Unfussy grilled meat sandwiches? A mere toss of the roasting spit from Porte de Hal, this bilingual churrasqueira (well, mainly Portuguese is being spoken) churns out scrumptious bifanas – a Lusitanian specialty made on crusty rolls stuffed with pork cutlet or suckling pig, with or without mass-manufactured mustard. The hardest thing about this spot is making your way through the crowd of regulars waiting to collect their whole-roasted suckling pig, to get to the busy (but never overwhelmed) counter, which separates the small overheated storefront from the open kitchen. Only local customers seem to know this, but behind the blazing flames and after a flight of stairs, there’s a small dining room. There, you’ll find a simple menu of typical Portuguese dishes: octopus a lagareiro (potatoes, green olives, onions, garlic and oil); the famous spit-roasted suckling pig (Saturdays), with crispy crackling and juicy meat, served with homemade chips; grilled fresh cod with onions, parsley, lemon, green beans and potatoes; or even spare ribs – which were a little dry; before an outstanding orange-infused crème brûlée, whose caramelized top was just begging to be cracked with a spoon! // Cleo Popina
FEELING THIRSTY? Uninteresting Portuguese wines (€10 a bottle) and a range of everyday sodas (€2).
PRICE: Fritters €1.50, bifanas €5, mains €16-29, desserts €2.50, whole suckling pig €180.
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