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12 COMUNIDADE LA VOIX DU PORTUGAL LE 17 AOÛT, 2023 | THE VOICE OF PORTUGAL, 17 OF AUGUST OF 2023
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Café Ferreira no OpenTable

restaurante Café Ferreira é um dos melho- award for excellence from Wine Spectator magazine). executive chef Natalia Machado’s ability to break from
res na gastronomia portuguesa em Mon- Plus, Portugal’s prime minister awarded Carlos Ferreira tradition. The restaurant’s most iconic dish is black cod
tre
O al e foi inaugurado em 1996 - mas longe a medal of honour for promoting Portuguese culture in with wild mushrooms in a port sauce reduction.
do tradicional bairro português que está situado no Canada. Read on to learn about how Ferreira Café be- “This would not be a typical dish in Portugal,” Sandra
Plateau Mont-Royal. came a local icon. says. “It’s not at all what you eat at your aunt’s or your
O proprietário Carlos Ferreira estabeleceu-se numa Humble beginnings grandmother’s. It’s more of a culinary twist.”
das ruas situado no centro da cidade de Montreal. Ele Carlos left a career as a welder in Portugal and mo- That approach has been a hit at the other restaurants
esperava que um restaurante português de luxo pudes- ved to Montreal in the early 1970s. He got his start in
se criar um nome para si mesmo num domínio quase restaurants washing dishes at the airport before moving
exclusivamente reservado para estabelecimentos fran- on to deliver bread for iconic brasserie and bakery Chez
ceses e italianos. 27 anos depois, este restaurante ga- Gautier. That lit a spark for a career in hospitality, and he
nhou tudo na gastronomia em Montreal e é afamado continued moving up in the industry and saving money
através do mundo. Esta semana tive o prazer de ler um until he could open his own restaurant.
excelente artigo escrito por Tim Foster do OpenTable: Spotlighting Portuguese ingredients
Carlos was eager to share foods from home with Mon-
trealers, and that led to the opening of Ferreira Café in
1996. Right from the get go, showcasing top-quality foods
from Portugal was central to the restaurant. “Portuguese opened by the Ferreiras. Café Vasco da Gama nearby is
cuisine is very focused on the freshness of the ingredients,” a market-style lunch spot for the downtown crowd that
Sandra says. “It’s all about putting that line-caught sea makes a mean duck confit and fig sandwich. Portuguese
bass on the plate, and it will be served simply with olive chicken spot Campo mixes up Quebec and Portugal in-
oil.” Sardines remain a favorite at Ferreira Café along fluences in its poutine, swapping cheese curds with unc-
with line-caught cod from Portugal and more local ingre- tuous São Jorge cheese and the addition of spicy chouriço
dients such as scallops from New Brunswick. No corners sausage.
are cut in the cooking process: The creamy, flaky pasteis Keeping its beloved status strong
de nata (custard tarts) take 48 hours to make. As much as diners return for a taste of Portugal, Fer-
Carlos was also a pioneer of importing Portuguese wi- reira Café’s warm hospitality has also kept Montrealers
nes such as bright vinho verde and tannic tinta roriz hooked. That warmth propelled Sandra to join her father

Ferreira Café, the crown jewel in Montreal’s Portuguese
food scene, opened in 1996—but nowhere near the tradi-
tional Portuguese neighbourhood on the Plateau.
Owner Carlos Ferreira settled on Golden Square Mile
in downtown Montreal. He hoped an upscale Portugue-
se restaurant could carve a name for itself in a domain
almost exclusively reserved for French and Italian esta- (tempranillo) to Montreal. At one point, the restaurant ten years ago. Many restaurant staffers have been there
blishments. “He had two dreams in one, and it was to reportedly had one of the largest collections of port wine for decades, and the Ferreiras are eager to keep it that
open a Portuguese ‘embassy,’ as well as one of the best in North America. The Ferreiras now make their own way and continue serving some of the city’s best Portu-
restaurants in Montreal,” says Sandra Ferreira, Carlos’s wine and olive oil in Portugal that’s served at the restau- guese food. “I decided to come as the second generation
daughter and the general director of the Ferreira Group rant. to really fulfill a mission of longevity and keeping the bu-
(which also runs Café Vasco da Gama and Campo). Expanding horizons siness alive,” Sandra says. “Ultimately, it’s really a family
Fast forward 27 years, and it’s mission accomplished. Ferreira Café’s fare is unabashedly Portuguese—and thing”. Foto credit: Caroline Perron Photography e do
Ferreira Café has drawn glowing reviews (including an diners keep returning for it. But they’re also excited by Ferreira Café.

Parabéns aos nossos Jovens em Ação da Santa Cruz que foram ao JMJ 2023