Go for the grilled flavor and friendly staff and try to ignore the forgetful service.
€ – €€
Rua da Esperança, 156
Madragoa
21 800 6491,
Mon, Wed, Thu, 19h – 00h; Fri – Sat, 12h30 – 00h; Sun, 12h – 00h; Tue, closed
If you’re in the mood to try a smattering of petiscos at a fair price, this is the place for you…if you’re not in a hurry. Atlas sat down at the patio area outside to enjoy the night air with a glass of vinho verde and a few nibbles. We went for the bochechas (pork cheeks) and the octopus salad with a side of grilled veggies. The veggies were priced strangely high, but when they came we understood why: its a vegetarian’s dream platter of delicious fresh courgettes, eggplants, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and carrots grilled to perfection and served lovingly with the perfect amount of olive oil on top. The bochechas were fantastic as well, although the three attempts to get some bread to mop up the sauce were forgotten until it was time for coffee. The polvo looked good, but we can’t attest to the taste as it was never served. We figured we’d just let it go, considering the time it took to order and get the bread basket. The bill took two asks, four international gestures, and 30 minutes to arrive. They were nice enough to take the polvo off the bill once we told them it never came, and to compensate, they offered us a complimentary dessert at their sister restaurant, the Madragoa Café. That mostly made up for the string of oopsies — maybe it was just one of those bad nights. It could have been worse had we needed to be somewhere.
