Arca Amsterdam is the place for amazing Portuguese food (sneak peek!)
When most people think of Portuguese cuisine, they think of pastel de nata. And this pastry really is delicious! But Portugal has so much more to offer when it comes to food! And if there’s anyone who can show and let us taste that, it’s Henrique Sá Pessoa; the Portuguese chef, awarded two Michelin stars, runs several restaurants in Portugal and is bringing his creations to the new Arca Amsterdam this autumn. And how lucky we were: we got to taste them first!
And wow, what a party this was! Henrique completely blew us away in just a few hours. His style? Authentic Portuguese dishes combined with Asian influences.
Henrique is quite a chef
That’s right! Henrique Sá Pessoa is the third chef in Portuguese history to hold two Michelin stars. He received the stars for his restaurant Alma. In addition to his award-winning Alma, he also owns the more accessible Portuguese restaurant Taspico and is the concept chef of Chiado, a Portuguese restaurant with Asian influences in Macau.
In Portugal, Henrique is especially well known among the general public for his appearances on the national cooking show Ingrediente Secreto. He won the Chef of the Year award in 2005, and more soon followed. Just to name a few: GQ Chef of the Year (2017), Time Out Top 20 restaurants in Lisbon and World’s 50 Best Discovery (Alma Restaurant).
And now in Amsterdam..
Yes, and Arca Amsterdam is a real asset to the city! The brand-new restaurant is located in the art’otel. The hotel, near Central Station, previously housed restaurant 5&33. When we visited for our tasting, major renovations were underway, and we literally ate among the scaffolding. That didn’t spoil the fun, because eating among the scaffolding and protective sheeting took nothing away from the FANTASTIC dishes and wonderful cocktails and wines served here.
Extra special: cocktails with your food
Besides the wine list, which naturally includes plenty of Portuguese wines (tip: try the sparkling wine Murganheira Millesime Espumante, absolutely delicious!), Henrique has developed wonderful cocktails that pair perfectly with the small dishes on the menu. Cocktails are still often seen as an aperitif or digestif, rather than as a delicious drink with the meal. Thankfully, that’s not the case here, because through distillation and barrel aging, spirits develop highly distinctive flavors that offer wonderful starting points for pairing with food. So we drank a tequila cocktail with a fresh yet soothingly soft tomato salad with seaweed dressing, and it was a perfect match. Mmm!
Typically Portuguese: octopus
The Octopus Salad, a dish reminiscent of the typical Portuguese Salada de polvo but with a fresh Eastern twist, is once again served with a cocktail—a slightly stronger version that provides a counterbalance to the dish’s red pepper dressing. This dish also excels in elegance. It has everything: it’s fresh, light and spicy, and after every bite you long for the next one.
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- Octopus Salade
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- Elke hap een feestje!
The ultimate comfort food: Bacalhau á Bras
For anyone who knows Portuguese cuisine a little, the next dish will be familiar: Bacalhau á Bras is a traditional Portuguese dish of salted cod, potato and scrambled egg, finished tableside by Henrique; first, the egg yolk is stirred together with the fish, after which the whole dish is topped with marinated olives and parsley.
Bacalhau á Bras really is the ultimate comfort food, and it’s eaten beyond Portugal’s borders too. In Spain, they call it ‘revuelto de bacalao a la portuguesa’; revuelto means ‘scrambled’, which perfectly describes this scrambled Portuguese cod. Delicious with a crisp Portuguese white wine!
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- Even husselen…
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- Olijven en peterselie er over… zo lekker!
The showstopper: brioche with pork
We go back for seconds; this dish is truly irresistible. What we don’t know yet is that another showstopper is on its way: a brioche with thinly sliced crispy pork. This is simply food porn, it’s so good. Meat lovers know that crispy fried pork is already incredible in terms of flavor, and then it’s served on an airy-soft brioche with herbs and a delicious sauce… Believe us: this will be the bar dish of 2021!
Arca Amsterdam—remember that name!
If you really want delicious Portuguese food in Amsterdam, go full out at the table or at the bar, which will also open in autumn and where you can order bar bites (such as the brioche with crispy fried pork!), this is the place to be. Just a little more patience, and then we’ll be racing to Martelaarsgracht with squealing tires.
Arca Amsterdam, Martelaarsgracht 5, Amsterdam
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