The program runs until April 27th and will allow consumers to try several typical dishes with menus created specifically for this week.

“We feel that there is a growing demand for gourmet products and wines from Portugal,” Pedro Macedo Leão, head of the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP) in San Francisco, told Lusa.

“In terms of markets, the United States was the largest customer of Portuguese wines in 2024, in terms of value. Americans increasingly value national wines and buy higher quality wines from us,” he pointed out, highlighting that there is uncertainty surrounding the effect of tariffs and that this is a situation that must be monitored.

The program returns at a time when exporters of Portuguese products and wines are dealing with turbulence in the distribution chain in the United States, due to new customs duties.

However, consumer appetite for these products remains high and AICEP’s intention is to “promote Portuguese cuisine and Portuguese restaurants in Los Angeles and in various locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.”

The restaurants included in the initiative are La Salette and Tasca Tasca in Sonoma, Holy Nata in San Francisco, Adega e Petiscos in San José, Euro Café in Claremont, Nuno’s Bistro in Upland and Natas Pastries and Barra Santos in Los Angeles.

At Adega, for example, there will be squid and pea dishes with chorizo, while Euro Café will have caldo verde, Portuguese steak and rice pudding. At Natas Pastries, the menu includes cod with cream, octopus à lagareiro and steak, as well as pastel de nata for dessert.

The space that will no longer be part of it is Uma Casa, an iconic Portuguese restaurant run by chef Antelmo Faria that closed its doors in March. “We are very sorry that Uma Casa has closed, as it provided a good service to our gastronomy in San Francisco,” said Pedro Macedo Leão.

The executive highlighted that the consumption of Portuguese gourmet products continues to grow and that TAP's direct flights (one from San Francisco and the new route from Los Angeles starting in May) help with the trend.

Quality products

“Californians recognize the quality of Portuguese products that they discover during their trips to our country, and the excellent gastronomic experiences they have in Portugal,” he continued. “Portugal is in fashion”.

To give visibility to the program, a marketing campaign was developed in newspapers and social networks, with advertising in the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury and Portuguese Tribune.

“With this initiative, AICEP aims to give greater visibility to Portuguese gastronomic products and wines, contributing to fostering the growth of exports and positioning Portugal as an investment destination,” he said.