Taking a Gamble on Mexican Food in Porto

The food was okay. The cat was perfect.

Today, we took a bit of a gamble.

We decided to have lunch at Zarzo, a highly rated Mexican restaurant here in Porto.

Now, being from Arizona and regular visitors to Mexico, we went in with realistic expectations. We knew there was a very slim chance the food would be the same Mexican food we’re familiar with. But you needed reservations just to get in for lunch, so surely that had to be a good sign... right?

We started off strong with a margarita and a michelada. Both were delicious, although the margarita was so weak I wasn’t sure if it actually had any tequila. Still, we were willing to overlook the lack of alcohol because the food kept the momentum going.

The chips, guacamole, and salsa were all excellent. The chips had clearly just been made and were still warm, which is always a promising start. The two salsas were the right balance of heat and flavor. The guacamole was fresh, chunky, and heavy on the lime, the way we like it. We also ordered a shrimp aguachile that was really good, although the shrimp were enormous. Apparently, I prefer my raw seafood to be slightly less... structurally impressive. I didn’t take a photo of the aguachile because I was so distracted by the shrimp.

Then our entrées arrived, and this is where the wheels fell off the bus a little for me.

Shawn ordered chicken enchiladas, which looked more like folded tacos than enchiladas, but were actually quite tasty. He did say his refried beans tasted canned though.

I gave Shawn the fried egg that came on my dish since he appreciates eggs much more than I do.

I ordered chilaquiles (one of my favorite Mexican dishes) with beef. The meat had no discernable seasoning, and the chips were too crispy (if you know, you know). The sauces and black beans were very good.

I ordered a second margarita, but the second one was much sweeter than the first and still no discernable tequila.

I give Zarzo a 6/10, while Shawn rated his meal an 8/10… “for Mexican food in Porto”. The appetizers were genuinely good, and the chicken enchiladas were tasty. But the main course and margarita situation left me feeling like we had come tantalizingly close to a great Mexican meal (for Porto) without quite making it all the way there.

But the walk home was infinitely better…

We stumbled across this beautiful cat lounging on a chair in the doorway of a pub that we walk past frequently. She was completely unphased by my photo taking and molestation (she let me pet her, briefly) like this is her full-time job. How had we never seen her before?

A reasonably good Mexican meal and a cute cat? That feels like a pretty solid afternoon.