Porto Brandão and lunch@Maré Viva

Saluti! – Carole and Claire toast@Maré Viva, Porto Brandão 

One of our favourite places in the Lisbon area to have Sunday lunch is across on the south side of the Tagus at Porto Brandão at the Maré Viva restaurant. Porto Brandão is a short ferry ride across the Tagus from Bélem. 

Yesterday we had an excellent lunch there with a table by the window that looks out across the Tagus to Bélem and the exquisite Torre de Bélem. We started with clams with garlic and coriander and prawns in garlic. Main course was arroz with shellfish and monkfish. As so often we drank the Vinho Verde (a blend of Alvarinho and Trajadura) from Muralhas de Monção – this time the 2011 vintage. Although not as fine as a good pure Alvarinho, the Muralhas de Monção works very well with this sort of fish lunch.      

 

2011 Muralhas de Monção

After lunch there was time to wander slowly around the small village of Porto Brandão and then sit by the waters' edge while waiting for the ferry back to Bélem.

Across the Tagus to the Torre de Bélem partially obscured by a swooping gull 

  

Church bell

 

A day for washing clothes...

 

 

 

 Two fishermen – one baiting a hook

View to the 25th April Bridge across the Tagus and Lisbon beyond

 Pontoon chain (above and below) 

Two wonderful fish meals – Praia d'Adraga and Porto Brandão

While exploring the region around Lisbon this week, CRM and niece, Z, enjoyed two wonderful fish meals.

The first was in the Restaurante Maré Viva at Porto Brandão, a short ferry trip from Belém. Here we had a very substantial but very tasty Arroz de tamboril e gambas (monk fish and king prawns cooked in a tomato and wine sauce with rice). As always, a very warm welcome from Antonio Castela and his wife. And, as always, some conversation about football. The restaurant reflects Antonio's dedicated support of Benfica - we are surrounded by banners, flags and photographs. Interestingly, this is a restaurant that is a truly Portuguese family restaurant. As far as we could tell, we were the only non-Portuguese customers.
A visit to the magnificent cloisters in the Monasterio dos Jerónimos and a walk along the Tagus helped build up our appetites. And we managed to slip in for a couple of Pastéis de Bélem before we returned to Lisboa.

The cloisters, Monasterio dos Jerónimos, Belém (CRM)

The second was at Praia d'Adraga, a favourite spot close to Almoçageme on the Atlantic coast just north of Lisbon. This week the breakers were impressive but it didn't stop Z from dipping her toes in the sea!

 Impressive breakers at Praia d'Adraga (CRM)

Not only is Praia d'Adraga an idyllic beach set in a picturesque cove but it also boasts one of the best, if not the best, fish restaurants in the Lisbon area. The fish is always the freshest of fresh, the highest quality and cooked to perfection – simply grilled and brought immediately to the table. Plain boiled potatoes and salad provide the perfect accompaniment, enhancing the delicate fish flavours. This time we started with some amêijoas a Bulao Pato (a wonderful traditional dish – clams with coriander and garlic) then opted for robalo (sea bass). Washed down with a glass of good Alvarinho (2010 Muralhas Vinho Verde), this was a prefect lunch which set us up to explore the nearby World Heritage Site of Sintra.

Sintra Memorial to those who fell in The Great War – spotted in the trees (CRM)

Sintra – a restaurant balcony (CRM)

Lisbon and surroundings: a few scenes

  

Reflections of washing in the Alfama

Small turtles in the jardim da Estrela (above and below)

 

Chaos on the streets of Lisbon!

 Spreading chaos through Lisbon 

Glimpse of the Barro Alto from Graça

 A Beetle in Porto Brandão

Lisbon: recommended restaurants (part two: Maré Viva)

View from the restaurant northwards across the Tagus towards Bélem

Strictly speaking I suppose Porto Brandão isn't part of Lisbon as it is across the Tagus. Whatever we often take the short ferry ride ferry across from Bélem on the northside to Porto Brandão on a Sunday to have lunch at Maré Viva, just a short step from the little ferry terminal and one of a clutch of four restaurants.

We have tried one or two of the others but Maré Viva is certainly better and is always far more popular than the others. The front of the restaurant faces out across the Tagus giving a view of Bélem and, in particular, the jewel-like Torre de Bélem.

Torre de Bélem

Your own mini-barbecue and fondues are among the specialities of these Porto Brandão restaurants – fondues in particular at Maré Viva. I have to say that I have never understood the attraction of cooking your own meal when you go out to a restaurant. If I want to cook I'll stay at home – when I go out to restaurants I want someone to cook for me. So at Maré Viva we prefer to concentrate on the shellfish. Our first course is often clams (Ameijoas a Bulhão Pato – clams cooked in oil and white wine with garlic and chili) as well as prawns with garlic.

For main courses we tend to go for Arroz de Marisco (shellfish rice) or Arroz à Castela (Marisco e Tamboril – shellfish and monkfish). The portions are generous so an Arroz for two should comfortably do three people. Winewise we often choose the Muralhas de Monção, Vinho Verde, which is crisp and fresh and works well with the shellfish.

Muralhas de Moncão – simple, fresh Vinho Verde from Alvarinho and Trajadura

Maré Viva with Antonio Castela, its owner

Around £35 a head as described above.

**

Porto Brandão feels like a little rural village on the river but this is largely illusionary as the thin strip of undeveloped land that runs along the south side of the Tagus is surrounded by the suburbs of Greater Lisbon. Apart from the restaurants the village itself is rather run down as these photos show:

Tiled picture above a front door

A shack on the hillside above the village


Café Vital – may not be as vital as name suggests...