2023 Lisbon Trip (Day Three – Trobadores Taberna Medieval Restaurant)

Steve had found this medieval themed restaurant located just off the back streets of Lisbon and they set fire to your food at the table, so this excited and delighted Bev. She likes a raging inferno which is out of control.

I like some theming in a restaurant or hotel, it adds a little excitement to proceedings and it felt appropriate to the historic part of Lisbon where it was located.

The interior of the restaurant, lots of wood and candles to give it a medieval edge. We were initially a little concerned as nearly every table seemed to be reserved, but fortunately these signs were ready for later on in the evening and we could sit there until then.

Mead served with ice, which I’m not entirely sure is the medieval way of serving it and I would have been content with it just being chilled. Decent flavour though, mead is very under-rated as a drink and I’m positive that Greggs don’t sell it.

We all ordered the flaming sausages, but the staff member explained that due to the fire alarms we had to have ours flamed in the kitchen. The whole thing was slightly odd as other tables were allowed flaming sausages, and we could have been moved to another table if ours was perhaps in danger of being located just too near the fire alarm. The others were disappointed, although I can’t say that I was overly concerned given that I don’t like fire as along with many other things, such as snakes, cows, pigs, sheep and anything else in fields.

The bread with rosemary was pleasant and the sausage had some flavour to it, although it could have done with cooking for a little longer for my liking which other tables had the ability to do. The sausage was also slightly fatty and so the experience really wasn’t quite there although it was all quite amenable other than Bev muttering that she wanted a fire on the table.

The dessert was better, this is the Clementinas Brandy which was served with vanilla ice cream and a dark chocolate ganache. The brandy had broken down the orange giving it a depth of flavour and the chocolate contrasted well with the strong flavour of orange. Indeed, this was like a luxury chocolate orange, a very agreeable dessert.

There are a few on-line reviews commenting on the different treatment of Portuguese and foreign customers, but I’m not entirely sure that this was a problem here as the staff were always friendly and helpful. There might though have been an occasional language barrier, which became evident with the lacking of flaming sausage. I liked the general theming of the restaurant and it was a cosy atmosphere, clearly popular with locals given the number of tables that were reserved for later on in the evening. I’d suggest that this is a reliable location for larger groups and there are a variety of medieval dishes such as rabbit, duck, lamb, pork, cod and partridge also available. Although meat dominated the menu, there were a few vegetarian options also listed. As for social media of our visit, all was well as Steve was able to video the neighbouring table’s flaming sausage and I don’t think anyone noticed due to his clever framing….