Cacué

A modern tavern that highlights Portuguese traditional recipes with good taste and exquisite décor.In the past few years, Lisbon saw several new modern taverns revolutionising how customers look at traditional Portuguese food. Most places keep a rustic vibe, using subtle techniques to enhance flavours on typical dishes, young staff, the music is fun, and smart communication.Cacué is one of those children of the revolution, opened by José Saudade e Silva, a young cook. Saudade's last name is a non-intentional statement, with "saudade" being the Portuguese word for missing something or someone that does not translate in any language in the world. Cacué is located in a local and busy area, away from evident and touristic neighbourhoods. Here you will find executive people having a quick lunch, friends meeting, and offspring taking their parents for dinner. Cacué kept the typical Lisbon basalt sidewalks, and painted the tables in bright vynil red, adding some 70's lightning. On the walls, an old black and white picture shows Ricardo Chibanga, the first black bullfighter from Mozambique – a former Portuguese colony –, that took the world by storm. José Saudade does not print any twists on typical recipes, just some good presentation. Local favourites are Bacalhau à Brás (a comforting codfish dish, with scrambled eggs, onions and fries, Cabidela (chicken blood rice with vinegar), Filetes de Peixe Galo com Açorda (John Dory deep fried fillets with bread porridge). Make sure not to miss a few savoury pastries, such as the Cockles Rissole or Pastel de Massa Tenra (yummy meat deep-fried pastry).