Casa Mateus... The jewel of Sesimbra.
Sesimbra is a portuguese coast village famous for his amazing fish... and Casa Mateus is the perfect example of this passion for the fish and the local products.
This restaurant is very small (no more than 10 tables... very close to each other... the family spirit!!)... very familiar. The first thing that you notice when you came close to the restaurant are these amazing tiles in the facade of the restaurant.
From now on... my favorite place to eat in Sesimbra.
The food is outstanding... where the tradition meets the new... where traditional dishes get a new presentation (you will understand what I'm saying)...
Since I start talking about the food...
This time we didn't choose the dishes and instead we followed the advice of the owner.
We start with the classic couvert (nothing new!!!) and this amazing cuttlefish eggs (all about culture and tradition with a little bit of chili - to delicious to discribe).
The first dish... correction... the first pan! Caldeirada (fish stew)... one of the most classic fish dishes of Portugal... with everything it is suppose to have - a variety of fishes (ray, swordfish, monkfish, european conger and small-spotted dogfish), potatoes, tomato and pepper stew and bread... really really good.
The other dish and my favorite... stone bass with sweet-potato puree, crispy sweet-potatos and bacon and cockle sauce... HEAVEN!!! the fish was so good... the puree and the sauce blend so well with the fish... 5-stars!... the only critic: the crispy sweet-potatoes should be crispier, they were a little bit soft.
The desserts...
Basel mousse with strawberries... very fresh, simple and "clean" but innovative at the same time... the mousse was the king!
Pear, chocolate and vanilla ice cream... for me this dessert lacked sweet... when you hear the word "chocolate"... SWEET SWEET SWEET... but the chocolate was this dark chocolate lacking the sweet that you expect... a good dessert but I was expecting more.
I hope to return and try other dishes... specially the rice with seafood (that looks amazing).
The food:
https://www.facebook.com/restaurantecasamateus
Address:
Largo Anselmo Braamcamp nº4
Sesimbra
Eat Drink Live Enjoy... 