A Baiuca

NileGuide Expert tip:

The sangria is famously potent!

Description:

• This enchanting back street taberna is one of several in Alfama offering fado vadio – amateur performances of Portugal's poignant and sentimental folk music. Not much bigger than a shoebox, the restaurant can barely contain its charm, let alone the tourists that mix with locals on a nightly basis to listen to bus drivers, plumbers, cleaners and anybody else who might want to sing their hearts out. The food is rich and filling – chouriço assado (grilled sausage), ensopado de borrego (lamb stew served on toasted bread), arroz de polvo (octopus rice) typify the dishes – and wines include those from the sun-baked Alentejo province. It's all served with no-nonsense gusto and there's little reason to stand on ceremony. The impromptu entertainment is genuine and sincere and while mainly staged for the benefit of foreign visitors, fado vadio remains an important cultural tradition in the daily lives of many Portuguese. © NileGuide2011
• © NileGuide2013