Tulhas Restaurante - Sintra, Portugal

Sintra, Portugal is northwest of Lisbon near the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the biggest tourist destinations in Portugal with large palaces and beautiful gardens. Our guide gave us an hour for lunch and suggested several restaurants. One she suggested was Tulhas Restaurante, down a little narrow side street. She specifically mentioned two dishes, the octopus and the cod prepared in a unique way, with garbanzo beans. 

Another couple from our group went there and we were the only people in the restuarant after a couple there when we arrived left shortly afterward. Other restaurants in the center of town were mobbed, while we had a wonderful quiet lunch.  

I'd read that octopus is popular in Portugal and decided to try it as often as I could. The octopus was a large and thick arm, plus some (I'm not sure from what part of the octopus the "some" came from) and it was marvelous, perhaps the best I've ever had. It was soft, not rubbery at all, and had marvelous flavor. The owner said it was boiled, then grilled. It came with boiled vegetables, including beans, carrots and potatoes. 

Bacalhau is the Portuguese word for cod and it is a very popular dish in Portugal. It is usually dried and salted. We had it quite a few times and this was by far the best. It was mixed with garbanzo beans and was quite fluffy, moist and tasty, almost like a fluffy bread dressing.  

Finally, for dessert we had a cherry cheese cake. Portuguese cheese cake is much more fluffy than U.S. cheese cake, and I like mine thick and substantial, but this was the best we had there and I liked it quite a bit.