2023 Lisbon Trip (Day Three – Caso Sério)
Once again I put myself in choosing the evening’s restaurant and I went for Caso Sério, a small restaurant in the tourist area but it was well reviewed and had 30% off on TheFork. I didn’t take many photos, so the scene above is from the end of the meal, but it gives an impression of the homely nature of the venue. What is in the photo is just about the entire size of the restaurant, although they have a small number of external tables as well for those who like eating outdoors. The noise levels were also relatively low, so it felt a comfortable dine and we were never rushed during our time in the restaurant.
In the background is Bev complaining about something and in the foreground is the very acceptable, or at least from a big brewer, Super Bock Stout. I was concerned that there might be some fado performance here as I’m not hugely engaged with musical entertainment, but I was pleased when the waiter confirmed that there was no such show on the night that we were there. Bev and Susanna did their usual thing of saying they couldn’t possibly drink more than one glass of wine each, but then ended up having just about a bottle each. Steve and I didn’t say anything.
The menu is relatively limited in size, but it’s of a scale that they can clearly cope with and there was sufficient choice. I ordered the chick peas with cod fish and I was going to have a mixed board which had a selection of local meats and cheeses. The waiter, who was friendly and personable, suggested that they were too large to have one each, which I was sceptical about. Susanna and I shared a mixed board and in the end we just ordered another one so we ended up with the equivalent of one each. The chick peas had a depth of flavour from the cod and the individual items on the mixed boards all tasted of a decent quality, with one of the spicy sauces adding heat to the arrangement. The bread was a little bit generic, I thought that they could have been a little more exotic with that.
I’m not going to win any photography awards with this image, but it’s of the lemon cheesecake. To my delight, there was a lot of lemon in this and it had a suitable sharp taste which had some zing to it. The dessert choice was this or chocolate cake, so although I was perfectly pleased with this dessert, the dessert menu was rather limited in its scope.
The pricing was really quite low for the quality, my two beers, mixed board, chick peas and dessert came to around £18. One reviewer wrote:
“This restaurant severely undervalues itself. This is Michelin-level food and you’re missing out if you don’t come here during your time in Lisboa, assuming you are a tourist. Servers are very friendly, speak excellent English, and are more often than not literally within an arm’s reach if you need them. My only complaint is that the dessert menu could use some expansion into Portuguese classics, but the rest of the menu shines so brightly that this is hardly a fair criticism.”
It’s a positive review, although I’m not quite sure that I would go as far as to say that the food was Michelin-level. However, it all tasted freshly made and the ingredients used seemed to be of a good quality. The standout element was the engagement from the waiter, who was pro-active and personable, although I’m not sure I agree with his assessment that the mixed board was too much for one. But, that’s no complaint as it’s much easier to under order and then add to it rather than just over order and then leave some of it.
Given that the restaurant is a thirty second walk from Lisbon Cathedral, so in a touristy area, I thought that the whole experience was very agreeable and I’d come again here. Perhaps next time I might work through their seemingly relatively large range of roasted sausages and other tapas options, I can imagine that’d be rather nice in their homely restaurant.
