Adega

Adega (wine cellar in Portuguese) is a Portuguese restaurant located in Alum Rock. The restaurant opened their door in January 2016 and so far got a lot of good reviews. We are going to Portugal very soon and before our trip we wanted to try Portuguese food which is the first for me and Hoa.

Husband and wife, Michelin-trained chefs Jessica and David wanted to created authentic Portuguese cuisine, simple but elegant food served in a casual environment. Jessica studied cooking at the Cordon Bleu and by age 20 she became the head pastry chef at Restaurant Eleven, a Michelin-star restaurant in Lisbon. There she met her husband David Costa. David cooked for over ten years and believes in transforming traditional dishes, without destroying their original flavor and keeping their original essence.

Close look at the Wine racks which is in display in the main room of the restaurant. Most of the wine on display are Portuguese wine.

The menu

House-made hummus, marinated olives, and butter - compliment of the house. The hummus is a unique blend and has a distinct cumin flavor. The marinated olives are perfect to nibble on while you browsing the menu and wine list.

We were seated in the middle of the room and had a good view of the whole restaurant. The restaurant has a very nice, warm an cozy vibe.

Since this is our first time here at Adega we decided to ordered a bunch of appetizers so we can taste them. Out of 9 appetizers we ordered 5 of them. We liked most of them with a few exceptions but they put a lot of effort in the presentation of the dish.

Tabua de Enchidos-A selection of thinly sliced charcuterie, Iberico ham, Duck breast, Paio sausage and Chouricao - $16

Morcela com Maca Verde- Blood sausage and green apple ravioli with fennel and celery room puree salad - $10

This dish was just okay- the blood sausage filling is really small and did not enhanced the flavor of the fried ravioli

Camarao Alhinho-Sweet shrimp in a buttery garlic sauce -$10

Cooked perfectly, the shrimps were fresh, sweet and tasty.

Barriga de Porco e Ervilhas-Pork belly, pea purre, poached quail egg= $12

Another good dish- everything come together nicely!

Salad de Polvo-Octopus salad with roasted re pepper sauce - $9

They minced the octopus in to very small pieces, I whish they sliced the octopus instead but this is a good dish.

Maily, Hoa, and Minh selected a Vinho Verde (a wine region in Portugal).

A bit green but that's how people in Portugal drink their wine wine. It has to be very chill and it is really easy to drink.

They also selected a red wine- this one is pretty decent.

Bife a Portugeusa-Ribeye steak, crispy Iberico ham, fried egg, fried potatoes- $29

The steak is served on a bed of rock salt. We were all surprised at how good the steak was. IT is also reasonably priced.

Cripy Iberico ham, fried egg, fried potatoes- this is the side dish that comes with the steak.

WE all enjoyed this dish-any thing with a runny egg is good for me. The sauce is also excellent!

Arroz de Pato-seared duck breast over chorico and shredded duck rice with fried parsely -$22

I came specially for this dish but was totally disappointed. I expected the skin to be crispy and it was not. The chips were delightful, crispy, airy and delicious.

Cataplana de Marisco-Lobster, scallop, oyster, clams, mussels, pepper, cilantro-$29

This is a traditional dish in Portugal and it did not disappoint. The broth was flavorful, all the seafood were fresh and perfectly cooked.

Fried coconut rice pudding, passion fruit sauce, mojito sorbet (Arroz Doce Adega) -

You have three fried Rice coconut pudding served with passion fruit sauce , a scoop of mojito sorbet in the middle and whipped cream. I love coconut so this was delicious!

Flan pudding, caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream, caramelized candied sugar - This is definitely not your traditional flan, beautifully decorated and really yummy.

Overall, we had a good meal at Adega. I recommend the steak, the seafood cataplana, and definitely skip the suckling pig. For appetizers, I liked everything except the blood sausage ravioli. The restaurant is nicely decorated and has a very cozy and welcoming atmosphere. I will be back with friends the next time...