Casa Dos Presuntos | O “Xico”

Kukreja family is moderately wise. Wisest of us all is my dad. I was about 12years old when dad took me to Bangkok. It was my first time out of the country and a time of excitement. All I could think about was trying new dishes. On that trip, my dad would take me and my brother to the tiniest of allies, weirdest places in the search for good food (Because of him I have eaten some really strange stuff but now I love everything!). There, in Bangkok, he imparted the best knowledge I could ever hope for. He said, ‘Eat where the locals eat’. Since then, anytime I travel, the primary thing I do is to find places that are full of locals of that city and eat the best possible food I can. 

Naturally, I am always on the lookout for places of that manner, even in Porto. Over the years, I learned another thing, ‘old people know their food’. When it comes to traditional food of any culture, it obviously makes sense that the older you get the more you know about your cuisine. Recently, a friend introduced me to ‘Casa dos Presuntos’ and I instantly took a liking to it. I didn’t notice the ambience much at first but after more visits, I realised that it is really enjoyed by the local seniors (and the first thought I had was, ‘Of course! The food is good’). Every time that I was there it was full of old Portuguese people sitting in groups and enjoying their time or individuals smashing a Presunto sandwich with a glass of wine and going about their day. 

There is a bus stand right outside the restaurant and I think that is the prime location for a place like this. 30years ago, Mr. Francisco “Xico” Braga, opened this restaurant aimed towards people passing through, looking to have a quick bite and now his place is full of regulars. The bus stand plays a big part in this because while people are standing in queues waiting, they can just go in, eat something, love the food and make that a frequent thing (definitely better than standing in the street with the cars passing by). If it were me, I would start coming to the bus stand a bit earlier to be able to spend an extra while enjoying the food here and probably there are people doing this. With such a location, even though it is a bit off centre, they work a lot.

Before Xico opened the restaurant, he was a Motorista (A driver for hire with a license to drive heavy land vehicles). On any of his journeys, like most drivers, he would stop in taverns for a break. Now, what I have found is that people here love their mid-work snacks and for Xico, it was to have a Presunto sandwich. Then, after working a long time and eating a ton of them, he decided to open his own place to cater to people like him. He began sourcing traditional Presunto from a city close to the Spanish border, in central Portugal, called Castelo Branco. Now, the menu consists dishes that are served as Petiscos (Small plates of different dishes to be shared amongst people, like Tapas) and some traditional plates that are served depending on the availability. The only thing that has changed about the place in 30 years is the bus that stops in front of it. It used to be the No. 80 when the restaurant first opened and now it is the No. 400.

Presunto is a dry-cured ham. The entire pork leg is cured either with salt or aromatics and smoked. The curing time depends on the region where they are produced but it can be about 2 years. The flavour is intense, really fatty and pairs well with any good, mild cheese. There are a couple of differences but is almost similar to the Italian Prosciutto or the Spanish Jamón. If cured for a long time, the pork develops a thick outer layer around it. It is called a Bark and you might need the arms to trim it off.

This restaurant is a great place to try some good, traditional Portuguese food. It doesn’t seem like much but it is cheap, the ambience is comforting and I love watching Xico’s family whip out great food from such a small kitchen (the kitchen is open but honestly, it is just a stove and a fryer, which makes the whole experience better). I would suggest that you go with a few friends, be a bit brave to try some really traditional dishes and have a good time. I trust to be well fed in a place like this because the owner’s favourite dish is Rojões, which is one of my favourites too.