I'm gearing up for a short holiday in Northern Spain and Portugal, and so my mind turns to a memorable couple of meals in Lisbon, at the Casa do Alentejo. As a South African, I had a particular idea of Portuguese cooking, based on the dishes brought here by immigrants. The prego steak roll and peri peri chicken livers came to mind immediately (well, actually Nando's did, but that's not really fair to Portuguese cooking). The warming and hearty food and robust flavours, were certainly part of the Casa do Alentejo menu, but I had forgotten the influence of the Atlantic and of the sailors. Seafood and especially
Bacalhau (salt cod, prepared in any one of hundreds of ways) is a staple.
But before I get to the food, I must start with the building. It's built in the style of a moorish palace, with an interior courtyard, tiled liked the inside of a Moroccan riyad. And like a riyad, you would never imagine from the outside the beauty and grandeur within. The Casa do Alentejo is a cultural centre for people from the Alentejo region, but go up the stairs and you can choose to eat in one of a series of rooms - ranging from the splendid but slightly faded ball room, through a few other more intimate (but equally beautifully decorated) dining rooms, to the "pub" (probably not what it's called in Portuguese, but the best description for the place where you eat tapas-style snacks at the bar). You could go back a few times, just for the pleasure of dining in the different atmospheres, and there's plenty of variety on the menu to allow for a return visit. Apparently the building as we see it today is less than 100 years old and the different rooms were created for a casino, but it's so beautifully done that this really doesn't matter (unless you're an absolute stickler for authenticity, in which case: sorry for spoiling it for you).
Bacalhau (salt cod, prepared in any one of hundreds of ways) is a staple.
But before I get to the food, I must start with the building. It's built in the style of a moorish palace, with an interior courtyard, tiled liked the inside of a Moroccan riyad. And like a riyad, you would never imagine from the outside the beauty and grandeur within. The Casa do Alentejo is a cultural centre for people from the Alentejo region, but go up the stairs and you can choose to eat in one of a series of rooms - ranging from the splendid but slightly faded ball room, through a few other more intimate (but equally beautifully decorated) dining rooms, to the "pub" (probably not what it's called in Portuguese, but the best description for the place where you eat tapas-style snacks at the bar). You could go back a few times, just for the pleasure of dining in the different atmospheres, and there's plenty of variety on the menu to allow for a return visit. Apparently the building as we see it today is less than 100 years old and the different rooms were created for a casino, but it's so beautifully done that this really doesn't matter (unless you're an absolute stickler for authenticity, in which case: sorry for spoiling it for you).
The menu showcases Alentejo cooking, including a pork and clam stew, the inevitable bacalhau, sausages, calamari, cheeses, olives and bread (with Alentejo wine by the carafe).
Well worth a try when you are in Lisbon.
Well worth a try when you are in Lisbon.
Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, 58, 1150-069, Close to Av. Liberdade, Lisbon Tel 213405140
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