In this
historical
place where you can almost imagine hunters arriving with partridges and hares and putting them down them on the table built in such massive stone, we leave the amenities of your historical stay in the hands of our restaurant. There is a room next to the living room where
breakfast is served. For
lunch or
dinner, go through the royal courtyard where it is so easy to imagine carriages and horses around you. Let yourself be charmed at the Cozinha Velha restaurant. There's always something timeless about entering a kitchen and see that it has a stone fireplace and a table so huge its transportation defies the laws of logic.
Located in the old kitchen of the
Palace
of
Queluz, the restaurant remains unchanged at its essence - the table where you will find the
dessert
buffet which has made this place so reputable is the same table where the meals of the Palace used to be prepared. The chimneys are ancient and the coppers that are displayed on the walls are original to the kitchen. Under the chimney there is a skewer which was used to roast whole animals (cattle, pigs) and numerous smokehouse bars where game sausages used to be prepared.
Overlooking the garden and the courtyard entrance of the Palace of Queluz, with wooden ceilings, sash windows and tables set in a simple and elegant style, in order to effectively highlight he quality of the food, you will feel transported to another world where it is easy to imagine women of round skirts using the copper pots. The sink and the cup are absolutely original. The paintings represent hunting scenes.
The appetizers represent the
regional
cuisine, not only from that region, but from all the country's regions, since this historic hotel also serves as an ambassador of the best products of the country.
Cod
pataniscas, octopus salad and cod salad (salted, very thinly shredded to keep an aromatic and slightly intense flavour) are some of our exceptionally fresh appetisers, which will allow you to taste a bit of everything that comes from the sea which bathes Portugal. The ex-libris of the restaurant are the spiritual cod, the sole wrapped in puff pastry that was one of the restaurant's reputed recipes to host distinguished guests, and the Chateaubriand, an insane sirloin medallion weighing almost a pound (400 g), cooked between two steaks directly over hot coals, so it won't dry.
The
traditional Portuguese
pastry making is very rich, since the younger daughters of nobles were often sent to convents, not by vocation, but because there was not enough money to pay them the dowry. Nor was there interest in sharing land. On the contrary, the goal was to increase its area through marriages of convenience. This way, many young girls, accustomed to the good life, found in pastry making the sole consolation for their involuntary seclusion. With
sugar, eggs, almond, and
gila as ingredients, the pastries were improved and provided truly paradisiac moments on earth. Make sure you taste the Marfim
Pudding, surprisingly light, caramelized, rich and tasty.
