Casa Portuguesa

Casa Portuguesa Restaurant Review:

Mexico City’s only Portuguese restaurant is above all an exceptionally pleasant place to eat, with outdoor seating at sidewalk tables overlooking verdant Lincoln Park, and indoor seating in a well-lit dining room decorated with colorful murals and the blue and white tile typical of Portugal. The kitchen offers meticulously prepared renditions of that country’s cuisine. Among the best appetizers are bolinhos de bacalhau (crispy-fried codfish-and-potato croquettes), polvo a Portuguesa (octopus marinated in cilantro, garlic, lime and white wine), and sopa de pedra (a soup with red beans, cubes of bacon and various sausages and, as the result of a Portuguese legend, a purely decorative stone). Nine different preparations of codfish are offered among the main dishes, as well as fresh grilled sardines when in season, coelho lisboa (fried rabbit in gravy), and leitao no forno, a roast pork with crispy skin and tender-as-butter inside. There is a fairly extensive wine list, with selections mostly from Portugal as well, with diverse options at less than $30 a bottle. Sadly, the descriptions of the wines are bare-bones, so those who are not knowledgeable about Portugal’s wines have to rely on the recommendations of the friendly staff.