new portuguese restaurant in cypress park from the folks who brought us found oyster. it’s pretty small and has almost the exact same layout as found oyster, long narrow space with bar and sidewalk seating. a portuguese wine bar with snacks in a gentrifying neighborhood is a hamsta’s paradise. menu is limited for now, hopefully they’ll add sardines, anchovies, clams and chorizo.
opening night was packed. they don’t take reservations. I would wait a bit until the hype dies down or come early.
Was pretty happy here today. Obvious gentrification issues aside, this is a really cool spot—that in a weird way feels like it could be integral to a neighborhood.
Welp, the move here after revisiting yesterday is the pork sandwich and maybe the endive salad. Just really good wine bar food. There are crowds here in the early evening, but nothing crazy. From what I can tell, this is not going to be a Found Oyster situation. It’s also not like the early days of Bub and Grandmas.
I went at opening because we were meeting a friend with a baby and needed to procure an outdoor table–and by the time we were leaving at 6:00, there were still a handful of outdoor tables available.
Went there the Sunday before July 4th. As we were pulling up right when they opened there was already a sea of people streaming in. There were 5 of us (4 adults, 1 child) and it took about an hour to get a table. Meanwhile we sucked down a couple of porto-tónicos each @ $10 a pop (for the uninitiated, it’s white port w/ tonic and a bit of citrus zest). Very refreshing and not something I’ve had outside of Portugal, so it was a nice treat (the leftover marsala wine I had from cooking did do a nice impression though). Somehow my wine snob buddy had never heard of the drink, but I guess he gravitates more toward traditional wines as I also had to school him on sherry.
We ordered:
Lisbon Special - Olives (w/ coriander + orange), cheese + bread, ibérico ham, all of which can be ordered separately. All great and enough for the four of us to pick at. $30, or $6/$10/$14
Maria’s Bacalhau Fritters - Salt cod, potato, + caramelized onion. I would have a hard time going and not ordering these. $12
Head-on Prawns - Cooked in vinho verde w/ garlic, marash chili, + parsley. Delicious but messy since they’re shell-on and covered in oil. Good to run any leftover bread through. $20
Bifana (pork sandwiches) - Big chunks of juicy pork marinated in urfa chile, coriander, and piso herb sauce. Bread was nice. Lightly crunchy crust and soft, chewy crumb. We got two, one for each pair of adults. $16/ea
Spiced Almond Cake - w/ citrus zest and crème fraîche. We got it to-go because our friends had to be somewhere. It was tasty and traveled well back to the westside. $9
Drinks included:
The aforementioned port-tonics. $10
Skyduster super-dry lager. Because petiscos + cerveja = <3. $3.75/8oz
Hidalgo manzanilla sherry (on draft). A nice dry and refreshing sherry. $10/glass, $35/carafe (friend just had a glass to try it)
We left around 6pm, so about 2hrs total including the 45min-1hr wait. It was fun though! Nice and casual. The “patio” (sidewalk) is shaded by a large tree which offered a welcome reprieve from the heatwave that day.
The inside is decorated nicely, not too dissimilar to Found Oyster and now Queen St. I would definitely try for a counter spot next time. There are a handful of small high-top tables built into the walls on the wall adjacent to the bar seats (like, the table surfaces jut out from the wall).
Service was decent, call it 8/10. No health fees, tap water donations, etc. All-in we dropped $320 after tip. Would I go back? Sure, but just like with all tapas type of joints here it always makes me wince to pay so much for bar food.
This view of the hallway outside of the bathrooms is the only photo I snapped of the occasion
W: I knew I would like this food as it is in my comfort zone, but still it was better than I expected. I can’t think of anything they could have improved. Did you know: cilantro is the defining feature of Portuguese food compared to other European cuisines?
P: I enjoyed the meal. The food was tasty. I wish this restaurant was in my neighborhood.
Had a great meal last Friday. Shockingly, no wait at 6:30. On the special board, scallop crudo was delicious. Endive was special and perhaps my new favorite salad. Love the combination of the cheese, almonds and citrus. The vinaigrette is terrific. Found out it has a dash of fish sauce. Bifana and Branzino were equally satisfying. I love these little “mom & pops” and with the sidewalk dining, you get that Euro cafe feel. .
honestly having just spent a week in Boerum Hill/Brooklyn for work, what I enjoyed most was that ability to just walk in on a weeknight, slide into a seat at the bar and have a great meal at multiple neighborhood places (Rucola, Roman’s, etc) - really feel the lack of that (without significant hassle or driving around town) here in LA and it sent me spiraling into a deep existential sadness.
Or you think of it the reverse way and think of how much you’ll look forward great eating places being w/i walking distance when you travel! (that’s how I often look at it)
(that’s how I often look at it)