Knowing that I was going to be arriving in Lisbon late on a Friday night, and facing the possibility that it might be a big night out there, it seemed a good idea to have a restaurant reservation in place. Reviewing various Internet resources for a suitable place not so far from the hotel we were using (the subject of another review later), the area of Bairro Alto became an obvious choice. The catch is that the area, which is the sort of quaint drinking and eating area of older Lisbon is up a steep hill and has to reached by either a funicular type tram or lift (both very quaint and part of the Lisbon experience). The restaurant does not have a web presence of its own that is easily locatable, but there are plenty of other references, and a menu in Portuguese. You will need a map or a taxi to locate the place but it is simple once you know where you are and it is not far from the tram.
The name comes from an old boot that is on display, and the place is a mixture of tourist and local trade. I made a reservation over the phone from the UK, some of the staff speak very good English, and are very helpful. The appearance is old world quaint, and tables are tessellated in to get the maximum occupancy of the two rooms of this small establishment.
On the table there are olives bread and cheese, but you have to pay extra for these, and they are not strictly necessary. I chose the sopa alentegana, a typically Portuguese style dish as a first course which was sold to me from the English menu as a garlic soup. According to the Portuguese wikipedia the basic composition of the bread dish is garlic, salt, olive oil, boiling water and sliced bread, however to this mixture are added herbs like cilantro or penny royal and can be serve with fresh fish (baked or fried), cod or egg (poached or boiled). I think mine came with an egg and was more like the Spanish Sopa da Ajo except with the bread in it.
Suffice it to say, this is not for people who want a light meal. The taste was not as garlicky as I might have predicted, and the bread soaked up a lot. However it was hot enough scoring an 8 which is probably as hot as anything is ever going to get in Portugal in a restaurant.
For main course I had Carne de Porco à Alentejana. According to Wikipedia it is one of the most traditional and popular pork dishes of Portuguese cuisine. It is typical from the Alentejo region, in Portugal, hence the word Alentejana (from Alentejo) in its name. It is a combination of pork and clams (not apparent in my version), with potatoes and coriander. Usually pork is marinated for four hours in white wine, paprika, chopped garlic, coriander, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. It is then fried until golden brown at which point clams are added and cooked for an additional two minutes. Traditionally this dish is served with cubed French fries or baked potatoes.
As you can see this is may be not exactly as described and pretty heavy stuff Some reviewers on TripAdvisor have found the traditional food served here to be a bit rough and artisanal. The local cuisine is not known for its finesse. Again this was hot enough scoring an 8 but was heavy and a bit greasy. The vegetable matter was a vinaigrette based cole slaw like accompaniment.Very traditional, and may not for everyone.
I would have no hesitation in recommending this place as a suitable local restaurant for tourist use. The prices were very reasonable, and staff very helpful. I would go there again.
