Encanada — Restaurant in Ponte de Lima

Encanada, where the staff wear vests over shirts and frown like they're heroes battling a super hot day (which they were). Thirsty? Be prepared to wait. We were sipping on our Port before our bottle of water decided to show up.

A feast appeared before us, which raised suspicions that my ordering hand had become autonomous. Turns out, it was just the appetizers to show us. The one I'd been eyeing on the menu was MIA, much to my disappointment. The ham and cheese I settled for turned out to be half fantastic - the ham was superb, while the cheese was the culinary equivalent of a silent film. A result of Port interference? Maybe.

The main event? A pork dish complete with rice and pork blood sauce. The pork was a delight, but the blood sausage was less so - those expecting a German or Dutch blood sausage experience, you've been warned. The squid was decent, considering it wasn't exactly fresh-off-the-boat.

Conlusion: A clean place with nice views, a language barrier thicker than custard. Personally, I'd recommend saving your pennies and taste buds for a better-balanced...

Traditional northern Portuguese food in a nice restaurant facing the river and bridge in Ponte de Lima. The food is flawless, but hey! aren't all restaurants here just flawless when it comes to food?! 😁

Service was a bit disorganized, but nothing too serious.

Atmosphere wise... it's August. It's Emigrants Month. Every single place is just packed with either foreigners or families that returned to Portugal for the holidays. So... it's busy and noisy. Bearable, but still...

Aside from that, it's a great restaurant in a great location and I...

We went for dinner one night as we noticed a beautiful restaurant on the corner in Ponte del Lima. We were immediately seated as there were lots of tables available, and we could pick where we would like to sit. The waitress was extremely nice with us and provided us with all her recommendations. The menu consisted of traditional Portuguese food which we were excited to try. However, the food was not the best we’ve seen to say the least. It was mediocre. The view was fantastic. The restaurant is well situated, and the...