Dinner - Friday, October 3, 2014
By and large, the food we ate in Lisbon was cheap, but not particularly great. For example, a meal at the lauded
Cervejaria Ramiro was only ~120 Euros (for 5!) and certainly better than anything we might get in San Diego, but it paled in comparison to seafood spots in Barcelona (is this just a cultural preference on our part?)
Our luck improved on our last night, with dinner at the fancifully decorated Restaurante Assinatura. I happened across it as a one-time mention on Chowhound, and it is evidently not on the Michelin Man's radar - too bad for them. Melodramatic waiter aside (and he was charming in his own peculiar way), this was a very enjoyable dinner.
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| Pork crackling, crab salad |
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Local oysters
Iberian pork cream, Aveiro seaweed |
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| Grilled boleta, braised chard, nasturtium |
Foraged porcini, expertly grilled, was pleasantly smoky. The chard was cooked to the point of melting - delicious. The raw slices were puzzling - I can probably count the number of times I have enjoyed raw mushrooms on one hand.
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| Black pudding, pear, onion |
A
serious hunk of black pudding was beautifully charred and caramelized on the exterior, yet soft on the inside - like a savory, mineral canelé. The pickled onion and sweet pear were essential to stave off palate fatigue.
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Atlantic snapper
Massa souvada, parsnip, peperoncini |
Given the curl of the snapper, I was worried that it was grossly overcooked when it arrived. No need to worry - it was excellent. An interesting accompaniment was the toasted batons of
massa souvada - egg and potato bread with cinnamon. The small amount of spice worked surprisingly well with the white fish.
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Grilled Iberian pork shoulder and its jus
Charred leek puree, honey-glazed pears, rosemary |
Damn, this was good. Compositionally, not particularly creative, but the pork was downright
fantastic. Based on the meat alone, this was one of the best pieces of pork I have ever had - it caught everyone at the table completely unawares. Thickness, temperature, texture, flavour - everything was just right (down to the creamy fatcap).
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| Smoked goat cheese, persimmon |
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| Peach sorbet, poached peach, almond ganache |
At 8pm on a Friday evening, we were the first customers of the night. By the time we left at 11pm, I counted 4 seated tables. I
hope this was an unusual day - this restaurant deserves better. The Portuguese dining scene may not be as evolved as its next-door neighbour's, but Assinatura would be a good pick in any city.
Assinatura
Rua do Vale Pereiro 19
1250-270 Lisboa
Portugal
Phone: +351 (21) 386-7696
