CombatCritic's TravelValue™

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Lisbon, Portugal: A Delicious Taste of Paris In Historical Belém

Comptoir Parisien (French, Portuguese)

Rua Vieira Portuense, 44

Belém, Lisboa

Call: +351 213 638 279 or +351 911 045 754

Website: Comptoir Parisien.com

Prices: €€€€

If visiting Belém for the 'original' pastel de nata at the historic Pastéis de Belém, a visit to the beautiful Jerónimos Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos), the nearby Padrão dos Descobrimentos monument, or the famous Belém Tower (Torre de Belém), both a national monument and World Heritage (UNESCO) site, the nearby Comptoir Parisien will make a great spot for lunch or dinner.

PROS

Seated and fed us at 15:30, having closed at 15:00, on Christmas Eve ... HOOAH!
Plenty of outdoor seating, which came in handy considering that Portugal implemented a requirement, just days before, for a negative COVID test result to eat inside restaurants over the Christmas and New Year holidays
The French Onion Soup (€6) was the best I have ever had in the US, France, you name it
My Sausage and Lentils (€15) was excellent and TOO BIGGA EAT ... MAMA MIA!
The sauces on the steaks au poivre and roquefort (€16 each) were both very tasty
The service was friendly, with one exception (below), and professional ... MERCI BEAUCOUP!
The prices were very fair for the portions and quality of the food

CONS

We were greeted, and I use that term very loosely, by a nasty little man at the entrance to the restaurant whom was trying to get rid of us so he could go home. Fortunately, the owner came along before we could leave and told him to serve us
The medium-well steaks we ordered arrived medium-rare despite my wife and son indicating 'no blood please'

CombatCritic Gives Restaurante Comptoir Parisien 8 BOMBS OUT OF 10 ... I Will Be Back The Next Time In Lisbon ... More Bombs Are Better!

Eight Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "What-The-Fuck ... Over!"

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Olhão, Portugal: No Bull, El Torito Is Not Bad, But Overpriced ... Ay Caramba!

El Torito

Avenida 5 de Outubro 156

8700-304 Olhão, Portugal

Phone: 289 704 343

GrupoSabores.pt/ElTorito

€€€€ Mexican restaurant

Not bad. I was expecting much worse because I have seen few Mexican restaurants outside the American Southwest with authentic Mexican food. This barely approximates 'authentic', but I will not judge them by rigorous US standards.

The chips and salsa €2.95 appeared without being told we would be charged for them, but they also appeared house-made and were pretty darn good. I was expecting Doritos and the over-sweet El Paso salsa you can buy in stores here, so it was a decent start.

As abundant as avocados are in the Algarve, I wanted to try their Guacamole €3.50 and it was passable with diced onions and tomatoes, but no cilantro that I could taste and not enough garlic or salt. We also ordered the Rolled Tacos €4.50, deep fried flour tortillas filled with beef and topped with a creamy sweet sauce that I could have done without ... MEH!

My wife loved her Cheese Quesadilla €6.95 because it was stuffed with melted cheese, but how can you screw up a cheese quesadilla, right? I had the Tacos Chipotle €14, quite pricey for three small tacos filled with what seemed like stewed beef, not steak as I was told, cheese, which I could not find, and chipotle sauce, accompanied by a heap of pico de gallo and a smattering of Spanish rice and a tablespoonful of refried beans.

The Margaritas €5 tasted quite good, but I could not taste any tequila or other spirits and the buzz was MIA. For another €2, I could have gotten a pitcher, so, do that, it is a much better deal for their virgin margaritas.

CombatCritic Generously Gives El Torito 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

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Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Moncarpacho, Olhão, Portugal: Antonio, Antonio, Wherefore Art Thou Antonio

Restaurante Antonio

Avenida Lizarda Palermo,124

8700-081 Olhão, Portugal

+351 939 163 759

Website: Restaurante-Antonio (English)

Prices: €€€€

Many people I know had been raving about Restaurante Antonio, a 15 minute drive from our home in tiny Moncarpacho: 'they just remodeled and it is gorgeous'; 'the menu is so eclectic'; 'the food is wonderful'; 'I love Antonio and their patio is so nice'; etcetera; etcetera; etcetera, so we decided to give them a try.

When we arrived for our reservation, I was a bit surprised that the patio I heard was so nice took up half of the sidewalk and several parking spots on the avenida. Yes, it is tastefully done, a nice wooden structure with lighting and a cover, but cars, vans and trucks pass by on the street just inches from diners. Not very romantic.

We started with the obligatory couvert (cover), including bread, butter, and olives (€3.10) as well as the homemade cheese (€2) and a bottle of their house red, Penedo Gordo Tinto €9. Good start!

For our starters, my wife had the Goat Cheese with Honey and Walnuts (€6.25) and I ordered the Vegetarian Samosas (€4.75) so we could share. My wife enjoyed the goat cheese, which was tastefully presented, but I had one bite and decided the cheese was too pungent for me. The samosas were a bit greasy, lacking taste, and came with no dipping sauce. They were both gone in three bites ... chomp, chomp, chomp.

For entrees, we had the Mushroom Pie (€9.50) and the Filet Steak with Mushroom Sauce (€19.50). The 'mushroom' pie looked nice enough, but when my wife cut into it, there was nary a mushroom to be found ... ZERO mushrooms! I cut into my medium-well filet, having explained that 'pink in the middle and no blood in the sauce' was the goal, but it was NOT at all medium-well, but closer to medium rare, so I sent it back. We also asked why the mushroom pie had no mushrooms and the server, who was very nice and did a wonderful job by the way, told us that it was actually a vegetable pie and that she had not noticed the English translation error. When my steak came back, the same piece of meat, apparently washed off and cooked a bit longer, was still pretty red when I cut into it, but the rest of the steak was now overcooked, completely grey inside. Se la vie.

We shared a Lemon Tart (€3.75) for dessert, probably the best tasting course we had as well as a decent value.

In all, I have to say that we were a bit disappointed. Maybe it was because of all the hype, maybe my expectations were too high, an impossible bar to reach. The ambience was lacking, the food nothing stellar, the prices quite high when taste and portion size were taken into account, and the 'mushroom' pie and 'medium-well' filet left a bad taste in our mouths. At €60.35 ($70.45), I have to say that we have had better meals within walking distance from our home for half the price, so Antonio was not a great TravelValue in my opinion.