Chowhounds Chow Down at Chiado

[Jacquilynne]

So last night was the chowhound dinner at the Tapas bar in Chiado. There were four of us there, Kathleen, Diane, Randy and I.

My first impression of the tapas bar was less than stunning, in that it's not immediately apparent from outside how to get in. It turns out that you have to go through Chiado to get to Senhor Antonio, but it would be nice if that were clearer when you're standing on the street.

We ordered 8 tapas plus bread and olives for the four of us. There was a salt cod salad (interesting, and not at all what I expected), grilled sardines (very good), grilled tiger shrimp with piri-piri (the piri-piri was something exceptional, tangy and smokey and just plain great), a bean and rapini casserole ( decent, but at little red pepper oriented for my tastes, doesn't make it bad, just not my preference), mushroom risotto (excellent, and a healthy portion size for a tapas), grilled chourizo and blood sausage (this was a revelation, I hate blood sausage, but thought this was fabulous), tomato and cheese salad (light and refreshing) and grouper carpaccio (light and flavourful).

For dessert we tried a vanilla pudding (which was very much like a creme caramel) and a squash flan. The squash flan was an exceptionally interesting dish. It had a texture almost like a potato rosti and a delicate sweet taste. It was forky when you tried to cut it, but didn't seem particularly heavy when you ate it. An excellent dish.

It was a fun evening, and I look forward to the next chow gathering.

[Bumblegirl]

Thanks for the report Jacquilynne! I wish I could have made it - I've been a big fan of Spanish and Portuguese food for a while. Glad to hear you all had fun though!

[haligonianhui]

So disappointed I missed out on the tapas and meeting fellow chowhounds! Hopefully I won't be out of town for the next one.