Even before Lisbon’s Canalha restaurant was out of soft opening last year, it was the talk of the city’s foodie class. One journalist went as far as calling it the only Portuguese restaurant in Lisbon—that’s how thorough, and well-executed star chef João Rodrigues’s love letter to classic neighborhood restaurants is.
So it was big news when the chef and his team opened a pop-up at the luxury Sublime Comporta resort at the end of June. Until the end of October, Canalha Comporta are bringing a taste of their magic to a new environment.
The glass-walled dining room is more elegant than the Lisbon original, but it’s still homey, with bare wood tables and dried peppers hanging from the ceiling as decoration. A display of fresh fish and seafood greets guests when they enter, and a chalkboard menu on one of the walls has a list of the day’s seafood, fish, and meats, which are sold by the kilo.
The spirit of the cooking is the same: the absolute freshest, best-quality Iberian ingredients and a relaxed atmosphere were simplicity is the star. Many of the instantly iconic dishes from the Lisbon flagship are on the menu, including the Maldonado charcuterie, the Jacinto beef tartare, the open-faced omelet with shrimp and onions, and the impossibly tender grilled squid with sheep butter.
But they’ve also adapted their philosophy to the coastal Alentejo with that product display and chalkboard menu. A satisfying dinner might begin with simple seafood—scarlet prawns, goose barnacles, or plump clams in the garlicky Bulhão Pato style—and continue onto a whole fish, such as wild caught sea bass, turbot, or sole, for two, simply grilled and bathed in a lightly creamy sauces that manages to enhance the flavor rather than masking it. And as at any classic Portuguese restaurant, green beans and boiled potatoes are served on the side.
The desserts also skew classic. There’s plain fresh fruit, as there is at all good tascas, as well as strawberries with cream, and peaches with egg yolk and pistachio. The sweeter options include traditional fare like flan and chocolate mousse with powdered coffee.
For more information, visit the Sublime Comporta website.
Canalha Comporta
Sublime Comporta
EN 261-1
Muda, Grândola
Phone: +351 269 449 397
Email: info@sublimecomporta.pt
Hours: Wednesday to Sunday – 18:00 to 24:00
