I’m happy my friend Shirley and I found tapas bar Da Prata 52 early in our stay as we went back twice! There was an excellent choice between fish and meat, twists on traditional Portuguese specialities and, last but not least, a good choice for my vegetarian fellow traveller. It’s run by two super friendly and very hardworking men. We climbed precariously onto some very high stools and sat at the bar waiting for a table and what better to do than watch the creation of amazing cocktails lovingly bespoke to our preference. I opted for a Caiparihna, and my friend had a specially designed Mojito. There was a limited but excellent choice of local Alentejano wine on offer, I tried the two reds, one fruity and one less so and oakey, and what looked like a good selection of artisan beers. The recommendation was two dishes each, the Portuguese concept is called petiscos, similar to tapas and the sharing food concept was lovingly explained. A mere two dishes made choosing from the menu very tough, needless to say the two dish rule had to be broken.
Nothing disappointed; oxtail pastry served with squash mash turned out to be light crispy samosas in contrast to what I anticipated, given this strong flavoured meat is often paired with a substantial pastry, and the crunchy filo worked a treat.
Cod ceviche delicately seasoned with mustard served on polenta, a large chunk of perfectly cooked cod served with beetroot risotto.
Large succulent wedges of roasted fennel, aubergine and squash on squash mash, topped with hazelnuts.
The vegetarian dumplings with Asian style dipping sauce were so delicious my friend had them both nights, Jerusalem artichokes topped with fresh coriander and toasted sesame came with a dedicated sauce.
I had unctuous pork cheeks cooked to meltdown, incumbent with perfect mash. My octopus was perfection, first boiled then sautéed, served with potatoes, onions and pea puree. My friend adores peas and they were so kind as to give her a small dish of puree along with her vegetarian selection both visits, if you don’t ask you don’t get and these guys are really out to please!
