Porto
One immediate
conclusion after three nights in Porto - you can eat very well here.
On our first
night we went to the very traditional Casa Aleixo near to the Campanha railway
station. Crowded, popular restaurant need to book to avoid long queues said the
guide books, so it was somewhat of a shock to arrive at an empty restaurant.
True the road outside is currently closed to traffic, while major works is done
to the sewage pipes. We ate quite well with some delicious presunto to start.
Carole had the speciality merluza (hake) with sqVisits to Port Houses, Portuguese gastronomy, uid rice - tasty but a little
dry, while I went for the roast veal, potatoes and greens. This was a good
match for our bottle of Julia Kemper 2011 Dão. But it was sad to be in a restaurant
which, over the evening, only had eight customers. Apparently the road works have been going on for
two months - the owners must be hoping that business will pick up once it
finishes. Warning Casa Aleixo does not take cards.
Rui Paula: DOP
In complete
contrast we ate on Thursday and Friday evenings in two of Porto's best and most
popular restaurants: firstly Rui Paula's DOP in the centre of the city housed
in the Palacio das Artes, Largo de S.Domingo and then O Paparico in the
Northern suburbs. Although perhaps it shouldn't be a contest, comparisons are
inevitable. In the end it comes down to which restaurant would we go back to if
we had to choose one?
In two respects
they are similar and equal - the food in both is very good as are their extensive
wine lists.
DOP is buzzy
- a modern restaurant with hard edges making it noisy. We were seated close to
a large group and, although they weren't loud, it was impossible not to be very
aware of them and to hear their conversation. Initially the service was
excellent including an impressive piece of decanting by the sommelier of our
delicious and complex bottle of 2005 Mouchão (Alentejo) @43€. Our wine was at
the perfect, cool temperature.
Unfortunately
later in the evening the level of service fell off and I had to reach out for
our wine and water housed on a separate table. Fortunately within my easy reach
but far more difficult for a nearby couple tucked away in the corner. If a
restaurant insists on exiling wine from its customers then they should ensure
good service right the way through the meal. If not leave the bottle or the
decanter on the table as I'm very happy to pour our own wine.
At DOP we
started by sharing a carpaccio of bacalhau and a really delicious scrambled egg
with traditional Portuguese sausage. For
main course Carole took the perfectly cooked turbot, while I had the equally
fine roast cabrito with its crispy skin and moist inside accompanied by an
excellent cabrito risotto. We missed desserts finishing with good expresso. It
took a while to find someone to bring us the bill - 114 euros.
O Paparico
was the strong recommendation of Gabriella Opaz. On the Rua Cabral and north of the ring road
it was a good 15 minute taxi ride from the centre of town. From outside the
restaurant gave the impression of being closed but on a sharp rap on the metal
knocker the door was swiftly opened and we were immediately welcomed inside.
"A drink in the bar first or straight to your table?" We opted to go
straight to our table - cosily tucked into a corner at the far end of the restaurant.
This welcome
set the tone for the evening - the service was brilliant - friendly, efficient
but discreet. On Gabriella's insistence we introduced ourselves to Sergio, who
runs the restaurant, but I'm sure this made no difference to the high quality
of the service. It was clear from watching and admiring the staff serve the
other customers.
The decor of
O Paparico is homely and rustic with elements of a mythical rural past with
stone walls and various accoutrements on the walls. The tables are a little
more spaced than at DOP and coupled with the better sound proofing meant that
we could talk normally and not hear our neighbours' conversations.
At O Paparico
the first courses are already selected and await your arrival but you change
any you don't want or order more if you are greedy! We had a very fine
carpaccio of octopus, a superb terrine of calves liver in a Port wine sauce and
a sheep's milk cheese plus some interesting bread and special biscuits with the
terrine.
Having had a
red from the Alentejo the night before we looked for a Douro red this time and
went for the 2008 Vinhas Velhas (45€) from Quinta do Crasto (www.quintadocrasto.pt/). The sommelier tells it
is their last bottle. More powerful and
butch than the Mouchão but less complex, it needed time in the decanter and
glass to really open up. It was, however, a very good match with the veal.
The principle
of the main courses is that they are for two people but you can opt to have two
half portions to share and this is a good way get to try more dishes. We opted
for tenderloin of pork with apple sauce first and followed this with veal in a
mushroom sauce. Both dishes were very
fine with the pork tenderloin beautifully tender and slightly pink. Although
called veal in Portugal in the UK we would class this as beef as we experience veal as a white meat.
Whatever it was rare and delicious!
We normally
do without desserts, especially in Portugal where they are often oversweet.
However, as the food was so good here we decided to break this habit. Carole
chose the chocolate and I opted for a crème brulée. Made from bitter chocolate,
the chocolate was a real standout dense and concentrated – just lovely!
Rich chocolate mousse
A couple of
coffees bought the bill to 134€ in line with DOP (even fractionally cheaper) as
we only had two courses there and took a glass of the 2008 LBV from Noval with
a chocolate mousse. And yes it was a good match!
I’d go back
to O Paparico before DOP mainly because the service was much better – more
attentive and professional.
For lunch on
Friday we followed a recommendation from the Catavino site – the rooftop
terrace of Porto Cruz (http://www.myportocruz.com)
in Vila Nova da Gaia. It was ideal for a snack – a capaccio of bacalhau,
scrambled egg with Portuguese sausage and some little green pimentos
accompanied by a glass each of 2013 Alvarinho Muros Antigos. A peaceful oasis with great views.
Table view from Porto Cruz
Julia Kemper with Roger Kolbu 
Julia's Elpenor 2013 Rosé – "a real wine to enjoy with food"
Paulo Coutinho of Quinta do Portal
Paulo's oak aged craft beer
#winelover 
