring day…
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