2011 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Sunday, October 16, 2011

My young waiter suggests I might enjoy tonight's appetizer special of grilled baby squid with lime. "If you don't like it," he says earnestly, "I'll eat it and bring you something else." I can always count on engaging service at Tavira. But another lure of this basement restaurant in Chevy Chase is something more rare: the chance to feast on the rustic food of Portugal. I'm talking golden, fluffy-centered cod fritters; spicy roast chicken with a field of hot potato chips; fish staged with chorizo and chickpeas; and the justly famous soup of shredded kale, potatoes and sausage known as caldo verde. The low-ceilinged dining room is showing its dozen years, but there's no denying Tavira's sense of hospitality. As a companion and I are making short work of a sumptuous poached pear and a jiggling flan, we receive another treat: shots of port, on the house, just because.