Portuguese wine bar and restaurant, Bar Douro City have announced a new series of monthly supper clubs which will explore Portugal’s diverse wine regions and local gastronomy. Running from March until November, guests can enjoy wines and dishes that will pay tribute to the wine regions of Portugal, beginning with Alentejo, Douro, and the Algarve. Following each supper club, the specials board at both Bar Douro restaurants will feature dishes and wines that represent the month’s wine regions. For those wishing to take part at home, each month the Bar Douro Bottle Shop will offer a mixed case, featuring wines from that month’s region.
The Journey starts in the southern Alentejo, reaching the steep terraces of the Douro and mountainous, rocky Trás-os-Montes via Lisbon, Tejo & Setúbal, going as far as the Açores & Madeira. Running on the first Saturday of each month and seeing guests treated to a four-course tasting menu, the supper club will cost £45, with tickets now available here, with a supplementary Portuguese wine pairing and cheese also on offer.
Saturday 5th March will see Bar Douro City highlight wines & dishes from the Alentejo region. Best known for its bedrock of smooth, ripe and fruity reds – this sunny southern region is a hub of modern winemaking and Bar Douro have selected wines celebrating local varieties. Regarded as the breadbasket of Portugal, the sun blushed wheat fields of the Alentejo sprawl amidst olive groves and cork forests, where herds of black pigs graze on acorns. Bread, pork and olive oil feature predominantly in the regions fare, and the supper club menu – with dishes including Gaspacho à Alentejana and Carne de porco à Alentejana (Pork with clams). For dessert, Sericaia will be served, a traditional Portuguese egg yolk pudding, whilst a gooey and indulgent Monte da Vinha sheep’s milk cheese will also be available. These dishes, alongside others inspired by Alentejo, will be found on the Bar Douro specials board throughout the month of March, alongside a selection of local wines.
On Saturday 2nd April, the menu will be inspired by the Douro region for which the restaurant gets its name. Located 100km to the east of Oporto, the Douro is home to the world’s largest expanse of mountainside viticulture and, at over 100-years-old, amongst Portugal’s oldest vineyards – traditional field blends. With multi-faceted terroir and over 100 grape varieties, the Douro is a winemaker’s playground, producing long-lived Ports and wines of every style and hue. The traditional cuisine of the region is hearty and meat focused, with rustic home cooked dishes made from pork and goat. There is a strong tradition of curing and smoked meats in “Fumeiros” with these smokehouses using traditional methods to produce regional charcuteries which are then sold at the local Talhos. Especially for the occasion, Bar Douro have imported a variety of smoked meats from the legendary Talho Qualifier. April’s supper club and specials board will explore the roots of this regions home cooking and those recipes passed down through generations, such as Bola de Lamego (Marinated pork sandwich), named after a picturesque Douro town and Cabrito Assado e arroz de forno (Roasted goat and rice). For dessert will be a delicious Leite Creme, a wonderfully rich cooked custard with a crisp sugary top.
For those dining on Saturday 7th May, Bar Douro City will transport guests to the sunny beaches of the Algarve. Located at the southern tip of Portugal and protected from cold northerly winds by a mountain range, holidaymakers and vines alike bask in the Algarve’s warm Mediterranean climate. Upland rivers feed the Atlantic Ocean, whilst their fertile riverbanks yield exquisite fruit and vegetables. The nutrient rich waters of the Ria Formosa lagoon are a feeding ground for local molluscs, and the Atlantic Ocean supplies restaurants with the freshest fish. As such, May will highlight Algarvian specials such as the traditional Portuguese stew, Favas à Algarvia, alongside Arroz de Lingueirão, a beautifully fragrant local rice dish studded with razor clams, and Pudim de Laranja steamed pudding laced with a sticky orange caramel sauce for dessert.
Bar Douro City’s Journey Through Portugal supper club series will run on the first Saturday of every month, with dishes from the supper club then being highlighted on the specials board periodically. Bookings for the supper club can be made via Opentable, costing £45 per person for a 4 course tasting menu with the first event on 5th March. Corresponding mixed cases from that month’s wine region will also be available to purchase on the Bar Douro Bottle Shop.
For more information, head over to Bar Douro City’s official website.
Last month, Bar Douro announced that Friday 24th and Saturday 25th June 2022 will see the launch of Festa, which will bring Portugal to London’s Tobacco Dock through a ground-breaking celebration of Portuguese wine, gastronomy, music, and arts.