Portugal Guide: Ponto Final

Ponto Final

Address | R. do Ginjal 72, 2800-285 Almada, Portugal

In preparing for our trip to Portugal our wonderful dentist suggested that we watch the Portugal episode of Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. It was good advice and where we first became acquainted with Ponto Final. When my Chef buddy—mentioned earlier!—learned that we had a car during our time in Portugal also recommended that we drive to Almada, across the steel suspension bridge (so similar to The Golden Gate Bridge) The Ponte 25 de Abril (25th of April Bridge) and enjoy a meal at Ponto Final then we knew we had to go.

In addition to wanting to try the waterfront restaurant, it’s a good opportunity to get a closer look at the Cristo Rei statue— inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.

When we arrived in Almada Jack had fallen asleep (it was day 1 in Portugal and the jet lag kicked in) so we parked and let him rest while we enjoyed espressos at a local cafe/shop. Almada is far less touristy than other parts of Portugal and we learned we had to have cash for shops like this. We hadn’t yet visited an ATM so, fueled by a shot of espresso, I journeyed through Almada to find an ATM. The first one was out of money. I continued my search using a mix of Spanish, French, and English to get by (I don’t speak Portuguese!) until I finally found an ATM with money in it. The lesson: visit an ATM in Lisbon before venturing to Almada.

Following our coffees, we all walked down to Ponto Final. The descent is steep. There is an elevator which we took down but it closed by the time we had finished our meal so if you go, consider the climb up is considerable.

Ponto Final is situated across from Lisbon separated by the Tagus River. They serve traditional Portuguese food. The outdoor seating puts you right up against the water with a wonderful view of Lisbon. Since the night was a bit chilly we decided to have dinner indoors.

The server was great and recommended some nice local wines to pair with our seafood dinner. We shared one exceptional dish, the shrimp in garlic butter. It was head on shrimp so it’s something you definitely get your hands dirty with but the freshness of the dish and its simple preparation was very tasty. My son still talks about how good it was. We also ordered the grilled sardines. They were good, not outstanding. The sardines were larger so not very fatty or rich tasting. We had the monkfish stew with rice for two. The stew was good the rice a bit salty. My son had the salmon which was solid. Everything was good but the shrimp was the outstanding item. For the views it’s worth coming out but the food alone is good not great.