Our second meal at Canalha, which coincided with Daryl’s birthday, was totally different than our first. For starters, we had a late afternoon lunch weekday reservation which allowed us to linger longer. It also enabled us to order a prato do dia. That daily dish, arroz de pato, was a fine version of Portuguese duck rice dish adorned with chouriço and squares of thick pork belly. The other prato do dia, bacalhau à brás, looked equally fine when it sailed by us a few times. We plan to order the iconic Portuguese dish during a future meal.
Another different involved our location. Sitting at the bar gave us a front row view of the action plus the opportunity to chat with both restaurant staff and other diners. Perhaps that’s why we ordered so many plates. Or perhaps we ordered so many plates because everything looked and tasted so good.
Our number one dish would have to be the Arouquesa beef carpaccio – an oval canvas of raw, beautifully marbled, thinly sliced, melt in your mouth beef layered around a mountain of crispy potatoes. It was fun to watch Chef Lívia Orofino plate the dish and even more fun to eat the fruits of her labor.
We also enjoyed thick juicy slices of porco presa Alentejana cooked to a beautiful deep rose hue. The pork matched the restaurant’s excellently curated wine list. The few glasses we enjoyed, a tight white from minho, a rich red from alentejano, a complex red from Dão and a lovely medium dry wine from Madeira, made for a special afternoon of dining.
And, unlike our first meal, we ended the second with a Portuguese dessert. That dessert, russett apple sabayon served with pistachio ice cream, provided an ideal ending to Daryl’s birthday lunch. We’re already planning our third and fourth visits.
Canalha is located at Rua da Junqueira 207, 1300-338 Lisboa, Portugal.
