We drove back to Lisbon area, a bit outside the city, for dinner at O Pastus. We had a lot of luck last year with really fantastic Bib Gourmand restaurants, which is the rating just under a Michelin star.
This place was very small, maybe 6-8 tables, and there were only 3 people working there as far as I saw. The young woman is the owner and server, it was her husbands dream to open this restaurant, they opened it together, and he died of a heart attack last winter. Very sad, and we felt good about supporting this restaurant.
The pre set menu with wine pairings is about $120 which is a steal in US prices. We opted to try everything and we were the first table in the restaurant at 7:30pm.
The bread and butter came with an asparagus cream in that bowl. It was very very light and airy and delicious, that bowl was emptied very quickly. The wine pairing was a sparkling wine, all wines were from Portugal. There are a lot of grapes in Portugal and most are not common in the US so it’s hard to keep track of what’s what.
The sparkling wine was paired with the first course which consisted of fresh oysters, oxtail on the cracker, and the leek wrapped in bacon. All three were tasty, the oysters were bigger and meatier than any I have had before. The leek was my favorite but whether or not that’s because it is wrapped in bacon, I cannot say.
Next we had the tiniest piece of eel ever. The flavors were great, the sauce underneath was so good I definitely used that bread to sop it up. I have never had eel outside of sushi before but this was very good and I just wish there was more of it.
A vino verde rosé sounds like an oxymoron but Vinho Verde is actually referencing the region rather than the grape, and it means the grapes are picked young. So this was a tart rosé from the north of Portugal that paired with the course of asparagus and mushroom and sun dried tomato pesto. I think this was the course when I started worrying that we might be hungry after dinner. Lots of little bites is fun, but you want to be full at the end. Although simple, this might have been my favorite course. I’m really into vegetables these days!
The fish course stayed with the rosé pairing. The sauce was flavorful, the fish itself was a little plain. I was glad we had some flaky salt on the table. Peas are not my favorite but they were good in the sauce. Although the portion was still small, I didn’t necessarily want more of this one.
Now for a red wine and steak! Again, small portion. The wine was good, the steak was cooked perfectly, the beans were crunchy, everything was yummy, just wish there was more.
The first “dessert” was more of a palate cleanser. This is avocado ice cream with a tahini drizzle on top. I am very into savory ice creams and I try to convince the chef at work to make one for each wine dinner. This one might be it for next time!
A lightly sweet dessert wine to pair with a wonderful chocolate ice cream/cardamom situation. I liked that it wasn’t a heavy ending to the meal, it was more of a mousse because it was at the perfect ice cream/gelato temperature.
Overall, a very good meal. I would say 7/10 stars. Everything tasted good but there was a lack of value with the small portions. Also, the woman running the restaurant was waiting on all 6 tables so there was very little interaction. She was very nice and I couldnt help but think it’s amazing that she is still running that restaurant.
We enjoyed our last night of vacation, a perfect ending to a great trip.
