Silvas in Petersham

I love Portuguese food and where better to go, than Petersham, the Portuguese capital of Sydney. I recently did a review of the Portuguese chicken at Frango’s. This week, I tried Silvas.

I’d like to begin by saying that we (myself and 1 other person) ordered way too much food. I was stuffed by the end of the meal (though that didn’t stop me from picking away at the dishes) and left the restaurant armed with 2 takeaway meals. But how do you resist ordering multiple dishes when there is such a delicious menu?! Silvas also gave us complimentary bread which wasn’t great (it was a bit dry) but I ate it anyway at the start which was a huge rookie error in filling me up.

The best dish of the night was the BBQ Octopus. I was expecting baby octopus, like you get at the Fish Markets, but they were huge! Check out those tentacles and the head…. It was juicy, it was salty and importantly, it tasted really fresh! The octupus meat was tender with subtle flavours from the salt , spring onions and lemon juice.

We also had Portuguese Chicken which was served with Chips and Vegetable Rice. To be honest, I don’t think the chicken at Silvas was as good as at Frangos but it may have been spicier which was great. I could drink peri peri sauce… But, it was definitely the vegetable rice that was a standout though – soft and buttery.

Finally, we had the sardines. I don’t love sardines as a fish as I always feel like I’m about to get bones stuck halfway done my throat but I love what Portuguese/Spanish cuisine does with sardines. At Silvas, they were salty, crispy on the outside and were the perfect dish to eat with vegetable rice.

 

I shouldn’t complain about how full I was at the end of meal, considering that I made a conscious decision to order dessert (but separate compartments!) The chocolate mousse was average but refreshing after the savoury dishes. My dining companion had a Portuguese tart and commented that it was great so I’m keen to try that next time. By the way, Sweet Belem, an amazing bakery/pastry shop, is just across the road and I swear they have the best Portuguese tarts I’ve ever had in Sydney…

Details: Silvas, 1/82-86 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham NSW 2049