We discovered another great spot for authentic Portuguese food in New Bedford recently, but we admit that we almost passed it up.

Alianca sits on a corner at the edge of a gritty residential neighborhood, across from a vacant lot in one direction and a boarded-up package store in another. The exterior looks startlingly different from the portrayal on its snazzy, professional website. Dare to open the door (during our visit, its sign was flipped around to display “CLOSED”) and you’ll feel like you stumbled upon a private party to which you were not invited. The regulars look up, and when you sit at the odd little bar, you’ll feel like you’ve taken someone else’s seat. A soap opera is playing loudly on a giant TV. You’ll realize that you’re the only people, patrons or staff, not speaking Portuguese. If that makes you uncomfortable, this is definitely not the place for you.

But get past all that, and you will be glad you did, because you’re in for a feast of Portuguese specialties, very large portions at reasonable prices, with flavors designed to appeal to the region’s large population of Portuguese, Azorean, and Cape Verdean emigres, and not watered down for American tastes.

Let us tell you about the wine first, because that was fun. Alianca offers some Portuguese wines – their reds are still the great value that Spanish reds were a decade ago – by the glass, half bottle, or bottle. We ordered half bottles ($9 apiece) of two red blends, each featuring aragonez, the Portuguese name for the tempranillo grape. We’ll be watching for these wines, Monte Velho and JP Azeitao, the latter of which had a higher percentage of syrah and thus was preferred by the Big Dog. We don’t pretend to be wine experts but these tasted good, and seemed to be an excellent value.

The Big Dog started with a generous cup of Portuguese soup ($3). It was your typical kale soup, but so much richer and heartier than what you get at some places.

Gina ordered a “pork steak” with a garlic sauce that made it “Alianca style” ($12.95). The meltingly tender pork came topped with a fried egg and slice of vinegar red pepper and a fistful of whole garlic cloves. The flavorful sauce was delicious when scooped up with the side of rice or the crusty bread that came with the meal. It even made the mixed vegetable side seem special. Where we would normally each take home half our lunch entrees, it was quickly apparent that this outstanding dish was not going to make it home.

The Big Dog ordered the Portuguese burger ($10.95), a special that day. It came with a fried egg and slices of either mild chourico or spicy linguica, and yummy crisp french fries. The burger was excellent, and the half we took home was tasty when reheated.

We really enjoyed our food, and importantly, we felt like the waitstaff and someone who came out from the kitchen to check on us were glad that we did. Where at first we felt like we were in a private party to which we were not invited, we left feeling like honored guests.

Alianca Restaurant
98 Cove Street, New Bedford, MA

Without a doubt, this odd little roadside pub dished up one of the best meals we’ve had in recent months. Rich flavors, top-notch ingredients, a great balance of traditional and innovative dishes – Pub 6T5 had it all.

So let’s focus on the food.

Faced with a large and interesting menu, we decided that we’d choose some appetizers and entrees and plan on boxing if we were overwhelmed. We sat at the bar hoping that some other dishes would come out before we ordered to give us inspiration, but our fellow bar patrons were focused on pizza. Looked good, but that was not our jam on this particular Wednesday.

So Gina ordered the soup of the day ($4.99): fish stew, and two spoons. The Big Dog ordered the caprese salad ($12.99) and two forks. The salad was really good, with pesto dressing and shredded basil leaves, and hearty slices of tomato and mozzarella.

The fish stew, on the other hand, was outstanding. It was the kind of dish you talk about years later: a great big bowl with a flavorful tomato base, a bit spicy, big chunks of fish, and vegetables. It tasted like fish, but not fishy fish. Where we’d been side-eying our fellow patrons’ pizzas, now all eyes were upon our soup, and some asked what we’d ordered and got their own.

From the regular menu, Gina ordered the quinoa grain bowl ($11.99), mostly because she’d never seen anything like that on a menu in a setting like this. It was delicious quinoa and rice tossed with grilled corn and pico de gallo drizzled with an avocado poblano cream sauce. We got the sense that most people add grilled chicken but it was great without.

The Big Dog ordered the cacoila sandwich ($9.99), subbing a very good green salad for the fries that normally come with it. The sandwich was pretty simple: the traditional Portuguese pork served unadorned on a Portuguese pop roll. Like your vavo makes… except a hundred times better. A thousand. The roll was perfectly puffy, the pork meltingly tender, the sauce rich. As we pushed the grain bowl aside (it was excellent the next day) and devoured this sandwich, we decided to order another to go.

But then we got waylaid by the bread pudding ($6.99). We rarely order dessert, but this caramelly, ice-creamy, whipped-creamy beauty was a worthy splurge. As on several other dishes, the menu attributes this one to someone in the kitchen named Fatima.

So, yes, the food was spectacular. The service was distracted. The wine choices were limited and one mixed drink tasted like City water. The decor was part fraternal hall, part insurance agency office, part dive bar, part exotic high-end restaurant. The whole thing is one big room, and if the crowd on this Wednesday afternoon was any indication – all commercial scallop fishermen from different boats who were fascinating to eavesdrop on – Vavo better be prepared for some salty language.

Despite all that, we would see this as a future special occasion restaurant, a favored place to go when we are celebrating. We’re not much into fancy linens or valet service or other trappings of high-end dining, but the food here is so distinctive that the experience is sure to be memorable.

Pub 6T5

736 Ashley Boulevard
New Bedford

For Gina and the Big Dog, Bailey’s was our safe go-to spot during the pandemic, and our favorite destination for an afternoon beverage or a reliable lunch in the ensuing months. It’s our Cheers: Everybody knows our (real) name.

So imagine our surprise when we realized we have never posted a Chow review of Bailey’s. We set out to rectify that on a recent Thursday night.

Bartender Dylan, who is professional and personable, mixed the Big Dog’s favorite Ketel One and soda ($8) and poured Gina a serviceable Woodbridge Cabernet ($8.50). He brought us a shrimp cocktail ($14.95) as we perused the menu (again). The four oversized shrimp are always fresh and crisp, served in a cool aluminum martini glass with house-made cocktail sauce.

We followed that up with a crock of French onion soup ($6.95), for which Dylan brought us two spoons. It may not be a traditional preparation, but it’s hot and cheesy, loaded with plump onions, and great on a cool evening.

The Big Dog ordered a special: chicken Picatta ($18.95). The lightly battered chicken cutlets come bathed in a lemony garlic butter tossed with capers and sliced mushrooms. His dinner came with a big house salad.

Gina ordered her favorite: baked salmon. The lunch portion is huge, and the dinner portion ($24.95) is easily three meals worth of fish. It’s topped with Bailey’s extraordinary seafood bisque as a sauce, so in addition to the tender, juicy, thick slab of salmon, you get a kind of Newburg-ish sauce loaded with tiny Maine shrimp, scallops, and some lobster. For her two sides, Gina chose mashed potatoes (they are red potatoes with the skin on, which some love and others do not) and steamed broccoli.

We prefer dining at the bar, here and everywhere, but Bailey’s offers several comfortable options, including booths by the gas fire in the pub, and a traditional dining room, along with an overflow space used for functions.

Another particularly welcome characteristic of Bailey’s: owner Diana is almost always there to greet you at the front door, and her husband Rich is almost always in the kitchen. They’ve created a team of loyal and capable staffers that is likely the envy of Southcoast restaurant owners.

Bailey’s Surf & Turf
3056 Cranberry Highway
East Wareham, MA