TASTE of Portugal was an absolute delight from start to finish.
This is octopus as good steak, filling with tender meat behind the purple of the tentacle case.
On Wednesday my seventeen-year-old had a football match at Irlam o'th' Heights. We drove back to Old Trafford through Salford down Langworthy Road and saw, half way down, Taste of Portugal. It looked inviting.
Saturday we were back, faces dropping as we saw all the tables were reserved. The elegant waiter said, "No problem, the reservations are for later, please this way." The waiter turned out to be the affable and informative proprietor, Fernando.
Fernando, service with a smile
The interior of Taste of Portugal is like a bar you might find in Porto or Lisbon, bric-a-brac heavy, complete with photographs of the food you might eat. There's even a signed shirt from fellow countryman Cristiano Ronaldo, in this instance from his time at Manchester United.
There are probably a lot of Ronaldo shirts about.
We watched the Champions League Final later that evening - appropriately from Lisbon - and Mr Vanity kept plucking his shirt off and chucking it into the crowd.
Ronaldo looks for a restaurateur so he can present his shirt for mounting
I almost felt like doing the same after my clam starter (£11). I wanted to celebrate.
Cooked in a 'special' sauce that contained saffron and feisty amounts of garlic, these were the best clams I've had in ages. The spoon came in handy as I souped up the sauce. A hot starter of prawns (£7) without shells were a zingy joy too.
Clam perfection
Atlantic facing Portugal was the first European nation to send sailors around Africa to India. The spices they brought back inform the food to a much greater degree than that of its Iberian neighbour, Spain, and they were very evident in Taste of Portugal's cooking.
The frango asado, or fried chicken (£9.50), and its 'super piri piri sauce', showed the heat off. The chicken was glorious, a flavoured crisp skin with moist flesh beneath. One son braved the super piri piri - home made and supplied in a self-apply vial - and loved it. I tried a drop and swear I scorched my tongue. The only failure in the meal was the poor fries that came with the chicken, the rice that also appeared with the dish was fine.
Marvellous chicken
Octopus is specialThe star course - along with the clams - was the octopus (£13.50) with cabbage and spuds plus caramelised onions. This was superb, as simple, rugged and elemental as the cliffs of Cabo de Roco.
In effect this is octopus as good steak, tender meat under the purple of the tentacle heavy flesh, filling and rewarding. It worked beautifully with the cabbage and the potatoes.
A cod dish (£11) mixed with very thin fried potatoes, onion, bound with egg and adorned with olives was pure peasant food. It was a dish that defined hearty and reeked of authenticity but took some ploughing through.
Cod, olives and authenticity
Rich moussePudds were a homemade chocolate mousse (£3.50) rich in cocoa. The custard tart (£1.15) was a lovely little thing dropped solo onto a plate but tasting lush. The presentation is clearly secondary to flavour in Taste of Portugal.
The food was washed down with a pale, bright lager from the north of Portugal called Super Bock (£3.60 a pint). There's a range of Portuguese wines waiting for our next visit.
Seconds of research revealed this apt fact: 'Super Bock has history with Manchester. The supporters of Manchester United from the early 1990s often had games with teams such as FC Porto. The fondness for ‘Bock’ was developed into a chant for trips in Portugal – ‘Super Bock, superstar, gets you more pissed than Stella Artois’.
Super Bock - very refreshing
That sort of drunken tomfoolery is the wrong mood for Taste of Portugal. As Fernando said, "We're a family restaurant, for relaxing and enjoying the food."
He's right. The place was like a vision of Earth as it is in Star Trek, harmony among multiple linguistic groups. A sweet atmosphere.
And here's a tip.
If you want the bream or the razor clams, ring Fernando up twenty four hours before your visit and he'll get them in fresh.
That sort of personal service sums up Taste of Portugal.
If you like a homely neighbourhood buzz and really good uncomplicated -occasionally exciting - food, you should try this place.
Langworthy Road looks tough in places, but life should be more than a beauty contest with extra hummus.
But why Langworthy, one of the UK's most deprived wards? I want to get on my soap box and make a point about this.
We reviewed another Portuguese restaurant in Chorlton recently, Lusitano.
Chorlton is a much more predictable location, but on these pages we've frequently expressed the desire that instead of every retail unit in Chorlton, the Didsburys and the Heatons turning into a bijou bar or restaurant it'd be better if the love could be spread a little, especially into east and north Manchester and across into Salford.
People still eat and drink in those districts.
The problem is I know residents of south and central Manchester who are actually scared to go there. It's pathetic - would-be urbanites who are really the suburbanites they mock. These people are mainly Labour voters too, critical of 'cruel' Coalition policies, yet people who never stray from their comfort zone.
View from Taste of Portugal
Yep, Langworthy Road looks tough but life should be more than a beauty contest with extra hummus. Opening in such districts can be a 'risk' worth taking.
"I knew about Langworthy Road, its reputation, when I opened two years ago," says Fernando. "But this is a family restaurant and it was a good site. There are many good people around here. I'm happy. I think we have even helped the area change a little."
Rejuvenation through food, rejuvenation through the good things in life, seems a sound policy.
Following Taste of Portugal's lead are other businesses such as well-regarded bar restaurant, Monty's. Maybe things are on the up in Langworthy. Maybe it's time for people to stray from their comfort zone.
I'll be re-visiting Taste of Portugal. I'm already pining for those clams and I think they're pining for me.
ALL OUR SCORED FOOD REVIEWS ARE IMPARTIAL AND PAID FOR BY MANCHESTER CONFIDENTIAL. REVIEW VISITS ARE UNANNOUNCED AND COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT OF ANY COMMERICAL RELATIONSHIP.
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter @JonathSchofield or connect via Google+
Rating: 15.5/20
Food: 7.5/10 (prawns 7, clams 8.5, octopus 8, chicken 8, cod 7, custard tart 7, mousse 7)
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Deli food from Portugal too
Interior
More interior
Exterior
Deli victuals
Prawn delights
Menu items
More menu
Menu plus
A shirt Ronaldo threw into the crowd previously
