Petisco Kitchen
Country: Portugal  
Seating: Pop-up so no seating
Must-try dish: Salt Cod Bras Style 
Dinner guests (virtual): Pornstar Sam, The Cowboy, Yoga LoLo, Young Matt  
The high: The customer service was just as amazing as the food. 
The low: Having to order in advance because you have to wait if you want to satisfy a Portuguese craving. 

Petisco Kitchen is fresh to Toronto’s dining scene, having only just made its official entrance in January 2021, but before that, they were making dishes for friends and family over the Christmas season. 

The two chefs behind the operation – Joana Marteleira and Julie Marteleira (mother and daughter) get their inspiration for the food from their native Portugal. Between Joana’s recipes and Julie’s professional background as a trained chef, they’ve been able to create something special with Petisco Kitchen. 

The family splits their time between Toronto and Lisbon so the art of Portuguese cuisine is nothing new, but with all the travel restrictions during the pandemic, they hope to bring the tastes and traditions of Portugal to their clientele in the Greater Toronto Area. 

As for Mandrea Bike, the customer service during the entire ordering process with Petisco Kitchen was flawless and they gave excellent recommendations with the perfect amount of food. It’s not often that there’s such personalized attention, especially in this virtual age but the extra touch was certainly added here. 

Here’s the night’s order: 

• Salt Cod Fritters: These bite-size treats started off the meal on a good foot. They’re stuffed with salt cod and potato, and it would be easy to keep eating one after another. 
• Shrimp Patties: These are essentially another variation of the fritter with ground shrimp that melted in your mouth. Once again, if there was an entire platter, they would have disappeared quickly. 
• Beef Croquettes: After a couple of bites of fish, it was refreshing to have something a little heavier to switch things up. These are denser than the above two.
• Garlic Shrimp: This is exactly what you would expect –  garlic with shrimp and they taste amazing. 
• Salt Cod Bras Style: The favourite. This dish is reminiscent of a breakfast scramble with shredded potato and chunks of salt cod. It felt wholesome and the velvety texture was addicting. 
• Pork with Clams: With the generous amount of clams and the tender pork, you can’t go wrong with this dish. The broth is also good enough to drink if you’re feeling adventurous. Enjoy served over potatoes.

Since the restaurant’s currently a pop-up, you’ll need to order your meal at least a day in advance but the more time ahead, the better. Your order is then delivered directly to your door on the agreed date and time. Payment is either by e-transfer or cash upon delivery.

The team behind Petisco Kitchen is an inspiration in the restaurant world during this pandemic because not only are they selling out their orders every week, but they also opened at a time when things were seemingly dark in the industry and they found a way to achieve success. Big high fives and looking forward to our next meal from you! 

Eat with you soon,
Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)