grilled meat and seafood have always been drool-worthy words in my vocabulary. so when i read a recent review in the newspaper about a portuguese place seemingly in the middle of nowhere, that is exactly the response i had: drool. it took us two attempts to satisfy our cravings. note to self: never try going to a restaurant the same evening that a glowing review is published in the newspaper.
when we finally made it to this tiny restaurant on a stretch of st-laurent boulevard that sees very little pedestrian traffic, we went all out. we started with a 1/2 pitcher of sangria. i’m not a frequent alcohol drinker and don’t know enough about it to critique it. i only had one glass, but i thought it was pretty good – light and fruity. i barely tasted any alcohol, which is a dangerous thing if you start downing the stuff like it’s juice. we eventually found the alcohol; it was at the bottom of the pitcher, something i found bizarre since the waiter stirred the sangria in front of us before pouring it into our glasses.
after quenching our thirst with a few sips of sangria, the first of our tapas arrived. i simply loved the grilled octopus. it was firm yet not rubbery. a squirt of lemon is all you need, but i wouldn’t say no to the fresh onion and pepper salsa or bean salad that came with the delicious tentacles. the accompaniments added just enough acidity and freshness to round out the dish. next came the garlic shrimp. this was a slight disappointment for me. although the nicely curled pieces of pink and plump shrimp were well cooked, i thought the garlic was a little too subtle and there was a little taste of mussels. cooked in the same pot as the aforementioned bivalves, perhaps? one thing i did love about this dish was using the fluffy portuguese bun to mop up the leftover garlic sauce. we also ordered some grilled sardines, but they never made it to our table. this wasn’t all bad since we did order large main courses and the sardines didn’t show up on our bill.
for a little more sustenance, we both opted for the mixed platter that included pork, beef, sausage, and chicken. the plate was accompanied by fries and salad. out of all the meats, i preferred the chicken. it was tender and juicy. the beef and pork were also tender, but my piece of pork had a little too much fat on it. my least favourite would have to be the chouriço sausage. this might have more to do with the fact that i prefer fresh sausages to cured ones like the one they served. the side salad was an ordinary lettuce, tomato, cucumber mix – simple, but fresh. the fries had the skin on and i liked the first few bites, but after a while, i realized that they didn’t taste like much and were a little dry and powdery on the inside. i ordered my plate spicy and was a little disappointed at first when they didn’t bring the little pot of hot sauce for us brush onto our meat, but it wasn’t necessary. the first bite gave off subtle heat, but this is the kind of hot sauce that sneaks up on you. the heat builds up, layer upon layer. it was never a five-alarm fire in my mouth, but the dry heat lingers on the tongue. i would say that it was just the right amount of spicy for the type of food we were eating.
tapas, grilled meats, and sangria: the perfect summer foods. it is just a shame that the restaurant doesn’t have a terrasse on which we could have enjoyed our food on the longest day of the year.
braseiro
8261, boul. st-laurent
montréal, québec
H2P 2M1
T: 514.389.0606
payment: cash, debit, credit cards
hours:
mon to wed 11h30-21h
thurs to fri 11h30-22h
sat 12h-22h
sun 12h-21h
Your blog is absolutely beautiful. The photos are amazing.
thanks so much!