The Prince and The Hawker

On the first night of my last trip to Porto, my friend, who is Portuguese and a foodie, suggested a restaurant she had heard of for our first dinner. Elemento is a restaurant that touts a “firedining” concept. They feature local ingredients cooked using wood fire, be it in the oven, on the grill, or over coals.

I thought this was a great concept and was excited to try out what Elemento had to offer, not least because it has a mention in the Michelin guide. However, the meal left me wanting a little more. I could see how some parts of the menu was built on the wood fire concept, but I was lost at other times.

As we approached the restaurant, we were excited walking up the gently sloping cobblestone street in the centre of Porto. Elemento is housed in a beautifully restored building from the 19th century. We were greeted warmly at the door and led into the long, cavernous dining room. Our lovely server came by to explain the menu, but we had already decided beforehand that we would go for the tasting menu.

Time to Eat at Elemento

My friend opted for the wine pairing. The pairing features exclusively Portuguese wines, which was what drew my friend’s interest. She thoroughly enjoyed it with the meal. Elemento has an extensive wine selection, apparent by the alcove off the side of the dining room.

I opted for a non-alcoholic passionfruit mojito to see me through the meal. It was just as fresh and tasty as it looks.

The meal started with sourdough bread and housemade butter. It looked fantastic on the table, but I found the bread a little bland and the texture a bit gummy. I wonder if they sliced the bread right out of the oven, which can lead to this texture.

We were then served two small snacks. I quite enjoyed these two bites. The fish (I didn’t catch what kind) and roe paired well with the double umami of the mushroom and seaweed.

The second snack was a beef tartare with sumac, on a small toast. I really enjoyed this bite since I think the tanginess of the sumac paired well with the beef.

The only thing I wondered was whether or not these two snacks were the best way to start off a meal with the theme of “firedining”. I didn’t think they particularly showed off the uniqueness of wood fire cooking.

After the snacks came a larger Red Prawn Tartare. It started feeling repetitive with three raw dishes in a row, but this one was my favourite. The roasted onion broth was intense in pungent, sweet flavour, as was the tartare itself. In contrast, the guanciale, a cured meat, tasted relatively mild, which was surprising but welcome.

Next up was the fish of the day – Atlantic croaker in this case. The small, slightly briny fish was cooked perfectly with a dusting of pink Himalayan salt. This merged well with the smoky salt bush leaf it came with. The scarlet prawn sauce, however, was a bit off the mark. It tasted like a sweet lobster bisque that didn’t tie the dish together for me.

After the seafood dishes came a black pork rump. The Iberian pork was served with grilled lettuce heart, sliced mushroom, and a bechemel-like sauce. The dish tasted perfectly fine, but it felt a bit pedestrian. Nothing on the plate was particularly exciting nor exuded “firedining” to us.

The second meat dish was more exciting for me. A lovely slice of beef entrecôte was cooked to medium rare, on the rarer side, which is what I like. Opposite that was a piece of ox cheek braised with cumin. My friend informed me that cumin is very typical in Portuguese dishes. It was very tender, and went well with the oaky aroma of the grilled vegetables. There was also a olive tapenade hiding under the vegetables, which I found oddly refereshing.

After all the savoury dishes, I was looking forward to dessert. First came a “pre-dessert” In the small bowl, there was yogurt mousse, pineapple sorbet, ginger foam, pineapple chutney, and mint. Our server highlighted that the pineapple came from the Azores. This dish was a playful dance of tropical flavours. I found myself enjoying it and wanting more. It was on the sweet side for a palate cleanser (although nobody said it was supposed to be one),

The dessert proper was a smoked red velvet cake. The smokiness brought a welcome dimension to the cake. It was served with a beetroot sorbet and crisp, which made the dish have a bit more of a savoury note. The hay sour cream gave a delicate earthy twist, lighter than a traditional cream cheese frosting. For me, this dish was a huge success and probably my favourite of the night.

Final Thoughts

We had high hopes for Elemento. We were intrigued by their “firedining” wood-fire-powered menu and their focus on local ingredients. Ultimately though, we were left a bit disappointed. Most of the dishes tasted great, with only a few components that were disjointed. However, we didn’t feel the technique and spirit of cooking with wood-fire come through in the tasting menu. The desserts were probably the best dishes on the menu.

On the other hand, the restaurant interior is gorgeous and the service were enthusiastic and friendly. The meal was still enjoyable and tasty. The only thing missing was the novelty of “firedining” that we were promised. Given the price point and the multitude of food options available in Porto at all levels, I’d probably try another restaurant than go back to Elemento again.