The tapas was very Mediterranean in feel, with olives, dips, breads, salads and sea food. There were some particularly good cheeses. It was the main dishes I was very keen to try, and I wasn't disappointed. My favourite was the pork with chestnuts and black pudding. There was a beautiful tasting octopus dish also.
I have to admit that I hadn't tried Portuguese wine before - well, apart from Mateus Rose in the '80s! It was all very good - I tried three, forgive me! The red and white were very similar to some Spanish wines I've tried, which makes sense given the geography. I am not a fan of rose wines usually, I find them terribly sweet, but the rose I tried here was crisp and dry. Lovely!
The restaurant is in two sections - dining on one side, and a deli and more casual section on the other. They serve breakfasts and coffees as well as lunches and dinners, and they have a bar on both sides. The menu is very reasonably priced, I think the pork dish I liked was around £11 and was one of the more expensive items. They also do set menus that are great value, with different dishes on different days of the week. Will I go back? Of course!
You can visit Mãe Maria on Facebook here.
I'll tell my friends about this, they're often in Cardiff and are obsessed with Portuguese food.
ReplyDeleteVihno Verde was massive here in the 1980s, all the wine bars served it - I'm more of a fan of Mateus Rose, I'm such a classy bird! xxx
So wonderful that you got an invitation to go by the resturant! It sounds like it was a very lovely time out especially with tasting all the different Portuguese wines!
ReplyDeleteIf Portuguese food is like Spanish I'm there :D and when I did drink wine I didn't mind a nice Rose ;) xx
ReplyDeleteThe tapas look very tasty, and £ 11 for a main dish really isn't much. I'm taking note, in case I ever end up in Cardiff. xxx
ReplyDeleteWow, that's an excellent spread. All that lovely fruit and seafood.
ReplyDeleteThe Douro river is the Duero in Spain; Duero reds are among Spain's finest so I bet ones from the Portuguese part of the river are equally good. Likewuse Spanish whites from Galicia/ the Rias Baixas are superb so I'm guessing north Portuguese wines from over the border are lovel. (And who doesn't love port?) Portuguese wine suddenly strikes me as something I should investigate - for edumacatational purposes, of course.
I'm always really excited when a new resterant opens up near me. I love trying something new. This place looks great; tasty food is always a win!
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