Text José Silva | Translation Jani Dunne

Throughout the last few years, a number of places in Douro have emerged that specialise on serving good food, with quality, and using genuine products that have earned a safe spot on the market and are now sought after by both Portuguese people and foreigners. This is also thanks to the word spreading on social media, which is nowadays an ever more valuable and easily accessible tool.

In Ervedosa do Douro, a small village on the side of the road that climbs from the river bed up to S. João da Pesqueira, one of those places opened a few years ago, called Toca da Raposa [“The Fox’s Den”]. Right on the side of the road, but with plenty of parking space in front, we are welcomed into a very cosy and welcoming place. It’s well decorated, sober, and with very good taste.

A few tables stand at the entrance; then, you see a broad counter and a few more tables, a wooden floor, some wooden walls and others in schist, many shelves filled with bottles of wine, which they also work very well with here.

Toca da Raposa – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Toca da Raposa – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

The mother directs the kitchen like a pro, her hands making pure magic at times; the daughter runs the room with knowledge and good taste, presenting the dishes and proposing high-quality wines to go with the meal. Douro wines naturally cover most of the menu. The result is always magnificent, offering visitors well-presented intense meals with plenty of variety, from appetisers to more elaborate main courses, with balanced seasoning on perfectly-cooked food that always enhances the quality of the products used. After selecting the food, when we shift to the choice or choices of wine, we can always count on the daughter to show us the wines on the shelves and in the long list; they are not there just by any chance. You can tell she is a knowledgeable, enlightened person who knows the wines, where they come from, their characteristics, and the many harmonisations that come through with the different dishes on the menu. This is not unrelated to the fact that many producers of the Douro region – and that area especially – come by to eat. S. João da Pesqueira is the municipality of this region with the highest amount of Douro wine producers. On our last visit, after we were comfortably sat at our table, we nibbled on a few toasted almonds that came with a 10 Year Old White Port by Andresen, served at the right temperature. Very good.

Míscaros mushrooms – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Fried octopus filets – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Immediately afterwards, a delicious regional bread was served with very well-prepared appetisers: very tasty míscaros mushrooms (man on horseback/yellow knight) grilled with olive oil, and fried octopus filets with soft batter.

Small river fish – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Toasted alheira – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Then, delicious small river fish fried in pickling brine, a delicious toasted alheira with a slightly sharp taste and a crunchy skin, served with sautéed plump greens.

To close the session of appetisers and “watermill flavours”, we had toasted regional bread with olive oil, presunto, and cheese in olive oil. Excellent! So far, we had drunk the white Gambozinos Reserva 2013, that was always level with the food; we moved on to a red, Beira Douro Colheita 2012, both charged by the glass.

Míscaros rice – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Bízaro-pig steaks – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

The red made a good accompaniment for the míscaros rice – prepared to perfection, creamy and tasty, with grilled, thin Bízaro-pig steaks from the neck.

And we still had grilled kid with stewed potatoes and sautéed cabbage – very well cooked countryside food.

Dessert – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Dessert – Photo by José Silva | All Rights Reserved

Already pushing it, but with a 2008 LBV Port by Noval in our hands, we started on the almond pie, egg pudding, a mountain cheese with quince jam, and nuts, which left us exhausted… but delighted.

Then we moved down to Pinhão, to see the Douro, always his old self…