THE FOODIST / VISIT WITH PORTO’S ROGERIO SA

The wine is now served from one of the dozens of bottles that are stacked around the room, and the new charcoal-burning Josper oven cooks things much faster. But otherwise, everything else has kept the flavor of tradition.

As an avid fan of the foodie blog called Culinary Backstreets [culinarybackstreets.com] we recently read about Porto Portugal’s iconic restaurateur Rogerio Sa.

Written BEFORE THE CORONAVIRUS by Claudia Brandao, her article captures the gist of Sa’s famed establishment.  Put this restaurant on your to do list once the madness goes away.  Here’s the beginning of her review: 

“...We went looking for Rogério Sá at his usual spot – his restaurant, Rogério do Redondo – but we were told at the counter that he just went “down there” to get “something” and will be back in a minute. “Down there” is with the men who fish in the Douro River. “Something” turned out to be shad – two fine specimens of the fish, in fact. “It’s in season,” Rogério tells us when he arrives. We know that fresh fish is worth the wait.

“The phone rings as we’re talking to Rogério, and he picks up. It’s someone calling for reservations – a party of six, and they’d like to pre-order the classic dish of rooster cabidela (where the meat is cooked in its own blood). “Let me talk to the cook to see if there’s any available, and I’ll call you back,” he says. At Rogério do Redondo, someone always calls you back; it’s what turns customers into friends.

“Friends whom the owner calls by name when saying goodbye, together with a “see you tomorrow.” Friends who sigh, laying their feelings bare: “I missed this.” You see, Rogério do Redondo closed in 2015. But in early 2019, after some renovation works, including the installation of a Josper, a hybrid grill and oven, and a few phone calls to former employees and customers, Rogério reopened one of Porto’s greatest classic restaurants.”

Once the restaurant reopened, Rogério went back to his old ways: He often goes to Vila Real de Santo António auction, in Algarve, to fetch seafood, crayfish and prawns at 4 a.m., bringing them back in time for lunch. He picks up potatoes in Bragança and Chaves, and even goes to Galicia, in Spain, to bring back the best pig heads and Asturian fava beans.

For the remainder of the article click here.

Don't judge a book by its cover says the old adage.  Same is true of this famed restaurant located in a working-class neighborhood of Porto Portugal.