If you are from the US the food is different and is regional. The Algarve is very proud of their traditional seafood. If you aren't used to Mackerel and Cod and Sardines it's hard to get used to. As you move north the dishes change.
I am French and I love Portugal. I visited it many times, have Portuguese friends and it is the only country I would be glad to live outside of mine (I travelled the world for 7 years straight).
Now with this said, Portuguese food is medium. There are great cheeses, great starters but then it goes downhill.
Again, I have nothing but live for that country and people living there, the culture and whynot but food is not the first thing (or the 5th) when I think about Portugal.
Indeed the national dish is not to my taste, I'm not even sure what the USA national dish is, however I suspect it probably isn't the best, despite there being very good food available there.
It can be hard to know what to eat and often more importantly where to eat as a tourist, and in Portugal its often (in my experience) the last obvious establishments that are the best (often places you don't even think sell food).
Doubt there is one (some might say apple pie) and the only thing I can think of that unites all the different American cuisines and regional variations is the sandwich.
Italians are quite elitist in their food. It seems like every Italian's live purpose is proving to everyone how good they are at cooking.
Spain/Portuguese food isn't snobbish or fancy, but it's generally good. As a matter of fact I find that the baseline for what is bad in these places is actually quite high.
That is not the case for your average Italian restaurant around the world. Most of them are not that great.
You have not had well cooked octopus unfortunately. And as for other fantastic Portuguese dishes, caldo verde, grilled sardines, chicken piri-piri, are all quite good. That’s just off the top of my head. And although it’s technically a Brazilian cocktail, the caipirinha is a top tier hot weather alcoholic beverage. You should visit Portugal again!
A Georgian feast is like 8 different great dishes, not just Khachapuri. Chakapuli (Lamb & Tarragon stew) or Bazha (walnut sauce) with the way they make chicken… excellent.
And I'm here to say that it's not (and I've eaten all over the world). Portuguese food is excellent.
Obviously it depends what you like, but the seafood and rice dishes were excellent. And there's also Mozambican food with spicy piri-piri sauce... can't get enough of that.
In my experience Portuguese food taste wonderfully, definitely something to try out. But it is very rich in lipids and sugar. It’s also quite hard to find interesting things if you’re vegetarian or vegan.
I would recommend to try their fish and seafood, it’s fantastic.
Dear, your credibility:
Goodbye.