ASH - Arkos SmokeHouse — Restaurant in Arcos de Valdevez

Peito e costeletas fumadas. Um dos três melhores fumeiro que já comi nos meus 54 anos. Sinceramente, fiquei espantado. Não estava à espera de carnes fumadas tão boas aqui em Portugal, mas aqui estou. Não é algo que se faça aqui em Portugal. Imaginei que seria medíocre, na melhor das hipóteses, mas fiquei realmente chocado com a qualidade. Sou dos Estados Unidos, onde há uma enorme cultura de fumar. Tenho um Big Green Egg para poder fumar as minhas próprias carnes lentamente. Comi a refeição de entrecosto e peito e estava realmente de primeira qualidade. A carne estava a derreter do osso. O fumo estava bem equilibrado. Algumas pequenas coisas que eles acertaram e que muitas casas de fumo não fazem: a salada de repolho é fantástica! Normalmente é aborrecida e sem graça. Quando a faço em casa, costumo acrescentar rábano. A salada de repolho deles pode não ter nada de especial, mas era deliciosa e sabia a rábano. Os feijões tinham pequenos cubos de carne fumada que eram cozinhados com os feijões e que lhes davam um ótimo sabor a fumo. O molho barbecue era bom. Nem demasiado doce nem demasiado picante. Eles não têm muitas opções de molho, mas é um ótimo barbecue intermédio. Não precisa de muitas opções de molho se acertar à primeira. Estou definitivamente ansioso para voltar novamente!

--English--

Smoked brisket and ribs. One of the best 3 smoke houses I've ever eaten at in my 54 years. Honestly I was blown away. I didn't expect to have smoked meats that good here in Portugal, but here I am. It's just not a thing here in Portugal. I figured it would be mediocre at best but I was really shocked at how good they were. I am from the US where there is a huge culture of smoking. I own a "Big Green Egg" so I can smoke my own meats low and slow. I had the ribs and brisket meal and it was seriously, top tier. The meat was melt off the bone good. The smoke was well balanced. Some small things they got right that many smoke houses miss: the coleslaw is amazing! It's usually boring and bland. When I make it at home I usually add horseradish. Their coleslaw may not have it, but it was delicious and tasted like it might have had horseradish. The beans had little cubes of smoked meat that were cooked in with the beans that gave them a great smoky flavor. The BBQ sauce was good. Not too sweet, not too spicy. They don't have many sauce options, but it's a great middle of the road BBQ. You don't need a bunch of sauce options if you get one right the first time. I am definitely looking forward to...

Great BBQ, wings, and frenchy sandwich. Interesting Portuguese beer drinks, like the “tango” and the “panachè”. We had to try them both. I’m a wing aficionado and these were excellent. Being from Texas we’ve had a lot of ribs and pulled pork. This was excellent. They also have good picky kid food like fries and chicken strips. Very good service in an interesting part of town with a market and lots of shops. Bring some change for the parking meters if you have it. We had to buy some toothpaste and shampoo at a local shop to make change. ))) In the photo you can see the franchescina(sp?) sandwich, and the red drink is “tango”, beer with red currant. The panaché is...

Food was good and portions were big for the price and quality. The staff was friendly and ready, the service was fast and the menu has a lot of different options of main dishes, appetizers and drinks!

We got a bit fooled by the photos as we thought it was a normal restaurant and not a counter in a local market , the market itself didn’t have the best look from outside or inside, and the entrance was really to dark and sketchy...