Text José Silva | Translation Jani Dunne

Helder Sousa comes from Santo Tirso. He moved to Porto to study theatre and later became a theatre producer. He worked in that field for quite some time.

One day, his interest in food and wine tempted him into a life-change. As a stroke of genius, he realised he wanted to run a restaurant, so he took over Carteiro, an already established eatery.

He named it Antigo Carteiro (meaning Former Postman) and moved into the square where the restaurant (originally a post office) was located. He knows people and places round the square; he visits the local café and people know him and respect his work. The restaurant used to serve traditional food in a homely environment. You can find it on Rua Senhor da Boa Morte, after Largo do Ouro, looking right over river Douro and winking at Aldeia da Afurada, on the other bank – in Gaia.

The kitchen is on the ground floor and, on the first floor, a tempting terrace is home to the original lettering for the Post Office.

Inside, there are two rooms, one of them facing the front of the building, with many windows and a tall mirror around the corners – an excellent effect. The back room is smaller, yet equally comfortable and well decorated using light colours – very refreshing.

Tables are expertly set – comprehensively. The staff is friendly, dedicated and very polite, including Helder, who is always there to serve and explain how meals are prepared, what ingredients they entail and what products they are made from. You can tell he is very passionate and truly loves his life’s project, which he has embraced with open arms and perseverance. Helder developed his own concept, by creating a more comfortable white-towel restaurant and serving the food he most enjoys. Wine is part of this project, with the owner looking to serve unusual wines that are not very well known, but harmonise with his cuisine. According to him, the kitchen should use high quality products, so that results are as intended. He tries to recover some things that have almost fallen into oblivion or that aren’t that common, such as ham-style tongue and pickling brine, some of his favourites. In his menu, he includes codfish and octopus, cow’s tongue and lamb shank, veel cheek, pork knee and rice with smoked sausages; as Helder usually says, food from head to toe.
He recently gathered some friends round and brought in two wine producers for a deliciously engaging journey on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

We started with some excellently presented and very tasty toasts with tomato or cured salmon.

This was followed by mackerel marinated in dry tomato. This kind of fish makes for fantastic meals; it’s quaint and well-tempered. The crunchy dry tomato is an excellent accompaniment.

The small sardines in pickling brine were fully eaten – head and all!

The ham-style tongue with pink pepper and rocket were also very elegant and rich in flavour.

Then, a risotto made with long-grain rice, fresh shitake mushrooms, penny bun mushrooms and green asparagus – a beautiful mix.

Quail in pickling brine is a traditional recipe; served cold with little toasts – delicious.

Next were the veel cheeks, which had been marinating for several hours and came with pumpkin mash and sautéed greens, such class.

The meal came to an end with the dessert, which was served on a charming three-sided plate for three different flavours: chocolate mousse, apple crumble with port and a juicy sweet made of eggs, toasted almonds and pink pepper. This entire feast was bathed in two white wines. Very different, yet excellent:
Solar dos Lobos from 2014, young, cheeky, cool and perfectly acid, consistent and well paired with the brine.

Solar dos Lobos 2014 white – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Casal de Santa Maria 2010 white – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Also, a bottle of Casal de Santa Maria of the 2010 harvest, with a delicate touch of wood, deliciously complex aromas of asparagus and something soft and tropical, a beautiful structure and elegant acidity. It worked exceptionally well with some foods, for instance the ham-style tongue, the mushroom and asparagus risotto and the veel cheek.

A tawny from the house of Vieira de Sousa was the choice for dessert; very elegant with intense nutty aromas, round and deep, with great acidity, crunchy and lightly toasted. It made for a grand finale after a long afternoon.

Contacts
O Antigo Carteiro
Rua Senhor da Boa Morte, 55
4150-686 Porto
Mobile: (+351) 937 317 523
E-mail: oantigocarteiro@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/oantigocarteiro