When a €14 Cosmo is Worth It
Unpretentious Fine Dining in Vila Real de Santo Antonio
Last week I shared with you two young VLOGers’ impressions of our little town and I mentioned Denise and I would be having dinner there to celebrate her birthday. Well, we did. Spoiler Alert: it was worth every cent!
Expensive Food vs. Good Food
Restaurants don’t have to be expensive to be good. I wrote before about how to recognize you might be ripped off in a Portuguese restaurant. And. of course, we shared the best lunch we have had so far and our search for the best sangria. Both were absolute bargains! So neither of us goes out of our way to dine at fine dining establishments. But as it was Denise’s birthday and neither of us needs anything … we decided this year her gift would be a “fancy” meal and a trip to Cascais. I thought I might even get blog posts out of both! 😉
A Mixologist & Poiret
Since moving to Portugal Denise and I have started watching Poiret, a BBC series based on Agatha Christie’s novels about the detective Hercule Poiret. It is one of a few English language mystery series that play on Fox Crime on Portuguese TV that we have not already seen. It also features the most stunning Art Deco architecture! I ordered a cosmopolitan because the bar that you pass as you walk to the restaurant could be pulled right out of the series, the VLOGers raved about the mixologist, and I hadn’t had a cosmo since leaving the States. Denise commented that it would likely be €15…she was close, as the receipt below proves.
Couvert & Amuse Bouche
We were given a menu and asked if we had any dietary restrictions. The server explained that we could order ala carte, or the three or five-course menu. Water was also offered as was the couvert. It is customary in Portugual to place bread, cheese, perhaps olives on the table without asking. You should assume you will be charged for these if eaten, so we often ask that they be removed. In this case, the couvert was clearly listed on the menu. Denise order a Rosé and we considered the options.
We choose the couvert, we shared a Ceasar salad, I ordered the goat cheese ravioli as my main, and Denise ordered the pig cheeks with migas1. The covert included two types of bread made in-house (one whole wheat the other from seaweed…I liked the seaweed bread, Denise didn’t), hummus, two kinds of butter, and Tuna Muxama2.
The service throughout our entire meal was first-rate. We never felt rushed…or ignored. No one seemed to be lingering over our table, but our water glasses were refilled when empty. After our salad (which was of ample size, but a bit overdressed) we received an amuse bouche…Denise’s was white fish and mine was zucchini.
Unpretentious Service
When the entrees were served Denise could not stop raving about her meal! Of course, I didn’t try it but I did notice that she never had to use her knife. Throughout the meal, we were both impressed not only by the quality of the food but also by the service!
During my corporate days, I had the opportunity to participate in many dinners at fancy-pants restaurants. I recall one dinner during which the server insisted on telling me in what order I should eat the appetizer I had ordered. “May I suggest that you start on the right with the…” I wanted to reply, “No, I would rather you not!” The sommelier wanted to share his encyclopedic knowledge of the grapes, the climate, the dirt, etc. and seemed oblivious to the fact that none of us were listening.
Instead, our dinner at Grand House was a wonderful treat. One that I expect we will enjoy again and again. And if the number of diners in the restaurant is any indication, others agree. And while we did not order dessert, we were offered sweet treats at the end of the meal. (And they didn’t even know I was writing this post.)
Next Week: big changes in the Portuguese rental market and Henrique Galvão was a really interesting guy.
A “peasant dish” of bread and whatever you have leftover.
We happened to be at the Mercado one day and bumped into a chef in the fish market. He purchased a couple of blocks of this stuff and we asked what it was. He explained that it was salted tuna and customarily used as an appetizer. We love the stuff and will likely tell you all about it in a future post.
Yes, I would go here...first, because you did and I can imagine the experience so clearly. Second, because this type of unintrusive service is ideal. And I disliked the vloggers' story because it was pretentious, slighy so, but I'm so weary of them. I would travel to VRSA for a couple days and dine here. Thanks for another pleasure trip.
I don't know if I would ever be comfortable at an expensive restaurant. (I have made a habit of checking out the menu price of the Super Bock/Sagres thanks to your tip.) It's time to start spending my nest egg before it rots, but after so many years of watching pennies and many hours comparing prices, it's a hard habit to break. That said, who can resist an amuse-bouche and why when I hear that term do I imagine a dinner companion holding their hand up to their face to cover a small giggle?