This was another place I absolutely loved getting food from, and kinda wish I'd gone back a second time during the few days I was in Porto on vacation in January. Well, technically I didn't stay in Porto, I stayed in Vila Nova de Gaia, intentionally so I would be closest walking distance to all the nearby port tasting rooms. The downside of this was that there weren't a lot of great *restaurants*, a solid majority looked overpriced and touristy, especially the ones right on the Duoro... except this place, for some reason, which felt *super* local, and had extremely reasonable prices and excellent food. Super great, friendly service start to finish, and super satisfying food, quality and quantity.
I had their made-in-house seafood pate as an appetizer - absolutely wonderful. Then the bifinhos de frango entree, which sounds very simple, being rice and chicken with melted cheese and a fried egg, with potato chips, but was absolutely more than the sum of its parts. A perfectly over-medium fried egg, great juicy chicken strips, rich, cheesy, just pure comfort food, and some of the best potato chips I've had - thick-cut and clearly made fresh, they reminded me in a way that standard, store-bought chips don't, that potato chips are *actually* made from potatoes. Without hot sauce, imo it would have needed hot sauce - I asked for hot sauce and it was already in the waiter's hand, lol. Great craft local hot sauce, too, exactly what it needed (if you like things spicy.) Reminded me of a craft version of Del Taco sauce. Strongly recommended - would've loved to try more of their entrees (I probably would've just kept getting the seafood pate for an appetizer, though. It was really good.)
Also loved the selection of drinks, and how reasonably priced they were - even if I was sad that "martini" means something totally different in Portugal. They do not, in fact, sell 3 euro martinis in the American sense - just 3 euro glasses of vermouth, or vermouth added to beer, a seemingly uniquely Portuguese thing that actually works really well. I had one (great), as well as a glass of the house white with my entree (also great), and a great grappa for "dessert" as a digestivo (another thing I love about food culture in Portugal. It is a great way to end a meal, for sure.) read more