TAPAS & DESTAPAS || If You Love Tapas and Iberian Ham You'll Add This Cozy Porto Restaurant to Your List
Let me tell you a story about juicy, fatty, Iberian ham.
It was the first day we arrived in Porto, and I had just successfully scaled four flights of stairs with five suitcases. That's the price you have to pay when you want to stay in a unique Airbnb with character and a view of the Baroque-style Clérigos Church and Tower just a stone's throw away.
After settling in and taking a needed break in the air-conditioned room, we were ready to refuel with food (tasty food is always the solution, isn't it?) Fortunately for us, Porto is a coastal city brimming with lots of delicious dining options just steps away. We discovered many eateries on our street and decided on Tapas & Destapas, thinking that we would get our fill of tapas and drinks on the balmy summer day before setting out on our adventures.
It turns out that the restaurant specializes in Iberian ham, and the flavourful, tender, and juicy ham slices were exactly what I needed after expending so much energy hauling luggage up the stairs!
In my opinion, the best way to experience quality meats is to pair them with something simple or to eat it alone, because you can savour the flavour and feel the texture as the fats melt on your tongue. Soon after we sat down our waitress brought us bread and olives. She shared that the butter is is made with Iberian ham and one of the breads have bits of Iberian ham in it. I gravitate towards hearty and intensely flavoured foods, and so of course I had to pair the Iberian ham bread with the ham butter. It was simply a slice of heaven. The bread was fluffy yet moist -- scented with the fat of the ham, with the bread enveloping the ham soaking up its fat.
Bread with Iberian ham spread.
While we would have happily enjoyed multiple servings of the bread and butter, we also ordered several tapas for the table. A simple Iberian ham sandwich, scrambled eggs topped with Iberian ham slices, tuna tartar with lime ice cream, Portuguese mushrooms with eggs, and braised pork belly.
Iberian ham bellota.
Tuna tartar with lime ice cream.
The scrambled eggs were lovely, with the slightly runny eggs soaking up the Iberian ham juices. If we had more bread, we would have used it as a dipping sauce. The Portuguese mushrooms with eggs were mouth-wateringly good and make for the perfect breakfast. Who could resist the mouth-watering scent of Iberian ham oils?
Since I'm a big fan of fatty meats, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try the braised pork belly. Finally, I wanted to try the Iberian ham the simplest way possible, just sandwiched in white bread. After consuming so much meat, we needed something to balance the heavier dishes, and the tuna tartar with lime ice cream did the trick. The tangy, minty flavour paired with the refreshing tuna tartar and cool avocado was the ideal note to wrap up our meal.
Scrambled eggs with Iberian ham.
Braised pork belly with ribatejanas migas.
Reenergized from the enjoyable meal, we were ready to take on the trek down to the riverfront, where we would laze away the afternoon with our legs dangling over the ledge, throwing bread crumbs to feed the hundreds of fishes gathered at the pier.
Seats by the window.
VISIT
Rua de Trás 27, 4050-613 Porto, Portugal
Photography by Florence Leung