Tapisco

The name is a portmanteau of tapas and petiscos, and the menu is exactly that argument played out on the table. Henrique Sá Pessoa — whose Alma holds two stars a few streets downhill — uses Tapisco to cook the food of the whole peninsula without having to pick a side, and it turns out the two traditions get along better than their respective nationalists would like.

Order widely and let the table fill up. The Iberian cured meats are excellent and worth the outlay. There is usually a very good croquette, something with octopus, a properly made tortilla, and Portuguese classics reworked just enough to justify the reworking. The prego is a highlight. Portions are small-plate size and four or five between two people is about right.

The wine list runs both sides of the border and the by-the-glass selection is unusually good, which suits the format — you want to keep changing as the plates change. Service is quick, knowledgeable and used to explaining what things are.

Honest notes: small plates are a format that quietly gets expensive, and it is easy to look up at a bill you did not see coming. The room is narrow and noisy, with the counter seats better than the tables for two. And by design it is neither definitively Portuguese nor Spanish, which will frustrate anyone who wanted one or the other. Come for the range and the sharing and it is one of the most enjoyable tables in Príncipe Real.