Local, Lisbon, Portugal – 2 chefs, 10 seats, banana and cheese

For our city break this time round, we decided to try somewhere other than Barcelona, and here we are in the gloriously sunny and hot city of Lisboa! We almost had to cancel because British Airways decided to strike and didn’t want us to be great but…., we are living it up! Soaking the sun (me mostly), sipping cocktails at the roof top, taking in the sights and sounds. Ahh…decompressing is such a good thing eh?

Din Dins was at a restaurant called Local. How Neal chooses and finds these places remains a mystery, I just love coming along for the ride. Of course, we got to the restaurant early (come on now, we take our food adventures serious people!) We really didn’t have a picture in our head of what the place could look, like no clue, zilch, nothing. It literally is a space with a kitchen area, a massive dining table to sit 10 people and that is it!  You would walk past it if not careful, but I don’t think you would if it had diners in there because the vibe is LIT! I know we were very boisterous to say the least.

There are usually 3 chefs who cook. Today though, Chef Marta was off and you know what they say, a girl needs her beauty sleep!

Nonetheless, Chef Andre and Cristiano held it down,with either of them introducing each course. We didn’t have a food menu but were given a drinks menu instead. You had the option of pairing the dish with different wine or could get a bottle – there was more than enough drinks to go around! Cheers!

Our meal started off with gazpacho. This was unlike the gazpacho you may or may not be familiar with. Typically, gazpacho is cold soup made with raw blended vegetables. The gazpacho in Local was made with apple juice and almonds and yes, it was served cold. The creaminess from the almonds was watered down with the apple juice but in a good way, making it lighter. It was so deliciously refreshing. Exactly what was needed for this rather warm evening. The starter provided us with a glimpse of how awesome the rest of the food was going to be.

Our fish course was a fish I had not eaten in a loooonnng time – croaker! First off, I did a double take when Chef said ‘croaker’ fish lol. I don’t think I have ever heard the fish mongers say this or even list it in their displays at the market. I honestly don’t know what the English name / equivalent fish is called. If you happen to know, do put a comment below. What I do know is, it is a common fish in Nigeria. I have fond memories of haggling in the market with the fish mongers (female mostly) on size, weight, and price. The cleaning of the fish, I was not too keen on – descaling and taking out of the gills and / or guts. To our non-African readers, do not be shocked by this, it is not a big deal. Think of it as a coming of age ritual and no I was not nor am I traumatised by this. Although, my brother’s first attempt at prepping a chicken …..

Right, back to this croaker fish course at Local. The fish was grilled served with apricot, thai basil and yuzu (citrus foam sauce). Aside from the feeling of nostalgia this course gave me, my days, it was good. Since the yuzu is citrus, I expected the sauce to be sharp aka acidic but this wasn’t. The citrus notes were prevalent but with the fish, it was a fine balance with the smokiness from the grill. Our other fish course was mackerel, tomato and melon- simple and yet so good! Black pork, acorns and orange was the next course with the thickest, flavourful gravy that was just out of this world.

What is the firs thing that comes to your mind when you think banana? I’ll go first – fruit, good in a smoothie or its own. Thinking a bit more, I’d say home made banana cake. I am not too keen on banana as a topping for cereal or waffles. Now, cheese? What comes to mind? Wine? toasty? Panini? cheese cake? Ha ha! How about banana and cheese?  Or banana, cheese and fish sauce? doesn’t sound right? I mean these must be the most random things to use as ingredients in a dish?! Well if the chefs in Local are making it, best believe it is dope and yummy! According to the chefs, this is a play on pudding they had as children during summer months. I am not quite sure if I can accurately describe what this course was. It had a thick brown sauce (presumably the fish sauce), with cheese shavings and the banana. Looking at the dish, it gave away nothing, like NOTHING! But when you take a bite, holy guacamole! It popped. It was texture explosion. My goodness it was just delightful.

The petit fours? AWESOME!

Not only did Chef Andre and Cristiano bless us with some superb cooking, the vibe was LIT. We caught so much jokes, there was laughter and joy. It felt like going to a party where you initially feel odd about being the +1  but then, you get comfortable enough to enjoy yourself!  Obrigado Chefs for this food experience and introduction to Portuguese cooking! Truly special!

Do yourself a favour, eat local when you are in Lisbon!

Felicidades

Ndidi

p.s since we had no menu, Chef Andre wrote it up for me by hand! bless him!