Restaurant - Carvoaria Jacto

Loin

Fellow meat lovers, I am happy to announce that there is a place... a place that will change your life, it is called Carvoaria Jacto.

I went there yesterday with some friends and it was excellent...  everything, the quality of the food, the service, price, variety, its big and there is a smokers room! The only thing I could point out as not good is the location, but it is a small price to pay.

I tried the vazia(sirloin), lombo(loin) and posta mirandesa(rump from Miranda), although everything was very good, for me the vazia was the best and it was the cheapest of the three!
You can also eat fish but this place is definitely specialized in grilled meat, very similar to Grill 20(there is also a salad buffet with mayo souces, several meat types and sizes) but better and cheaper.
On the quality/price/quantity it is even better than Tachadas!

The house wine was good(can't remember the name) and they have a great wine collection, you can even get a Barca Velha... if you have 400 euros to spare :P

Sirloin

As you may know I don't usually eat dessert, but I tried some of my friends and I must say they were very good, specially the "Best chocolate cake in Ribatejo".

So, if you come to Lisbon, this place is mandatory, go there and thank me later, bon apetit!

Posta mirandesa

Misc:
Average price: 10 ~ 20 Euros
Smokers: on a smaller room
Multibanco/Visa: Yes
Closed at Sunday

Pros:
- Excellent meat, salad buffet
- Good for large groups
- Central, Subway near
- Excellent quality/price ratio

Cons:
- Not very good neighbourhood
- No near places for a drink afterwards

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Rua Maria Andrade 6 B | Alfama & Graça | +351218147555
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 22:00

Restaurant - Dervixe

This is the first time I went to a turkish restaurant, and I must say I liked it, the food, the decoration and the service. The closest thing I tried was the famous middle eastern Joshuas Shoarma fast food franchise, obviously limited in variety and quality.

The first thing I thought when looking at the menu was "I must try everything!", and you almost can because they serve tasting dishes, with different types of food. I can't really remember the names but I liked everything, except the french fries, but then again they are not a traditional turkish food...

As you may know, in the turkish culture they smoke the famous Nargile, which you can try(for 10 Euros), and are not really fond of alcoholic beverage, so you can't order wine or beer, the good news is that they allow you to bring your own.

The owner/waiter was very nice and attentive, but that day were few customers, I don't know how it is on a busy day. The decoration is very pleasing and on the 1st floor you have some nice sofas where you can have a nice relaxed meal and socialize with your friends.

I must definitely go there again!

Misc:
Average price: ~12 Euros
Multibanco/Visa: Yes
Smokers: Outside
Closes at: Monday

Pros:
- Nice price/quality ratio
- Good for groups and couples
- Lots of variety

Cons:
- No near subway
- No alcoholic drinks, but you can bring your own

- Location is not very interesting

More info:

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Restaurant - Esquina da Fé

Like I said before, there are some nice and cheap tascos in hidden roads. This is one of them, located near Restauradores, with a great variety of dishes to choose from and a traditional decoration.

Mr. Meireles will be your waiter, a friendly guy, don't forget to order some nice Croquetes for starters.
Take my advice and try the Polvo à Lagareiro(octopus with potatoes and pepper) or the Cabrito à Padeiro(Roasted Goat). The house wine is not too bad, but if you want something better but no too expensive you have always have the Quinta de Cabriz wine or the JP(most restaurants have them).

For dessert, unfortunately I can't really help much because I don't usually eat them, but they have some traditional desserts, give them a try and post on the comments!


Misc:
Average price: ~11 Euros
Multibanco/Visa: Yes
Smokers: No
Closes at: Sunday

Pros:
- Good price/quality ratio
- Good for groups
- Lots of variety
- Traditional portuguese dishes

Cons:
- Difficult parking
- Not a very good neighbour


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Restaurant - DAO

Moar sushi! That's right, my first post about a Japanese restaurant.

Before we had just a few Japanese restaurants in Lisbon, all very expensive with the typical minimalistic nippon decor, and the Hatori Hanzo looking chef. I've tried a few and I liked, not a huge fan but it was a good experience, the only problem was that they were too expensive(over 20 €) for me to go back more often.

Some years ago sushi restaurants start popping everywhere like mushrooms, but this time in a buffet style(all you can eat) and with prices under 16 €! Hurray... not so fast, it turned out that they were chinese restaurants making japanese food(at least most that I tried were), wait what? That's right, and it makes sense, chinese people love to copy your fancy stuff and make it cheaper. The drawback of course is a decrease in quality, and this was confirmed by my experiences. Hope was lost...

Then while ago a friend of mine invited me for a dinner with some friends, and as she told me about this great sushi place, cheap and near Martim Moniz, I thought, oh well another crappy sushi wannabe...

