With Portuguese cuisine enjoying a serious renaissance, even Lisbon aficionados will admit that Porto is a great food town. Tascö deserves its place at the top of the list. Although it was early January, we will surely remember our dinner there as a best meal...of the year, with every sense finely rewarded, the entire staff authentically enthusiastic, and the last bite as good as the first.
You could call Tascö’ style an intentional blend of adventurous and distinctly Portuguese. We had great success with a generously portioned tapas approach, beginning with Adamus on-the-rocks, a deliciously floral grape-based local gin from the bartender-chef’s knowledgeable selection, and crispy caranguejo (soft-shelled crab), followed by a second leisurely round of 12-hour costelinhas (pork ribs), braised vitela (veal cheeks) with mashed potatoes and truffles, and eparregado (creamed spinach) primed with nutmeg. The wine was Romaneira, a brilliantly rounded red that showed off the best of the Douro. Tascö’s intimate minimalist setting and a quirky playlist that ran from blues and funk to boss nova accompanied the food to perfection. The entire experience was so good, we found it one of the few places that honestly left us wishing we had appetite enough to eat our way through the entire menu. Without hesitation, a rare 10 out of 10.More
