Joana's House - Restaurant and Tapas — Restaurant in Viana do Castelo

OMG, this tiny, unassuming restaurant serves the best food we have eaten in Portugal. We ordered three tapas: roasted padron peppers, gratinéed scallops, and roasted pork belly. The scallops (sauced with some miraculous essence of the North Atlantic Ocean) and the pork belly (served on a purée of chestnuts and leeks) were so good that we were laughing at our good luck, and the peppers were perfect palate cleansers. We drank several glasses of a white wine that Joana herself recommended, which perfectly complemented the food. Children played on the patio as dusk fell, and we thanked our good fortune at discovering this...

The food is great and that's why I don t rate it lower. The service is very very slow or may be We were there on a bad day. May be they were not used to hvae so mant people. We waited 30 minutes for a table and 40 minutes more for the waitter to clean one that was available and prepare it for us to sit. The restaurant has gluten free options and they are careffull about food alergies. Prices may differ from the ones marked on the menu depending on the size of the T bone that is being served on that day, but they warn you in advance. Octupus was super tender...

We went there because the nearby restaurant Segredos do Mar was full. It was open for 2 weeks only so maybe they will get better with time, but the chances are small. Problems in the kitchen ( smoke was flooding the entire restaurant) and a slow service also was a bit annoying.

The waiters were friendly and attentive (that was the only positive point). We ordered arroz com camarão , but it was tasteless. They couldn’t even bake the shrimps correctly and the tomate sauce tasted like it was coming...