Pretensioso — Restaurant in Óbidos

Although the Portuguese took back Óbidos from the Moors in 1148, and its thick medieval walls are still standing, that doesn’t stop this quaint medieval town from getting invaded by hordes of tourists every August. If you want to escape them to enjoy a peaceful meal, get away from the main drag crammed with stroller-pushers and head downhill to Largo do Postigo, where you’ll find the ironically named Restaurante Pretensioso (which is anything but pretentious) nestled in a corner. Here, you can sit under a fruit tree while listening to brightly colored caged birds chirping away. I started with a chilled glass of crisp local white wine, a basket of crusty bread and the famous Portuguese mountain cheese Serra da Estrela. For my entrée, I ordered the shrimp curry, assuming it to be served over rice. I was pleasantly surprised when it came out over black linguine, which I thought was a creative twist—was it Thai or Italian? Both! Service was friendly and attentive....

We enjoyed a satisfying home cooked meal in a pleasant setting. The fish soup was flavored with a bit of curry, very thick and with lots of fish. The vegetable soup was comfort food, also a tasty broth with lots of veggies. The fish in almond crust was cooked to a perfect temperature. The beef tenderloin was a huge portion, also cooked to a perfect rare, presented with Obidos cherries, mashed potatoes, zucchini stuffed with spinach, and green beans. (Yep, a lot on the plate!). The bread had a nice crust with a soft center. A nice touch was little tables for your belongings or wine and water bottles. All in all...

Food is nooooot good! Outdoor patio is cute and service okay but that's it! The grilled sausage is a supermarket chorizo cut like for a kid's meal with 3 tasteless olives. They definitely don't know how to cook duck breast, the meat was hard and chewy covered with a sauce taste like out of the can. Rice and veggies are just okay. Desert nothing exceptional. And overall expensive bill. We live in the area so we can compare to other places and we were just terribly...