On a trip between Algarve and Porto, that started near the lunch hour and combining with my hate for service stations, nothing like making a small detour (20km), between the road connecting Alcácer do Sal and Comporta, for a “light” lunch. Open for 12 years, the Escola restaurant steals the name of the former grade school of Cachopos. With the school recovered and the lines of the kitchen traced, where they seek to recover the traditions of the region cuisine, with influences of Sado and Alentejo, the Escolal has been receiving positive critique and is a target of true pilgrimages when the summer comes and Comporta becomes destination of choice.
The decoration is rustic, like the proper style of the Old Portuguese restaurants, with the wine (another element worth highlighting in the restaurant) being one of the most important decorative elements.
We started the meal, which was intended to be quick and light, with great bread from Alentejo, while we scanned the many choices in the menu.
À Bolhão Pato Clams (11€)
Ample dose of clams, with the big spotlight on the sauce, where the water from the bivalve and the onion truly shone. If the Peruvians drink their Leche de Tigre, we could easily do the same with this sauce. Less positive note on the clams, slightly overcooked.
Grouper Massada (13,5€)
The size of the dose is big and serves two people. On spot fish on a tasty and aromatic broth, according to the tradition of the region. An excellent option.
Black pork scrag end (11€)
Certainly my favorite cut of the pork, excellent ratio of fat and muscle, resulting in a moist and tasty piece. Here cooked in the simplest way possible, emphasizing the quality of the animal, grilled in thin slices, with bacon and thin potato chips, crunchy and without excess fat. Comfort food.
With no room for dessert, the options were many, highlighting the convent sweets and an original pine nut pie.
The wine list is extensive, with all the main national references present, more than 200 well selected wines with attractive prices, without the hallucinating profit margins practiced nowadays in so many places. In the end no petit fours, but the courtesy of the house, fried sweet potato with sugar and cinnamon. A nice and sweet end with one of the best products of the region.
The famous game dishes were left out, of these the wild rabbit patty and the partridge in a clay pot stand out.
The service is friendly, but slightly slow and inattentive.
Final Remarks
The Escola is a restaurant of traditional cuisine, without luxuries and an environment that fulfills what it promises, regional dishes made the old fashioned way, with taste and good ingredients. The quality/price ratio is one of the restaurant strengths, whether in relation to the meal or to the wines to accompany it with. It is worth a visit to those who travel to the region or those passing by. We’ll be returning for sure.
Restaurante A Escola
Estr. Nacional 253, Cachopos – Alcácer do Sal
265 612 816