Rua das Flores, 179 RCH 4050-266 Porto
http://semeabyeuskalduna.pt
On a recent visit to Portugal, we started in the city of Porto. BadStoryTeller and I have been to Lisbon twice before, but we were experiencing Porto for the first time. I wanted a dinner reservation for the night we arrived – a casual Portuguese meal without skipping on taste – and settled on Semea by Euskalduna. This is truly the perfect first dinner to kick off a trip anywhere in Portugal. Semea will introduce you to high quality Portuguese food with a modern take – all while in an informal yet trendy environment. The fresh ingredients are capably prepared – satisfying any Portuguese hipster and non hipster alike.
We started with the paté of the day – in this case a simple (and delicious) butter and goat cheese with honey. We easily had two servings of this spread – filling up on bread was a risk worth taking. Addicting and delicious – especially when there’s plenty of Portuguese wine on offer. The Pork Head and Pickles – a creation by Chef Vasco Coelho Santos – was exceptional, and a solid recipe on the chef’s repertoire. I loved the dish as I’m prone to enjoy gamey, gastro food like this – BadStoryTeller less so. She wasn’t a fan of the Pork Cheek Dumplings we had in Tokyo either – while I was in heaven. The pork head was crispy, fatty, delicious – topped with pickled red onion. (14/17)
The Skate fish was by far the star of the meal. This was one of the recommendations we were given by the waitress, and her enthusiasm when describing it sold me. A properly cooked fillet of skate fish cooked and served with beef broth – juxtaposing the taste of fresh fish with the taste of beef was perfect and new to me. This is a dish I still think about well after – and one I would rush back to try as soon as I return to Porto. (17/17)
Homemade kimchi and “portugueses potato” were also delicious. We thought we couldn’t eat anymore, yet when the chickpeas, pork and clams arrived, what we thought we’d just pick at, turned into eating all of it (15/17). There honestly wasn’t a mediocre dish all night.
Chef Vasco Coelho Santos has another restaurant as well, Euskalduna Studio, which I have yet to dine at but would definitely like to. Semea, the smaller bistro concept as opposed to Euskalduna Studio, is aptly named “Semea” meaning “son” in Basque. These are the restaurants I adore. Not so much the ones where chefs try to impress, but the ones they want to eat at. This is Portuguese food at it’s most authentic – and most delicious.
JorgeEats 