Leitao
No, this isn’t the front of Leitão but a pic of the back. I stumbled onto this restaurant looking for Portuguese or Peruvian restaurants for our Friday dinners. My partner wanted this as the option for this evening, so I made a reservation for 2 at 5:30 PM on a nice Friday evening. The restaurant itself is located about a 0.5 mile (0.8 km) walk from the West 4th subway station. I didn’t take a picture of the front because it was difficult to take pics of the restaurant without having people’s faces directly in the way.
Ambiance & Service
The interior had a lot of exposed brick, and there was a lot of Latin music (think Brazilian and Portuguese) playing over the speakers. We were seated right next to the stairs leading downstairs. The restaurant was comfortable until they turned on the air conditioner. The air blew directly at us, so we felt cold really quickly.
The service was fast, and the server recommended some decent dishes. For payment, they bring a card reader.
Food
The Amarguinha ($18 - left) came with amarguinha, almond liqueur, Ketel One vodka, lime juice, and coffee beans. This was surprisingly decent, and the almond flavors were definitely very prominent.
The Palacio da Brejoeira ($18 - right) came from João Garrido made from 100% Alvarinho grapes in the Vinho Verde region. It has dry, fruity (green peach) and citrus notes, with medium acidity. This wine was pretty smooth with notable green fruit flavors. I did not think it was much acidic, and it went well with everything I ordered this evening.
The Porco Preto ($24) came with Iberico pork ribs, cooked with Alvarinho wine, capers, and a house-made Calabrian garlic chili sauce. The ribs were very tender and fall apart. It was quite tasty with the sauce as well. They gave us some bread, and we dipped this in leftover oil.
The Bacalhau ($21) came with Norwegian dry-salted cod with a pistachio crust, accompanied by a tapenade of black olives and capers served over a bed of spinach with crispy onions, parsley, and drizzled with extra virgin Portuguese olive oil. The fish was subtly salted, and thankfully, it wasn’t too much. The crust was crispy, and the spinach was a great complement to the fish.
The Chicken Piri Piri (Portuguese Roasted Chicken) ($36) came with organic half chicken from Shenandoah Valley paired with homemade Portuguese piri piri sauce. The piri piri sauce is made with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parsley, lemon, and hot smoked paprika. This was probably our least favorite of the night because it was a little one dimensional. The chicken was definitely very tender with nice smokey flavors, but the piri piri sauce was too spicy for my partner. We probably should’ve ordered some type of vegetable side dish or starch to complement this dish because the flavors were just spicy and heat.
The Pao de Lo de Ovar (Portuguese Creamy Sponge Cake) ($13) came with a luscious Portuguese sponge cake topped with berries, pine nuts, and sheep milk cheese. This was fairly basic in flavors. I think it just reminded us of warm cake with berries on top.
The Pasteis de Nata ($6 per piece) came with classic Portuguese custard tart topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon and powdered sugar. The pasteis were pretty good. They were a little small and pricey for their size, but the flavors were delicious.
Final Verdict
Leitão was a pretty good Portuguese restaurant, and the flavors are mostly there. The food overall was definitely on the good side. If you’ve never had Portuguese food, definitely check this restaurant out to start learning more.
Yelp Jabs
Portions were really big, so we definitely over-ordered, but I never complain about having lots of leftovers.
For 2, we felt satisfied with what we ordered: 2 appetizers, 1 entree, and save room for dessert.
Polvo- I was torn if I’d enjoy this since it wasn’t whole octopus but the flavor was really good and the octopus was well prepared
This Elitist lives in New York City and had a slight hope that it’d be a whole octopus. I have not been to many, if any, restaurants here where they serve whole octopuses. Typically, restaurants will serve 2 legs.
Revisions
- Oct 20, 2024 - Initial revision.