I missed 'First to Review' by *this* much. I stumbled on to Oporto as I was in search of tapas. I hadn't yet had a tapas meal in Barcelona and I needed to fix this. I didn't think that my introduction to Spanish tapas (while in Spain) would be at a Portuguese restaurant but such is life. I regret nothing.
When I ate here, there were no reviews, so I was operating solely on what my senses told me. It's crazy that such an activity was common pre-Yelp but I don't know that I spend much time these days eating at places that no one else has vetted. Despite doing the initial greeting in Spanish, my waiter interacted with me in fluent English. I was fine with that. Although I enjoyed flexing my Spanish muscles and practicing my language skills, sometimes you just want things to be easy. He made it easy on me. He also shaded me a bit. I knew I was ordering tapas so I thought I'd go all in and order sangria. He wasn't happy about my order but he went along with it. I was led to believe that sangria was to Spain as apple pie is to the States. I think I was mistaken. A future restaurant experience would cement this for me but for now, I drank sangria... and it was delicious. Red wine, flavored with fruit and served in a large glass -- what's not to like about that? To accompany my wine, I settled on the iberico ham sandwich and the prawns with garlic. The sandwich was delicious. It was an exceedingly simple preparation - ham and delicious bread. When the protein is this flavorful, there's no need for vegetables or condiments. After eating this sandwich, I would forever be done with 100 Montaditos. I had seen the light. Once I had wolfed down my ham, it was time for the prawns. These prawns had been through the Manhattan Project because they were gigantic. Slathered in butter, garlic and piri piri seasoning, the dish is a heaping plate of gigantic sea roaches. They aren't clean/de-veined, so if that bothers your North American sensibilities, be aware. I was taught the finer points of sea roach gorging by a Taiwanese friend, so I am less squeamish about these things than I used to be but I can't say that I didn't pause before pigging out. I was extremely happy with the dish. I was extremely happy with my seal-breaking Spanish tapas meal. I was extremely happy with taking a chance on my dining without having the benefit of Yelp. Travel is an adventure. Take it all in. Lucky for you, however, you have my reviews to guide your way. Get the ham, prawns and sangria. You won't be disappointed. read more