I love tapas and racions with cool wines and drinks. They give you the excuse to eat more with just small plates and bites. After a few plates later, you'll be pretty much full to the hilt and have the satisfaction of sampling many things at one seating. Since I always dine out alone, I can't really share my food with anyone so portioning is important. The good thing is, Bar Lourinha offers half portions on almost all of the racions. I went out for a quick lunchie hoping that I'll be able to wind off the first half of my hectic day.
There have been a lot of comparisons made between Bar Lourinha and MoVida, both serving racions and tapas with wine. They both also answer to the maddening crowd's thirst for cozy after work or pre-theatre hang outs, always with dark wood and a fully-stocked bar. Honestly, there really is nothing to compare. MoVida is from Spain, Bar Lourinha is from Portugal. Simple. Both with good unique food to offer.
Yellowfin Tuna with Lemon and Chillies - This is a good, clean dish to start. Half-portion, so only 2 pieces are neatly presented on my plate. Very simple and fresh tuna. Tangy lively lemon always cheers up fresh tuna.
Prawn Stew - This is really not your ordinary prawn stew. It's lemony, fishy and with bread. Saffron is definitely on the list of spices with fresh cilantro. It's the first time I had stew this way but I just wanted to dip my bread into the left over olive oil and saffron sauce.
Grilled Wagyu pincho - Nothing special with this one but just tender beef pieces on a skewer. The roasted pieces of red capsicum makes a good combination to the dish, I just wished they added more. Oh, and the almonds too.
Pomegranate crema and pistachio praline - Aside from the first two dishes, I think this is the real show stopper because of the color of the dessert. It reminded me of Christmas, especially that it's chilly in Melbourne, and somewhat of the time when I'm going into the toy store to buy gifts for my little cousins at home. Ok, you get the picture. Nostalgia. Pistachio praline works well with the rich crema but the pomegranate didn't entirely stand out.
Overall, I can say that Bar Lourinha is almost there when it comes to taste. There is always some element missing in one or more of its dishes and nothing particularly stand out. There is one predominant taste - tang. There seems to be lots of it from the racions to the dessert. But in terms of ambiance, it's cozy and home-y, a good place to hang out with friends.
There have been a lot of comparisons made between Bar Lourinha and MoVida, both serving racions and tapas with wine. They both also answer to the maddening crowd's thirst for cozy after work or pre-theatre hang outs, always with dark wood and a fully-stocked bar. Honestly, there really is nothing to compare. MoVida is from Spain, Bar Lourinha is from Portugal. Simple. Both with good unique food to offer.Yellowfin Tuna with Lemon and Chillies - This is a good, clean dish to start. Half-portion, so only 2 pieces are neatly presented on my plate. Very simple and fresh tuna. Tangy lively lemon always cheers up fresh tuna. Prawn Stew - This is really not your ordinary prawn stew. It's lemony, fishy and with bread. Saffron is definitely on the list of spices with fresh cilantro. It's the first time I had stew this way but I just wanted to dip my bread into the left over olive oil and saffron sauce. Grilled Wagyu pincho - Nothing special with this one but just tender beef pieces on a skewer. The roasted pieces of red capsicum makes a good combination to the dish, I just wished they added more. Oh, and the almonds too. Pomegranate crema and pistachio praline - Aside from the first two dishes, I think this is the real show stopper because of the color of the dessert. It reminded me of Christmas, especially that it's chilly in Melbourne, and somewhat of the time when I'm going into the toy store to buy gifts for my little cousins at home. Ok, you get the picture. Nostalgia. Pistachio praline works well with the rich crema but the pomegranate didn't entirely stand out. Overall, I can say that Bar Lourinha is almost there when it comes to taste. There is always some element missing in one or more of its dishes and nothing particularly stand out. There is one predominant taste - tang. There seems to be lots of it from the racions to the dessert. But in terms of ambiance, it's cozy and home-y, a good place to hang out with friends.
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