A few weeks ago and after trying to book a table several times at O Talho I finally got lucky and got it XD... this time not for dinner but for lunch.
This restaurant is a space exclusively dedicated to the wonders of meat. They have a butcher in the restaurant where you can buy different types of meat, including the same kind of meat that they serve... Basically they have a mini grocery store in the restaurant's entrance where um can buy wine (good wine), homemade chips, meat (of course), condiments. etc...
Since I tried so many times to get a table... I thought to myself "since I wait so long the best is to trying the Tasting Menu"... and so I did it... BEST DECISION EVER... I don't regret it not one bit!... And the best part was that I let them choose all the dishes... meaning... the lunch was a surprise from the beginning to the end... they served 5 dishes and 1 dessert.
To start they brought me a little wooden box ( a small version of the boxes that you see at the local markets) with different types of bread, homemade butter with dried tomatoes, hummus of chickpea (something that I had never tried) and foie gras... To drink I order a glass of red wine and a bottle of water.
The first dish... Well! it doesn't count as dish... the amuse-bush was foie gras, duck magret, crispy farofas, pate of mushrooms and nuts. Very good! anticipating a great lunch.
Between the dishes I took the opportunity to try to mix the starters... just for curiosity.
The real first dish was very impressive! they served raw meat! don't worry it was veal's ceviche with sweet potato foam (that I didn't recognize... and I had to ask the waiter what it was =P) and crispy rice. I start to eat it with a fork and knife but I gave up... the best way to eat it is: you break the crispy rice in small pieces and, with the knife, you put the ceviche on top of it and add a little bit of the foam and eat it with your hands.
The second dish was grilled vegetables with prosciutto... almost like a salad that looks just like a garden literally... they even used a mix of spices at the bottom to look like the dirt... I usually don't eat salads as a meal, but this one was very different... with a lot of texture and a lot of flavor.
The third dish was every unexpected for what I thought of this restaurant... it was foie gras with a jelly of sake and a fortune cookie... to make the dish more appealing they add a few roasted cereals and flowers... by the way the jelly was delicious.
The fourth dish was pork belly with a cream of carrots and salty fingers (vegetables)... it was good but it wasn't my favorite.
This last two dish were good but didn't meet my expectations... Meanwhile I try to enjoy all the vibe of the restaurant and I notice this wall of old dishes hanging behind me.
So when I began to lose hope to taste a dish that would do justice to the restaurant they served me one of the BEST dishes that ever tasted... Pork cheeks (so tender that it melted in the mouth) with quinoa and a little squid (calamer)... this dish was so good that I forgive the last two... this one was the king... it was almost like a journey to south america! imagine the best meat of Argentina with quinoa... this one was even better than you can imagine.
I couldn't ask for a best final dish than this.
For the dessert I ate a crème brûlée with guava's ice cream. What to say about the dessert... after all the dishes this was the best dessert you can have... very fresh and light, how it's supposed to be.
Overall it was great and I will repeat the experience but with other dishes.
The Food:
Address:
- Rua Carlos Testa 1B, 1050-046 Lisboa
Eat Drink Live Enjoy...
