A Tea House
by the Atlantic

BUILT ON THE rocks, right by the ocean in Leça da Palmeira, near to the Matosinhos fish auction, the title Casa de Chá, or ‘Tea House’, might be a little misleading for this fantastic new gastronomic success of a restaurant that, for a 20 year lease, is now in the capable hands of DOP and DOC chef Rui Paula.

Designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Siza Vieira, the Tea House, which was recently redeveloped according, down to every last detail, to original plans, was classified as a national monument in 2011 and it has become an architectural icon of Northern Portugal. Paula, who launched his third restaurant here just two months ago, now seeks to match this architectural iconicity with culinary prowess of equal renown.

With capacity for 40 diners and a waiting room with bar service, the Tea House opens directly on to the periwinkle-covered rocks, with the waves crashing only a few feet away. With fully opened glass walls, you couldn’t be much closer to the ocean were you sailing upon it. And this is a more than suitable setting for enjoying the market-fresh fish dishes Paula serves up.

We began in the bar with an aperitif of Vértice, a blend of four grapes, and rated as Portugal’s best sparkling wine. To whet our palates, we enjoyed some ‘special creations’, including grissini de chouriço ibérico, cod fish tempura and a sweet and salty cone filled with salmon and tomato – all fresh and light, no cheese to smother the flavours, for Paula believes in healthy cooking.

Moving across to the round and convivial table, there was a selection of bread – white, cereal and vegetable (courgette, onion and garlic) – served with a trio of butters (pecan, neutral and basil). The specially prepared menu delighted us with aesthetically and gustatorily pleasing dishes, including a delightfully iced watermelon carpaccio accompanied by mackerel ceviche, confit of tomato and basil, followed by scarlet shrimp (the much loved carabiniero from the Algarve coast) on a bed of Portuguese stew, comprising white beans and chouriço, and topped withseaweed foam (dashi). These were both paired with a white wine from the Dão region, M.O.B. 2012.

A second white wine, this time from the Lisbon region, and one that opened out quite significantly during the meal to become softer and almost unrecognisably different, was brought out in time for the third fish course. The wine, Chocapalha Reserve 2012, is rated for its freshness and strong fruity taste and is a mix of 90% international chardonnay and 10% Portuguese arinto. The Boa Nova fish stew (caldeirada) included turbot, mullet, lobster and lobster foam, and was served like a masterpiece on a gelatin strip from fish and clams.

A meat course of young veal and topinambur (Jerusalem artichoke), cooked in a josper (Spanish oven), and served with a purée of chip and pickles, on carpaccio of veal tongue, with a sweetbread, an oyster, and a sauce made from the meat juice and oyster, smelt good, and, as our waiter informed us – which indeed proved to be true – ‘tastes even better’. This was paired with a red wine, Messias 2010, from the Bairrada region.

Finally, our two dessert courses consisted of a tangy serra cheese ice cream and foam, contrasting delightfully with a sweet guyaba ice cream and jam, decorated with crunchy granola, followed by a raspberry sorbet and jam strip, served with pistachio sponge and cream, fresh fig, and a decorative borage flower. To accompany these came a delicious LBV Port 2008 from the Quinta da Portal, a cellar designed by the same architect as the Casa. Coffee and sweet delicacies closed the experience, served outside on the rocks.

The Tea House is open for lunch and dinner every day except Monday, when it only offers dinner, and Sunday, when it is closed.

Chef Rui Paula will be in London performing a cooking demonstration as part of Taste Portugal 2014/15, at the World Travel Market, Excel, which runs from 3-6 November 2014.