Lady’s Taste of Portugal Review

One of my favorite events of the summer is Taste of London. The annual event in Regent’s Park showcases the cuisine of the best restaurants in the city. But with Taste of London still a few weeks away, I was happy to be invited to Taste of Portugal in the interim.

Taste of Portugal

Taste of Portugal isn’t a food festival like Taste of London. Instead, it’s a traditional Portuguese menu. The Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel and Spa had it on offer last week to coincide with the famous Chelsea Flower Show.

Two chefs from the Pestana hotel group in Portugal came to London to prepare the menu, and I was invited to dine on a complimentary basis at the Atlantico Restaurant to taste some of the highlights.

I arrived at the hotel, which is right by Battersea Park, and met a fellow London blogger for dinner.

Taste of Portugal Menu

Our first course was an amuse bouche of tomato gazpacho and a small slice of fried bacalao. Both were delicious and set a good tone for the rest of the meal.

Next came a starter of muxama with extra virgin olive oil. Muxama are thin, dry, salted strips of tuna. I’d never had it before, but I really enjoyed it. The tuna was rich in flavor and the olive oil and salt complimented it well.

Moving onto the main course, I had roasted octopus with green sprouts and sweet potato rounds drizzled with olive oil. The octopus was simply prepared and was tender and flavorful.

The sweet potatoes gave the dish a nice starchy backbone, and the greens added a clean, healthy finish.

For dessert I was offered a sample of all the puddings on the Taste of Portugal menu. These included pears in Port wine, fig cakes, carob cakes, caramel cakes, and rice pudding.

I didn’t particularly love any of them, but it was nice to sample a range of traditional Portuguese desserts.

The Verdict

I was glad to have had the chance to attend Taste of Portugal, and it got me even more excited about Taste of London in a few weeks.

Once that’s over, the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel and Spa has an upcoming Taste of Brazil menu I’m sure will help get me through until next year.

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