Rei Dos Galos De Amarante

When talking or writing about a place, I always look for the positives. Like, what makes a restaurant special? For Portuguese restaurants, there are certain factors that make them stand out for me. It is essentially the feel of them, old school vibes, the aroma coming through the kitchen, nothing fancy but soul-satisfying food. It is not easy to encounter many such restaurants in the centre of Porto. While I have come across some great places, ‘Rei Dos Galos De Amarante’ is one that, for me, is perfection in terms of what I consider a “Portuguese kitchen”. ( As an outsider, I say this with the knowledge I have gained about what a Portuguese kitchen should be.)

Rei dos Galos was born out of necessity in 2014 and now, it is easily one of the best places in Porto. It is truly a one man show. Miguel Periera, the owner, turned an old family space, rich of history, into a small, severely overlooked restaurant that serves us a taste of true Portuguese food. He currently runs the whole place with the help of a server (sourcing the ingredients, getting them on the table and then even cleaning up after). His passion for this kitchen is visible throughout the dining experience. Every single thing you taste is amazing and that is the result of copious amount of love and patience that Miguel puts into his family recipes. He believes, everything that goes on the table has to be of the same excellent standard and for that the menu has been kept small, but packed with flavour. Whether it is the story behind the dishes, the history of this place or the euphoric fish soup, dining here is the utmost delight (and a must, if you are in Porto).

Another thing that makes this place stand out is the name. ‘Rei dos Galos do Amarante’ means ‘King of Chickens of Amarante’. While, majority of the time you won’t find any chicken on the menu (which can confuse some people), the name is really fitting. In late 1960s, Miguel’s uncle owned the place. He used to get roosters from Amarante (a city) and then sold them off in an old market in Porto. It was his business and that was what the place was known for. When it turned into a restaurant, Miguel kept the name because of his family’s connection to it. It is good that they didn’t change the name as it sounds grand, like there is pride involved in it and it fits because the dishes are nothing short of being royal. While I was talking to Miguel, he was prepping for the dinner service. All the slow roasting meats were in the oven at around 2pm, to be served after 8pm (takes a lot of patience). The aroma in the restaurant was making me salivate, knowing how good everything is going to be. The food here is unforgettable and even unexpected dishes would blow your mind. I usually don’t like Rabbit but Miguel urged my table to try the Rabbit stew. And yes, it was phenomenal. The meat didn’t have its usual gaminess, the texture perfect and I ate so much bread by dipping it in the red wine sauce mixed with all the juices (I felt guilty but it was heavenly). I love how Miguel has elevated all these recipes after learning them from his parents. 

It was a series of events that led Miguel to running this place. He used to be a professional handball player, eventually, his sporty nature got him to free diving and that led to spear fishing. It has been decades now that he has been doing it. No matter what the season or the weather, it has become a weekly ritual. (You can check out more about his spear fishing on his YouTube channel; Miguel Pereira.) By doing so, he got closer to the sea life. Bringing the fish that he catches home and trying new recipes became a usual thing. The star of the the show is the fish soup at Rei dos Galos. If you come to dine here, it is a given that you will be having the soup (even the server would assume it for you). It is loaded with delicate fish, the flavour is not as intense as many fish soups tend to be, it is just subtly perfect and feels like home (no matter where your home is, it is one of those dishes). With spear fishing, Miguel and his wife were coming across a lot of Peixe Porco (Trigger fish) and generally, the trigger fish around the coast here can be hard to work with. The texture when raw is on the tougher side and has an intense flavour. So, Miguel’s wife started trying recipes which worked best with Trigger fish and got to this fish soup. Miguel took that recipe and implemented in the restaurant with softer fishes like Sea bass and Sea Bream. With that, one of my favourite things came to exist (honestly, I would be happy if they could just keep bringing me that soup). With Miguel’s connection to the sea life and opening this restaurant, it was natural to have great seafood on the menu. 

Look, just thinking about this place is making me hungry, and I have already made it clear how good the food is. They keep it really low-key, it is only open twice a week for dinner, so you can get a sense of how much care goes into making those two dinner services exceptional. Also, if you like Octopus, don’t forget to try it because it just might be one of the best you will ever have. The way Miguel preps it, results in a butter like end result. So, go there, soak in the ambience of Rei dos Galos de Amarante and let Miguel serve you one of the best meals ever.