We’ve passed this restaurant a few times during the day on our visits and it seems always popular. The other day we were beckoned to eat, but promised to come back another day. This evening was that day.
The restaurant was busy but the host managed to find us a table. The service was brilliant, rearranging a table of two into a table for three. However, much to the disgust of our dining neighbours as we were now encroaching their personal space with reduced elbow room.
The menus arrived, but no Chã. Questioning the waitress, they do stock the wine but it’s not on the menu. So a cheeky bottle of Chã Branco it is. Dishes ordered included the Fogo cheese and tomatoes bruschetta, tomatoe soup, prawn cocktail, cachupa rica, pasta carbonara and fish skewers.
As the band played we started to relax and enjoy the evening. The wine arrived, tasted and poured. Not ice cold, but chilled enough.
Time for starters and what struck us was the prawn cocktail. With a menu price of 800 Escudo, on the face of things the price sounded reasonable for a styled restaurant targeted at the Europeans. However, we fell around laughing when the prawn cocktail arrived. We have never seen anything like it. Six prawns hung over a large Martini styled glass with a dollop of Marie Sauce and lettuce as accompaniments. The realisation however was at 800CVE, that’s over £1.00 each per prawn! Outrageous!
Taste wise, all starters were OK. One cannot negativity critique other than say slightly bland. The quality and freshness of ingredients were fine, but there was a lack of seasoning.
Main courses. Cachupa Rica was microwaved for sure. That hotness where there is no steam to guide your other senses to the heat, but a mouthful burns with a reflex puff, puff, puff to cool your tongue and cheeks. In contrast the tepid accompanying fish. The carbonara was balanced, seasoned well and enjoyed. The fish skewer was hardly touched.
Overall we felt the food was good quality but perhaps a little expensive for nothing special. The initial welcome was brilliant but attention diluted through service. The band played throughout our dining experience, which is always a nice touch, but note the 200CVE per table cover as musical gratuity.
In summary of our first experience at Sapo Com Fome is that it is too expensive compared to similar styled restaurants. It’s targeted at the Europeans for sure. That bottle of aforementioned Chã that was not on the menu? Priced at 2,350CVE on the receipt and thus more expensive compared to Barracuda. That tells me that this place is not cheap and be warned another sting in the tail. The Escudo/Euro rate is 100/1, so our 8,950.00CVE bill is receipted at €89.50. Pay in CVE and you’ll pay £71.30 but pay in Euro, that’s an extra £7.32 at £78.62.
