Ceia (pronounced SAY-yah) means “supper’’ in Portuguese. Owner Nancy Batista-Caswell’s family emigrated from Portugal in the 1980s just before she was born (and promptly named her after then-first lady Nancy Reagan). Several dishes, such as the spicy shrimp Mozambique appetizer ($9), are versions of family recipes. But this is no simple Portuguese restaurant.
Executive chef Billy “Brando’’ Brandolini, who was trained at Cordon Bleu, specializes in unusual variations on Portuguese, French, Italian, and Spanish cooking, including tapas. The restaurant’s website describes Ceia as “a casual evening dining experience with a sophisticated menu that is friendly and still grown-up.’’
The pasta is handmade. Food sources are local, when possible. The “late-winter’’ menu we ordered from was filled with innovative touches, yet it was small enough to fit on one page.
In lieu of appetizers, we picked samplings of three cheeses — a fontina, a parmesan, and a manchego — from a list of eight (three for $12, five for $22, and so on). They arrived with thin-sliced French bread and a bit of bean purée and garlic oil, plus a deep-red dollop of cranberry-fennel-pepper chutney on the side. The platter was both tasty and educational.
This is a place where the kitchen pays attention to how things look as well as how they taste. We were treated to the most eye-catching Caesar salad we’d ever seen ($7) — not that we’ve ever noticed much competition on that score. The romaine heart had been flash-grilled and placed on an oblong white platter like a small warm fish, then draped with shiny anchovy strips, slivers of cheese, and large beignet-style croutons. It was delightful in texture, taste, and appearance, but the croutons could have been fresher.
A salad of roasted root vegetables with mesclun greens, chocolate-covered goat cheese, and fresh figs ($10) arrived on top of a bright smear of red sauce that looked as though an artist had swiped the plate with a fat brush.
