Los Angeles, United States, Apr 20, 2024 (Lusa) - An initiative to celebrate Portuguese gastronomy in California will highlight, for the first time, Portuguese restaurants in Los Angeles, in addition to several locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

The restaurants Natas Pastries, Barra Santos and Nuno's Bistro, between LA and Riverside, will have special menus and prices during the week of April 22-28. This is the second edition of Portugal Restaurant Week and the first to include Southern California, promoted by AICEP -- Portuguese Trade & Investment Agency and the Consulate General of Portugal in San Francisco. 

"The Portuguese gastronomic offer in California is of excellent quality and in particular the custard tarts have had significant visibility, namely in films", Teresa Fernandes, director of the AICEP office in San Francisco, told Lusa. "Highlighting the most recent success of Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone, in the film Poor Things, tasting this delicious Portuguese delicacy". 

Natas Pastries is the oldest Portuguese restaurant in LA and became famous precisely for its custard tarts, although it has a full menu. For Portugal Restaurant Week, the owner of the space, Fátima Marques, created a three-course menu for 49 dollars (46 euros). The choices include caldo verde, codfish with cream, fish stew, shepherd's pie, feijoada and custard tart.  

"I tried to put a little bit of the variety that we offer in the menu that we have", the owner of the coffee shop and restaurant explained to Lusa. "It is a representation of traditional dishes and obviously ending the meal with our famous custard tarts, and for me still the best custard tart on this side of the Atlantic". 

The other LA restaurant to participate is Barra Santos, which will have a three-course menu for 45 dollars (42 euros), including grilled sardines, codfish cakes, pea salad and bifanas. 

"We are excited to be part of the Portuguese restaurant week", the owner Michael Santos told Lusa. "It is important to us, that we showcase some of the amazing food, wines and culture from our country". 

Barra Santos opened in 2023 in Cypress Park and has since been a meeting point for those who want to taste linguiça, codfish salad and chickpeas and try Portuguese wines. 

"It's great to see the awareness of Portuguese culture growing in California. This year will be the first year that Southern California will be included in this event and we hope to continue to grow in the coming years", stressed Michael Santos. 

According to Teresa Fernandes, the experience in the San Francisco Bay Area was very successful in 2023 and justified the expansion. 

"The consumption of Portuguese wine and gourmet products in the USA has been growing steadily and consumers recognize the quality of Portuguese products largely due to the visits they make to our country and the pleasant gastronomic experiences they have while there", she said.

At Nuno's Bistro, which in 2021 was considered the best European cuisine restaurant by Inland Empire magazine, the owner Joey Nuno Medeiros also created a special menu for 65 dollars (61 euros). In addition to the codfish cakes and the piri-piri chicken, which are permanent items on the menu, consumers will be able to taste caldo verde and grandma's pudding. 

The manager hopes that the offer will attract "more people who are interested in discovering Portuguese culture and us Portuguese". 

Further north, the participating restaurants will be Petiscos Downtown and Petiscos Little Portugal (San Jose), La Salette and Tasca Tasca (Sonoma) and Uma Casa (San Francisco). 

AICEP believes that initiatives such as this contribute to fostering the growth of exports of wines and agri-food products and positioning Portugal as a destination for tourism and investment.

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