Walking down narrow cobbled streets in the walled city of Evora you come across this unassuming tiny bistro that serves an authentic Portuguese menu with a maximum capacity of just ten people.
Upon entering we were warmly welcomed by our host for the evening who seated us while also introducing himself as Miguel.
Within a minute our drinks were Infront of us with appetisers arriving mere seconds later, as I don’t drink I decided to go with still spring water while Kelly went with one of the house speciality wines which in her words was one of the best wines she has ever had the pleasure of tasting, I’d have to take word for it.
The appetiser was a dry cured ham with cheese and sweet chilli tomato sauce, the flavour was beautiful from such a simple dish. It wasn’t long before everything was all gone save for the final piece of ham with two pairs of eyes trying to decide who with get it first, being ever the gentleman I offered it to my love.
The ever attentive Miguel cleared the table within half a minute with a never faltering smile on his face and spring in his step, this lovely gent really seems to enjoy every moment of his work.
Then the main arrived, lamb cutlets for Kelly and medium rare steak for myself. I couldn’t say how Kelly’s tasted on the whole but every time I looked her eyes were closed as she savoured every last moment of the meal. When asking her she just repeated that it was one of, if not the best she had ever tasted.
Mine was cooked to absolute perfection, to my personal request, a perfect medium rare steak with the meat simply melting in the mouth. Having studied food and cooking for a few years I’m almost ashamed to say I have absolutely no idea what the chef did to make these meals so well, I wish I could bottle that skill as it’s obvious a lifetime of trial and error has gone into perfecting an art. Now that chef is a true savant.
For dessert we shared a cheesecake (I requested one and Miguel with his intuition brought out two sporks so I immediately lost a third). A well made and tasty plain cheesecake, simple and sublime.
Now food of this quality doesn’t come cheap and we braced ourselves but after spending plenty of time in London we were happy to see a bill of €88. Obviously I won’t say it was cheap, but for the outstanding quality of service, drink, and food we saw it as almost a bargain. The only downsides were that we now had to cook ourselves for the next few nights and unfortunately we were leaving Evora so will be unable to eat there for several years if not never again which is truly upsetting.
Thank you Miguel and kitchen staff for making such a wonderful meal and magical evening.
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