Text José Silva | Translation Jani Dunne

It’s been over 25 years since the Camelo family opened this great eatery in Santa Marta de Portuzelo, on national road no. 202 a few miles away from Viana do Castelo. They have focused on regional food from the start, and especially on using many excellent ingredients.

The Camelo restaurant has seen steady growth; they started working as a venue early on and now have many rooms that can fit up to 1000 people. In the summer, they get incredible amounts of business!

Camelo Restaurant – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Camelo Restaurant – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

But none of this has affected the Camelos’ judgment. They have a very comfortable old room, masonry block on the walls, personalised service, and very well set tables offering the best of conditions for our big meals. It’s advisable to book a table, especially for the weekends, because it usually books up all-year-round. Mr. Camelo is constantly running round; he greets us with a joke: “Have you seen any [camels] round?”

At the entrance, a cosy waiting room with sofas and a bar right beside it offer a more welcoming wait, just in case our table isn’t free yet. Especially because, besides the house’s iconic dishes, some are especially sought after in certain seasons, as people travel long distances especially. The shad and lamprey season is one – from January until April – and the many lamprey dishes (à bordalesa (Sliced, marinated in white wine and boiled in its own blood and vinegar, served with rice or toast), in rice, or roasted in the oven, among others) are extraordinary, and are cooked with high-quality lampreys from Lima river. The shad, fried in thin pieces, with a big lettuce salad, and a panada made with the roe is unavoidable. On every second Sunday of the month, crowds pour in to enjoy a tremendous cozido à portuguesa [a Portuguese-style meat stew], which is a little hard to describe.

There is plenty of choice of appetisers – codfish buns, codfish cakes, chouriço, salpicão [both are smoked sausages], orelheira [pig’s ear], and boiled snout-and-onion chouriça – and sometimes the peculiar caralhas: beef (steer) giblets poached in verde tinto wine [green-red] from Perre – delicious.

The soups are excellent – from the seasonal vegetable soup to caldo verde (Soup of potato and Caldo Verde kale with slices of chouriço), chicken soup, and even the superb papas de sarrabulho (Mash of boiled meats, with flour, blood and boiled liver) garnished with a lot of cumin!

Being close to the see brings in some seafood and very fresh fish: sea bass, hake, sea bream, turbot, sole – which is plainly grilled, plainly boiled, or cooked just like the Camelo-style hake. Codfish always makes a strong presence, as one expects in Minho. Besides the more traditional preparations, Camelo-style codfish is one of the most popular; always a tall piece, soaked to perfection and very well accompanied. But the meats are what stand out in this traditional-style restaurant’s menu – be it pork, beef or poultry.

Minho-style rojões – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Arroz de sarrabulho – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

The complete Minho-style rojões [meat cubes], which may be served with a side of arroz de sarrabulho [rice cooked in pork blood], the tasty and soft barrosã steak, or a decent beef chop (steer).

The Serra dArga oven-roast kid delights its fans. Plus, that ode to Portuguese cuisine that is cockerel with arroz de cabidela [rice in blood sauce] is called “the barefoot cockerel” here, reflecting typical Minho humour. Besides the cockerels raised in this property, many other animals are raised by neighbouring farmers, who are trusted by the Camelos.

Arros de Cabidela – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

The house’s red vinho verde – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Hard, tasty meat wrapped in carolino rice – cooked to perfection – peer from under the lid of the iron pot that just arrived at our table. The very important touch of wine vinegar livens the mixture. What a concoction!

The house’s red vinho verde, served in a bowl, made just the right kind of company. Does the feast end here?! Not at all, desserts are on their way and come in a seemingly endless parade. The leite-creme [crème brulée], the flan and the rice pudding confirm tradition – excellent.

Our goodbyes are, as always, a “see you soon”…

Contacts
Rua de Santa Marta 119
Estrada Nacional 202 – Santa Marta de Portuzelo
Viana do Castelo, 4900-252
Portugal
Tel: (+351) 258 839 090
Website: www.camelorestaurantes.com