Tábua do Naldo — Restaurant in Évora

We just got into Evora this evening, and asked our hotel reception where they would recommend for dinner. Without skipping a beat, the check-in agent recommended Tábua do Naldo. We got ready and walked the 10 minutes from our Hilton hotel to the small restaurant where we were greeted and told it would be a 10 minute wait for a table.

The venue is small, maybe 10-12 tables max.. but that allows for such a wonderful intimate atmosphere where you can explore the flavours of the Alentejo Region. We started with a red wine recommendation from our server Carlos (who was exceptional in every aspect of his service. Whether food recommendations, quick wit, a friendly ear to chat, or simply making us feel like family - he was in every way the perfect example of what good service looks like.. .no, he went above and beyond what good service looks like, this was exceptional in every way - but I’m getting ahead of myself).

Carlos brought us a regional wine, full bodied and sweet - which we paired with olives, bread and olive oil. I know it was only olives, but holy s*it were they good - I think it was absolutely the atmosphere and Carlos’s amazing service… and maybe the wonderful red too, lol.

We grabbed the goat cheese, shrimp & black pork.. holy hell.. talk about a flavour overload! Everything was cooked to perfection, I was dipping the excess bread from the olives into the sauces from both the black pork and shrimp and couldn’t get enough - colour me impressed!

We ended up finishing our bottle of red and moving to a red sangria which had beer, apple, and cinnamon sticks in it - which paired excellently with the two mains we got: black pork & caramelized oranges + veggie tempura with sweet potato mash and seasonal vegetables. I know the veggies were just veggies, but the way they were all cooked to perfection had me baffled. The zucchini was crunchy. The mash was perfectly seasoned. The tempura carrots tasted like McDonald’s fries, but better. I can’t explain it, but you need to try this meal!

The black pork with caramelized oranges literally melted in your mouth. I’ve never had pork like that, even when I’ve eaten pulled pork it’s never melted so seamlessly into my mouth. Everything was a flavour burst. Everything worked together. Everything was exceptional!

We finished the meal with the Walnut & Honey cake with ice cream and strawberries and it perfectly capped the meal. I seriously could not have asked for a better meal, and how anyone could rate these guys anything less than 5 stars is criminal. You NEED to try this restaurant.

Carlos, you made our night. Honestly, thank you for your recommendations, thank you for your exceptional kindness and service, and thank you for providing me an experience I will honestly never forget. Food is a beatiful way to experience cultures - and if you want a true grasp of the beautiful and richness of Evora and the Alentejo region, you simply MUST visit Tábua do Naldo. You WILL NOT be...

Comida normalucha, y trato pésimo. La carta con poca variedad, pero sobre todo nos llamó la atención que por ningún lado aparecía el precio de las bebidas, o de los aperitivos que te ponen en la mesa sí o sí, aunque no los pidas, y obviamente te cobran a precio de restaurante cinco estrellas Michelín. En nuestro caso fueron un cuenquito de aceitunas amargas y cuatro trozos de pan duros. Pedimos un par de refrescos y una tabla de entrantes. Primero, solo trajeron uno de los refrescos. Botellines pequeños, por supuesto. Sin hielo ni limón. Tampoco preguntaron al respecto. Tuvimos que reclamar la segunda bebida varias veces. Desde que llegó hasta que sirvieron la comida paso más de media hora. Si no llegamos a reclamarla, creo que no la hubiesen servido nunca porque habían extraviado la comanda. Una vez que llegó no era nada del otro mundo: literalmente tres lonchas transparentes de lomo del que puedes encontrar en cualquier supermercado de descuento, cuatro trocitos chiquitines de queso (de dos tipos), dos gazpachos en vaso de chupito, dos huevos verdes (huevos cocidos con una especie de empanado y un relleno del susodicho color), y cuatro croquetones (dos de gambas y dos de bacalao). Como se puede ver, nada muy elaborado, ni mucho menos alta cocina. Y por supuesto, como ya he comentado, cantidades muy escasas. A la hora de pedir la cuenta nuevo drama. Estuvimos cerca de 25 minutos hasta que, tras insistir varias veces, uno de los varios camareros que nos atendieron (aquello era un totum revolutum) por fin nos trajo la cuenta. Y con la carta dos sorpresas: la primera fue que la cuenta incluía el precio del aperitivo, y del pan (que no habíamos tocado y que además muy cucos sirven envuelto en papel de estraza por si no lo has utilizado tú, darle una nueva vida en otra mesa), y la segunda es que si eres extranjero y quieres pagar con tarjeta no te la admiten alegando que el TPV no admite más que tarjetas portuguesas. Evidentemente es una excusa. Mi tarjeta es una Visa Oro emitida por Visa Internacional y he podido pagar siempre sin problema alguno en todo tipo de comercios y establecinientos, tanto en Portugal, como en muchos otros paises. Sencillamente una burda excusa supongo que con algún motivo económico detrás que deja un tufo a tasca de pueblo que echa para atrás. Eso sí, te dan gratis las indicaciones para dirigirte al cajero más cercano a sacar el efectivo para pagarles la cuenta. En resumidas cuentas, un bareto cualquiera de zona turística donde sirven poca cantidad y calidad estandar, con un servicio que deja mucho que desear, y donde te la intenta clavar con artimañas burdas como no especificar los precios o el coste de los servicio que dispensan. No volveré y os recomiendo que os...

Yesterday, we visited this place based on ratings and opening time. A nice waiter prepared us a table with appertizers (olives and bread). Everything was well, until we spotted a COCKROACH in our olives. The waiter looked astonished, appologizing several times, apparently even calling the restaurant owner. But our appetite was gone. He offered us gratis deserts for the trouble we experienced, but did not have any reservations charging us for the rest (including those unfortunate olives). I have mixed feeling about what happened. I inderstand that it is hard work running a restaurant and keeping sanitary conditions flawless with more than 30 degrees Celsius outside. It is also the first time something like this happened to me. So I will avoid being judgemental. Let everyone reading this make up their own mental picture about what happened and decide whether to visit this...