Café Lisboa

Appetizers

Bacalau a Bras

Lisbon, Portugal

I was very excited to go to a Jose Avillez restaurant in Lisbon as I wasn't able to before due to being on a tight student budget when studying abroad there. Known as one of the premier new Portuguese chefs with some experimentation in molecular gastronomy, this was my first stop in terms of food when I arrived in Lisbon. The café is more reasonably priced that some of his other restaurants in the city yet the décor still felt very upscale. We ordered from left to right the octopus tartar, the portuguesinha, and the pastel. The octopus tartar was stunningly fresh and the portuguesinha has a rich and smoky taste that I thoroughly enjoyed. The pastel though was a bit of a disappointment as it had very little filling but the shell was very crispy and had great texture. For the entrée I got bacalhau a bras which is a traditional Portuguese dish with shredded potato hash, shredded cod fish, eggs, and olives. The version at Café Lisboa was much wetter and thicker than I remembered (almost a porridge consistency) but it was packed with flavor and the olives were what the menu described as "exploding". They looked like olives but upon closer inspection were actually some sort of jelly encasing a liquid that had the flavor of the olive burst out when one chewed it with the rest of the dish. Different to say the least! Overall, the vinho verde (very fresh not aged wine popular in Portugal) also paired well with everything.

Baixo Chiado

Largo de São Carlos 23, 1200-026 Lisboa, Portugal

Monday-Sunday: 12pm-12am

+351 21 191 4498