I was surprised! It was very better than all the others, cheaper (~10 €) and It was "à la carte" instead of the usual buffet, for those who are not familiar with the terms, it means you just point at the list and the waiter brings whatever you want instead of having to get up and pick the food from the buffet trays.

They have a wide variety of dishes, sushi, teriyaki, etc. (and sake!) everything you'd expect from a japanese restaurant, plus some other stuff I never tried before, all good, and the famous cantonese dim sum, nham!
I don't think the owners are japanese nor chinese, maybe somewhere in south asia.

The only problem is the service, they try to be very nice, but just mess up your orders, specially if the place is full, they forget stuff, bring you things you did not order, but as I am not picky I just eat them all. Maybe with practice they will get better...



Misc:
Average price: ~13 Euros
Multibanco/Visa: Yes
Smokers: No
Closes at: ???

Pros:
- Excellent price/quality ratio
- Good for groups
- Lots of variety
- "à la carte"

Cons:
- Service messes up your orders

- Not a very good neighbour

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Polvo à Lagareiro - Homemade

Polvo à Lagareiro(roasted octopus) it's a traditional portuguese recipe, it's easy to make and fast preparation. Below is my latest attempt and I must say it was quite tasteful.
You can get frozen octopus in almost all supermarkets, but sometimes they inject so much water in it that shrinks a lot when cooked, this time I tried "Pingo Doce" supermarket and I was very please with the size and flavour.

Ingredients:
- For 3 meals, ~15 Euros
- 1 red pepper(the vegetable, not the spice)
- Garlic
- 1 Kg frozen octopus
- Small potatoes(the dark red ones for roasting)
- Olive oil
- Spices: black pepper(pt: pimenta preta), salt, bay leaf(pt: louro).

Preparation:
Pre heat the oven to ~200º C.
Defrost the octopus in hot water.
Cover the bottom of a large oven tray with olive oil and put 2 bay leafs, the smashed garlics, the octopus(cut the legs from the head), the potatoes and the sliced red pepper, spray with salt and black pepper.
Put in the oven for ~1 Hour, around 30 minutes check to see if the octopus released too much water, if so, remove almost all and put a bit more olive oil.
Poke the octopus and the potatoes with a fork to see if they are tender, serve with Broa(a traditional portuguese corn bread) and voilá! Bon apetit!

The wine:
You can go with the white or red wine, try the "Encosta de Pias" red for ~2 Euros, it's a simple wine with a good quality/price ratio. If you prefer the white wine go for the "Loios" for ~3 Euros.

Restaurant - Mestiço

The Kretcheu association has tried to establish itself in Lisbon several times, from what I know. They want to give this city a place that promotes the culture of Cape Verde, their music, dance, art and food.

The latest attempt is a restaurant, that may also serve for music concerts, workshops and art exhibits. I have been there 2 times and I liked it, the food, ambience and service was good, and it is cheap!

The manager(I think) is Aires Silva, a friendly guy that is also an African dances teacher, if you are interested give him a call.

Its a good place to make group dinners, and it is also very cosy, nice place to take your date. On weekends night sometimes they have live African music.

I have tried the Cachupa, Moamba and the Caldo de Peixe, all good, normal doses around 6 Euros. At the end ask for the Grog(strong sugar cane firewater) or the Ponche(less strong but sweet), traditional drinks from Cape Verde.

Its near the Terreiro do Paço subway station, and parking should not be difficult, afterwards you can go to Bacalhoeiro for a drink with your friends.



Misc:
Average price: ~9 Euros
Multibanco/Visa: No
Smokers: No
Closes at: Open every day

Pros:
- Good ambience and service
- Good for groups and dates
- Live African music
- Very good quality/price ratio

Cons:
- Nothing to point out



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Restaurant - Cantina Baldracca

If you like Italian pastas, then you should try Cantina Baldracca, very good price/quality ratio, good ambience and well served. They also serve steaks with special sauces but you have better places for that.

The pastas... nham! Farfalle, Spaghetti , Penne amongst others and lots of sauces and ingredients, you can make your own or just pick one off the menu, and what better to go with that than a nice Sangria :)

Good for groups, and also for a date, but gets a bit noisy when full. In the summer is too hot, they should get an air conditioner... The service is good and you can have a nice dinner with drinks for under 10 Euros, probably one of the cheapest restaurants with Italian pastas in Lisbon.

Photo from IMatLX

Misc:
Average price: ~9 Euros
Multibanco/Visa: No
Smokers: No
Closes at: Sunday

Pros:
- Good ambience and service

- Good for groups and dates
- Lots of pastas, sauces and ingredients
- Very good quality/price ratio

Photo from IMatLX

Cons:
- Difficult parking
- No near places for a drink afterwards
- In the summer is too hot inside

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