Loitering with intent in Lisbon 15

It looked like we were the first customers for the day at Enoteca de Belem, a little wine bar which I had read about which can be found hiding down a side street near the Jeronimos monastery and famous pastry place in Belem. 

Normally an empty restaurant would put us right off, but the reviews I'd seen were so enthusiastic that we barged in and took a window seat. I heard the woman at the bar put in a call and about three minutes later a chap walked in off the street and introduced himself to us as Nelson, one of the owners.

We were still thumbing through the immense menu, which was dazzling us with page after page of wine and port. Nelson said he had plenty more besides in the cellar and that he took home anything his customers didn't finish (I want his job). He asked what we style of wine we preferred and I asked for a soft red, something aged and oaked.  

Normally I am a bit wary in a restaurant when someone makes suggestions without me being able to check the price on the menu, but their policy here is to sell all wine at €4 per glass or €20 per bottle, no matter what vintage. And besides, with the place coming in as one of Lisbon's top 20 eateries according to the users of TripAdvisor, he must know what he is doing! 

Sure enough, Nelson obliged us with a tasty bottle of Duoro, very similar to Spanish Rioja and probably made from the same tempranillo grapes (although in Portugal the grape variety is called tinto roriz).

With it being an early lunch, we passed on having any hot food and instead asked for a platter of cheese and cold cuts. This came with a basket of chewy bread, delicious plump green olives, white butter and a history lesson from our host. Nelson described each of the cheeses, chutneys and sausages as they were all Portuguese specialties.

Among these were sausages which were first made over 500 years ago by Jews and Muslims who needed to blend in with their Christian neighbours to avoid persecution. So instead of pork, they made their sausages from bread, game and chicken. There was also blood sausage, or black pudding as they call it here in Lancashire. The best of the cheeses were the mild and creamy ones (I regretted not having some paper to take notes or a juiced-up camera to take photos; the photos for this entry are just miscellaneous ones from elsewhere in Lisbon).

All these gorgeous nibbles nearly covered our entire table and it was a struggle to finish everything, so it turned out to be a surprisingly filling meal. The tab came to €45 for the food and three glasses of wine. Forty quid may sound like a lot to spend on ham, jam and grape juice but it was great to be looked after by someone so attentive, knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

The place itself is modern with bright spot lighting, tile floors and hard wooden chairs, but it's small and inviting. Since most of the tables only seat two people each, it's an intimate place and I'd recommend making reservations for an evening visit. The full menu features nothing but Portuguese food and although personally I would pass on things like salt cod and octopus, it is the kind of place where you could easily while away an entire afternoon or evening sampling all the different wines and dishes.

We would definitely make the trip out to Belem again to pay another visit!