You go to Lisbon thinking you’re rather partial to seafood. You go to Cervejaria Ramiro and you leave Lisbon realizing how a meal with 3 basic ingredients can turn your partiality into utter adulation.
Cervejaria Ramiro has been around since the 1950s. They don’t take bookings, and we were lucky enough to turn up early afternoon when there was little to no queue. You’re seated, served refreshingly cold drinks (bless Portugal and their 375mL single serving bottles of wine) and invited to choose from their crustacean menu. Our waiter was pleasantly helpful, reaffirming our instincts on what to order, but needed guidance on how much to order.
Garlic shrimp and steamed clams to start, then a 1kg crab, giant tiger prawns, and red shrimp. Crab came complete with a small board and mallet, which makes for a great hands-on experience, if also a slightly messy and noisy meal.
There are no vegetable or side dishes on offer really, just bread - no for me - but what made this lunch one of the most relaxed dining escapades as a Coeliac was the fact that it was obvious the crustaceans were just cooked with steam, garlic, butter, and love. I had no concerns about cross-contamination and I suppose unless you’re a vegetarian or lactose intolerant (the butter), this is one of the purest culinary experiences you can embark on, even just a few hours after a night out along the Bairro Alto and all that sangria.
Cervejaria Ramiro
Av. Almirante Reis, nº1 H
1150-007 Lisboa
No comments:
Post a Comment