Café Guarany

We researched for a place that not only had good food, but also traditional Fado music on a Friday night in Porto. We read some great reviews for Café Guarany so we were pretty excited. As we arrived, we were greeted warmly, told that there was live music tonight, and shown to a nice clean table. The atmosphere was inviting and the employees were very friendly. The special of the night was salmon with a deconstructed ratatouille which sounded delicious. Unfortunately, while the salmon was cooked perfectly, it was one of the most bland piece of fish we have ever had. Is was fairly expensive and all of the food was bland and flavorless. It was terribly disappointing. Then we found out that the Fado singer did not perform on Friday nights. The whole experience left us unsatisfied and a little deflated.

My hubby, sister, and I had been walking around Porto for hours, we needed a rest, and preferably something warm on this rainy day. Café Guarany was pretty full, and it’s already a large restaurant, but a British waiter pointed us to a seat and told us he would come back to set us up shortly.
I’ll admit it, we were pretty stupid guests. We were exhausted, slap-​happy, clumsy, and my hubby was suffering from some kind of nasal congestion flare up, that there was probably a reason the same waiter gave us somewhat flat looks when he reset our table. However, I do have to admit, my sister, in her tired and clumsy state, actually probably made the waiter’s day. She literally believed anything he said, and once she finally realized he was teasing her, threw back really funny and snarky comebacks that left this East Londoner absolutely flabbergasted. At one point, he actually ran right smack into a table as he turned to leave after my sister made a particularly snide comment that left him and me snorting, however my husband covered his face in embarrassment and then gave us a look so glaring that we Shaw Sisters quickly toned it down. So we were that table at a somewhat fancy restaurant. #sorrynotsorry; the server did stick us in a fairly secluded corner.
Since the server really couldn’t wait to come back and tease my sister at every chance, we got our afternoon tea pretty quick. My sister and I ordered a pot of tea, and my husband took coffee. We had a spread of toast, rolls, Portuguese sweet bread, butters and jams, and then pastries as well. Everything was really good: not overly sweet, very European, and after a long day of walking around and a few hours of a train ride coming up, we were very happy to have this smörgåsbord of a meal to refuel and tide us over until Lisbon. It wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary though. The price really comes from the ambiance and the disciplined servers. It’s like stepping back into the early twentieth century when you come in here.
After our server ran into a table, he took a while to return, but we had to leave him an extra good tip for the entertainment. He was so stiff and formal with all the other tables, it was clear he thoroughly enjoyed letting some of that pent up frustration out in teasing my sister. Being a server is all about reading your table, and I think we made his day by not being so serious and gave him an opportunity to be himself. And if that wasn’t the case, we made up for it in tips. I probably wouldn’t go back if it weren’t for this server.

Restaurant with great atmosphere and live music while eating. I skipped the appetisers on our visit and went right for the entrees, but my company drank a soup that was so-​so. The entrée ordered were the recommended veal and it was nicely seasoned with garlic and herbs. I must say, although not over the top, it still was the best food on this trip. Portuguese good is blend and draws all its taste from the main ingredients. The best thing with the dinner was the desserts — I ate a sundae with good tasty ice cream and my company ate a dark dark chocolate cake and the coffee was nice. All in all a nice dinner.

Nos aconsejaron desde la oficina de turismo este café/​restaurante para pasar una noche tomando algo y escuchando Fado en directo, «los jueves y los sábados a partir de las 9:30 de la noche», nos dijeron.
Llegamos temprano, como a las 8 de la tarde más o menos, pensamos en tomarnos algo antes de cenar y esperar a la actuación. El café es muy bonito, los camareros son tremendamente serviciales (chapó por los camareros portugueses, es que te hacen sentir como una millonetis en el sitio más chungo del lugar). Nos pusieron las típicas entradas de aceitunas y picadillo de atún con pimiento y cebolla tierna que nos vino muy bien para acompañar las cervezas pre-​cena e ir abriendo boca.
Sobre las 9 pedimos la cena, tallarines con salmón y gambas para mi y picaña acompañada de frijoles y arroz para mi compañero. Los dos platos estaban buenísimos y de postre tarta de manzana acompañada de un vino de oporto (de la zona). El sitio no es barato, tampoco excesivamente caro y contando que venía con actuación incluida no lo vimos ni tan mal.
Con respecto a la actuación, fue demasiado corta para mi gusto, no estuvo ni una hora en total con un descanso en medio de unos 15 minutos para que la cantante echara un cigarrito entre fado y fado. Me sentí un poco como los de la tercera edad en un show de Maricarmen y los pajaritos en Benidorm. Pero bueno, una experiencia más.