Nattas - traditional Portuguese cuisine
When I initially saw photos of this restaurant, most of them were about sea-food, and I thought this is just another sea-food place, but on going there after being invited, I discovered how wrong I was.
As soon as we entered, it looked like it didn't have much place to sit, but behind the counter is a fairly huge seating area which has a good ambiance too. Before I go ahead, let me tell you that this is an authentic Portuguese diner.
Our server Diogo was really friendly and knowledgeable. He explained the items in detail and told us about their specialties. He himself was from Portugal, and told us how most of their ingredients are sourced from Portugal itself, retaining the traditional taste and character to it.
Before we could order the food, he got us some brown bread and butter which is a traditional Portuguese thing.
We saw 'Octopus' on the menu and wanted some; we were thinking whether to go for the salad or the grilled. He recommended us to try out both since they have different flavors.
The 'Minho' - Octopus salad - had small pieces of Octopus along with red onion, tomato and parsley. It had a bit of a sea-food smell to it, but not something over-powering. This was obviously served cold, and we really loved it.
For starters, we had the shrimp a la guillo which is shelled shrimp in a tangy sauce with olive and garlic. The shrimps were juicy, and we really liked the way it tasted. It was very well presented too.
We then tried the Lagareiro Octopus which is a grilled octopus dish. As opposed to most other places, this particular Octopus had flavor to it, and wasn't slimy or rubbery at all. It was served along with baby potatoes, and spinach which complemented it very well. The pieces in this were huge, and you could make out the tentacles. If you aren't the type who likes to try out something new (considering you haven't had octopus before), this might gross you a bit, but otherwise you'll really love it.
They also had salmon fillet which we wanted to try out. I wanted it well done, whereas my friend wanted it rare, so they made it half-n-half. Both of us were satisfied as soon as we had it. It was served with potato and Parmesan puree, and some asparagus.
One of their specialties is the Ribeye steak; this too we got it made half-n-half. The rare was a bit too rare and felt that it wasn't done right. We sent it back, and yet again the second time, it didn't feel right. The medium-well was pretty good. And oh, it is made with coffee sauce, of which we could get a flavor of initially but faded later on.
Now we moved on to some more traditional meat and ordered the Portugese Peri Peri chicken. The chicken is marinated and served with peri peri sauce, and has a hint of lemon and garlic to it. The portion size was quite big, but could have done with some more sauce. Also, the Portuguese peri peri isn't as spicy as the African one, and we being from the Indian sub-continent didn't find it spicy at all, but tasted good nonetheless.
Last but not the least, we had a pasta - the Nattas Carbonara. It had beef bacon and smoked turkey in it and was made in a creamy egg sauce with Parmesan. The meat in this was certainly great, and the creamy consistency too.
For drinks, we had the classic mojito. It felt alright; wasn't lemony enough for my liking; could just get mostly the minty flavors.
And now we were done; or so we thought. Then I asked him what is the story behind the name of the restaurant. He got us a couple of Nattas. A Natta is a Portugese egg tart pastry with a gooey center, and some cinnamon on it. Even these are made in Portugal using the 200 year old recipe, and sent to UAE where they are freshly baked. You should definitely try these.
They're best had with coffee; we had the espresso, and a machiatto.
They've also got a chocolate milk from Portugal which they gave us to take back home, in a paper bag with a hand-written note saying "With Love from Portugal. Thank You and Enjoy". They have a little bus on all the tables as can be seen in the photo of the Natta above, which is the primary mode of public transport in Portugal since a very long time.
The food was undoubtedly good, but more than that I think it was this service experience, and the hospitality of our server Diogo who was very down to earth and also passionate about his work which made our visit an enjoyable one!
As soon as we entered, it looked like it didn't have much place to sit, but behind the counter is a fairly huge seating area which has a good ambiance too. Before I go ahead, let me tell you that this is an authentic Portuguese diner.
Our server Diogo was really friendly and knowledgeable. He explained the items in detail and told us about their specialties. He himself was from Portugal, and told us how most of their ingredients are sourced from Portugal itself, retaining the traditional taste and character to it.
Before we could order the food, he got us some brown bread and butter which is a traditional Portuguese thing.
We saw 'Octopus' on the menu and wanted some; we were thinking whether to go for the salad or the grilled. He recommended us to try out both since they have different flavors.
The 'Minho' - Octopus salad - had small pieces of Octopus along with red onion, tomato and parsley. It had a bit of a sea-food smell to it, but not something over-powering. This was obviously served cold, and we really loved it.
For starters, we had the shrimp a la guillo which is shelled shrimp in a tangy sauce with olive and garlic. The shrimps were juicy, and we really liked the way it tasted. It was very well presented too.
We then tried the Lagareiro Octopus which is a grilled octopus dish. As opposed to most other places, this particular Octopus had flavor to it, and wasn't slimy or rubbery at all. It was served along with baby potatoes, and spinach which complemented it very well. The pieces in this were huge, and you could make out the tentacles. If you aren't the type who likes to try out something new (considering you haven't had octopus before), this might gross you a bit, but otherwise you'll really love it.
They also had salmon fillet which we wanted to try out. I wanted it well done, whereas my friend wanted it rare, so they made it half-n-half. Both of us were satisfied as soon as we had it. It was served with potato and Parmesan puree, and some asparagus.
One of their specialties is the Ribeye steak; this too we got it made half-n-half. The rare was a bit too rare and felt that it wasn't done right. We sent it back, and yet again the second time, it didn't feel right. The medium-well was pretty good. And oh, it is made with coffee sauce, of which we could get a flavor of initially but faded later on.
Now we moved on to some more traditional meat and ordered the Portugese Peri Peri chicken. The chicken is marinated and served with peri peri sauce, and has a hint of lemon and garlic to it. The portion size was quite big, but could have done with some more sauce. Also, the Portuguese peri peri isn't as spicy as the African one, and we being from the Indian sub-continent didn't find it spicy at all, but tasted good nonetheless.
Last but not the least, we had a pasta - the Nattas Carbonara. It had beef bacon and smoked turkey in it and was made in a creamy egg sauce with Parmesan. The meat in this was certainly great, and the creamy consistency too.
For drinks, we had the classic mojito. It felt alright; wasn't lemony enough for my liking; could just get mostly the minty flavors.
And now we were done; or so we thought. Then I asked him what is the story behind the name of the restaurant. He got us a couple of Nattas. A Natta is a Portugese egg tart pastry with a gooey center, and some cinnamon on it. Even these are made in Portugal using the 200 year old recipe, and sent to UAE where they are freshly baked. You should definitely try these.
They're best had with coffee; we had the espresso, and a machiatto.
They've also got a chocolate milk from Portugal which they gave us to take back home, in a paper bag with a hand-written note saying "With Love from Portugal. Thank You and Enjoy". They have a little bus on all the tables as can be seen in the photo of the Natta above, which is the primary mode of public transport in Portugal since a very long time.
The food was undoubtedly good, but more than that I think it was this service experience, and the hospitality of our server Diogo who was very down to earth and also passionate about his work which made our visit an enjoyable one!
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