http://www.thediningexperience.org/?p=6657
A TRULY OUTSTANDING EXPERIENCE:
Dining at the Restaurant O Paparico!
It already starts when you get there (most likely by cab as it is
located a bit outside of the city center). The taxi driver dropped us
and all we saw was a simple door of a regular house – finally someone
knocked because the address was right and then we were granted access to
a very unique dining experience.
When you are brought to your table a selection of cold starters
already waits for you on the table like when you come home and your
mother has already put up the dishes to eat. We were expected by “salada
bacalhau” (EUR 6.00) which was good as well as …
… “polvo molho verde” (octopus ceviche with parsley, mint and fennel;
EUR 8.00), “terrina com porto” (“Arouquesa” veal terrine with port
sauce; EUR 5.00) and “queijo de azeitao” (creamy Azeitão DOP cheese; EUR
5.00). The octopus ceviche was delicious and so was the veal terrine.
The cheese was creamy and rich in taste.
As we could not get enough of the delicious food we decided to go for
another round of starters so I had the “chourico especial” (chorizo
grilled with Aguardente; EUR 7.00) which was nicely prepared and dainty.
But as the octopus ceviche was so luscious we decided to go for
“polvo batata murro” (grilled wild octopus with baby potatoes, shallot
and cherry tomatoes; EUR 30.00 for two persons). I have had a few times
octopus in these days in Porto and I must say that this one was
absolutely tender and very mouth-watering. It was not chewy at all but
perfectly tenderized – it was cooked spot on!
Also the side dish with baby potatoes, shallots and cherry tomatoes
was tasty – especially the
combination of the shallots and the cherry
tomatoes was brilliant.
Actually, at that point we were all pretty stuffed but because the
dishes were that scrumptious we just had to go for desert. I asked the
owner what he would recommend and then went for an apparently typical
Portuguese restaurant “toucinho-do-céu” (hazelnut tart with lemon
sorbet; EUR 8.00). The tart was good by itself but it was outstanding in
combination with the lemon sorbet. The port which was recommended to me
too, a “Br Ferreira 10 Cpo” (EUR 8.00) fit well and was good.
As a final greeting from the kitchen we got chocolates filled with
eucalyptus (or something similar). They tasted interesting but were
definitely the weakest course of the evening. All other dishes were
great though.
The prices are actually way too low for what you get – the dishes are
outstanding and are very payable. The prices for water (EUR 2.50),
coffee (EUR 2.10) or the cover (EUR 2.50) are very decent too.
The restaurant O Paparico does not only serve outstandingly prepared,
high-quality and mouth-watering dishes but the place has a great
atmosphere. It is like you are dining in a cave as the walls are thick
stone walls. On the other hand, there is a little room which is
basically a library where you can also dine. It is this perfect
interplay of various elements which perfectly fit together which makes
the place so appealing. Additionally, someone has put a lot of effort
into the decoration work and it pays off as it looks very appealing.
Last but not least, also the service is outstanding – the waiters and
waitresses are there without being noticed. It is as if your water or
wine glass gets filled by a mysterious invisible hand. Also, the dishes
are served from the correct side and taken. One can see that the job is
their passion, the orders are taken without being written down and
everything is brought to the right person. And on top of that they are
very friendly and patient. Only when it came to the serving of the wine
there was some confusion (we had three different wines, all recommended
to us by the owner: O Paparico, EUR 16.00, the house wine; Po Poeira TT,
EUR 25.00 and Passadouro EUR 45.00). Each bottle was brought to someone
else to try which I consider a bit confusing as normally all wines
would be tried by the head of the table. Other than that, there is
absolutely nothing to complain.
To sum it up, the dining experience I had at the Restaurant O
Paparico was definitely among the top 5 I have had the last three years!
The food is delicious, the service is outstanding, the atmosphere is
very nice and appealing and the prices are low for what you get.
Finally, we had a chance to have a casual chat with the owner as he
invited us to the bar to try some port and drinks. He opened the
restaurant about 2,5 years ago and made it the most successful and
famous restaurant in Porto – he is still pretty young but you can see
from his dedication and passion why it worked out.
When you are in Porto, you absolutely must dine at the O Paparico. It is very recommendable to book about 3 to 6 months in advance though.
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http://salivando.com
Cuatro maravillas de Oporto
Últimamente, en mis sucesivas visitas a Oporto he podido
conocer de mano de expertos varios de los mejores sitios de esta
estupenda ciudad, que tiene un nivel altísimo de cocina a precios muy
razonables.
El último que he conocido es O Paparico,
un fantástico restaurante de cocina portuguesa. Lo mejor sin duda en
este local es el servicio de mano del maitre (quizá también dueño)
Sergio. Es simpatiquísimo, un experto profesional y una gran persona. Lo
más impresionante es que cuando vuelvas (porque volverás), se acordará
de qué vino tomaste! Déjate aconsejar por él.
Si vas a O Paparico llega siempre un poco antes para disfrutar de un
margarita en la entrada junto a la chimenea y termina la cena con un
buen gintonic. Para comer te ponen un variado de entradas, de las cuales
el paté y el queso y el aceite son estupendas, pero recomiendo pasar
del presunto y el ceviche. Pedid también una vieira para cada uno, que
bien valen sus 5€ porque son suaves y sabrosas. De segundo lo mejor es
pedir varios platos a compartir, pero cuidado con los tamaños porque
cada plato es amplio para dos personas. Nosotros pedimos solomillos de
ternera en salsa de setas y un arroz de bacalao, ambas cosas muy buenas,
pero no pudimos tomar postre por incapacidad.
Lo único malo de este sitio es su localización, en el noreste de la
ciudad, cerca de nada y rodeado por un barrio un poco feo. Tendréis que
ir en coche y expresamente a cenar aquí, pues no pilla de paso a ningún
lado. En cualquier caso, bien merece el viaje.
web: http://www.opaparico.com
precio: 45-60€, dependiendo del vino, las copas y el postre.