The way you DO want your dinner to go while in the Porto area - 2 of 2
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I had already picked out the restaurant for this dinner, the scruffy and crowded O Triunfante 2 that I remember being near the Campo 24 de Agosto Metro station. It had closed. I then walked over to O Campo, since it looked like the same formula, but they didn't take plastic. On the street, I spotted one of those food delivery guys on a Vespa. He was from Venezuela, so I was able to more easily get some insights from him.
I walked a ways further and arrived at Madureira's. I went in and explained that I wanted to use the restroom before settling in. The apparent owner or manager told me where to go - I mean actual directions to the restroom! After coming back into the dining room, I was seated and, while one waiter was the principal one, there were two of them helping out. They, too, had the standard white shirts and black slacks. And, much like the owner, they were patient and detailed as I tried to decide what I wanted, providing good explanations.
Madureira's is a medium-sized locale, with a woodsy interior. They were busy. It is a popular eatery and many customers are locals.
They had a lot of fish options, but I wanted meat or chicken. They had this small cut of beef presented with potatoes on top of it. When it arrived, it was fairly pink and I was worried. There was nothing to worry about. It was very easy to work with and it was delicious. I asked him about the color and if it could be cooked in other ways - for future reference. We arrived at the verbiage "mais cocido/a." I usually order meat medium-well.
I was in a good mood owing to this pleasant experience. I thus summoned some opinions for dessert and settled on a slice of chocolate cake that incorporated Nutella. I devoured it. It was excellent.
It goes without saying that the service at Madureira's was very good across the board. I asked for the bill and the P.O.S. (point of sale) arrived. When the credit card was tapped on top of it, I looked at the display screen and it ran in Euro. It didn't even require that I push any buttons.
There is a lot to try here, as is the case at so many good traditional Portuguese restaurants. I would return. It's about a 5 minute walk from the Campo 24 de Agosto Metro station, heading east of the central Trindade hub toward the main train station at Campanha. read more