A Nova Casa de Ramiro — Restaurant in Óbidos

Who Knew? A Fabulous Dinner in Óbidos!

Who knew that when we took a brief couple of days’ field trip from Lisbon to explore the medieval walled—and tourist—town of Óbidos, we would discover a magical restaurant just outside those ancient walls where we had one of the best meals we’ve enjoyed since moving to Portugal! The Restaurante A Nova Casa de Ramiro charmed us from the first moment with its lovely, warm atmosphere, and welcoming staff. It was immediately clear this was a family run business, as the connection between one of the young women servers and her mother, the manager, was delightful. It turned out the Dad was in the kitchen as the chef and, between them, we were treated to a marvelous dining experience.

We decided to start by sharing an entrada of braised scallops with wild forest mushrooms braised in vinho moscatel with salmon roe and, wow, what an unique combination of flavors and textures! The mushrooms were of the slender, delicate, chanterelle type that nearly melted in your mouth, while the scallops were diminutive, tender, and carmelized perfectly to give just the right foil for the tangy-sweet hint of the moscatel.

For our mains, we again did a share, this time of a dish prepared only for two, the Duck Magret with mango and red fruit sauce, with Dauphinoise potatoes and a delicate, gourmet salad. We typically prefer sampling different dishes, so we nearly passed up the duck, but it just sounded too good to miss—and we were thrilled with our choice! The pato was beautifully rare, yet succulently gentle to the tooth, and the sauce with the mango surprised us as a magnificent counterpoint to the duck’s richness. The potatoes were gratifying in their combination of creamy and savory notes, and the lightly dressed salad served to temper the overall opulence on the palate.

Of course, no meal is complete without sobremesa, and our young waiter–it was his very first day, so we applauded his new skills–brought out a tray with several alluring treats. Sarah chose a lime and yogurt based creamy delight, and I chose a dark chocolate that was a marvelous coda to the meal!

We highly recommend a visit to the enchanting village of Óbidos, and, when you do, be sure to treat yourself to a wonderful experience and a fabulous dinner at Restaurante A Nova...

Oh boy, let me try to be objective as much as possible, giving the circumstances. I just came from Web Summit (Lisbon), where we enjoyed the best food in the world, literally. We went to Ramiros there and had lobsters, stone crabs, king crabs, tiger shrimps for as low as €140 for 2. We just spent €130 in this place and we are in shock. We took a rib eye steak for 2 and never ever I thought that they would bring us steamed veggies along with a steamed steak... just look at the picture. I've never experienced this bad quality of the food. Mozzarella was horrible, tomatoes tasted like if they exported them from Florida ( in other words - like water), horrible oily mushrooms, bad tasting bread. I get it. Bad food happens, i got it, but after offering $20+ starters and $40 - 120 entrees, no one never checked on us or did a food quality check. At all. They had only 2 tables and still paid no attention to us.

The only good thing was wine. We chugged a bottle, to mask the food taste actually. That really helped. The bottom line is: the place is very cute, but service and food is terrible. I probably would recommend to visit only for a bottle of wine.

But, be careful. Check the menu before oderring.. otherwise they will sell you a wagu steak and most expensive wine on the menu..

After this horrible experience they asked us to do them a favor and let them take a picture of us. And that's after horrible service we received. I'm out of words honestly. And you know me. 99% of the time, I give a positive feedback. This place is just sad to be located in Obidos and to be allowed to represent such an amazing thing as...

What a beautiful, warm and fun place to have a fantastic dinner! I ate the best risotto ever with perfectly cooked shrimp and scallops. And what a huge portion! My husband loved his pork tenderloin in orange sauce. And when I asked for something not on the menu - a side of sautéed vegetables - it was no problem and possibly the best version of this simple dish I have ever had. Starter and dessert also great. The staff were wonderful, so friendly, especially Pedro, the owner, who clearly loves what he does and takes great pride in the food preparation. I have just two small complaints. We had a bottle of sparkling water that was served warm and without ice in our glasses. Maybe that’s the custom here but I like my water cold. And they were so busy I didn’t want to bother them to ask for ice. But they also never asked if my husband wanted another beer (he did). But these are small complaints, certainly nothing to affect our total enjoyment of our meal. It’s pricey but highly...