Portugal Day in Newark: How to celebrate June 7-9 in the Ironbound

NEWARK —  More than 6,000 people born in Portugal call the Ironbound community in Newark’s East Ward home – more than 25 percent of that neighborhood’s population.

However, from Friday, June 7 to Sunday, June 9, New Jersey’s largest city will welcome a few more visitors – about 300,000 of them as they descend on Newark for the city’s 40-year-old Portugal Day Festival to celebrate the June 10 official holiday.

You don’t need to be Portuguese to get in on the fun. “People go to Epcot and say, ‘Let’s go to France’ but it’s not really French,” said Vince Baglivo, director of communications of the Ironbound Business Improvement District (IBID). “When you start walking down Ferry Street, it’s like a time warp. You don’t hear anyone speaking English and the music is world music and you smell the charcoal and garlic. Nowhere I have been has been as pure — you can be who you are here.”

For Portugal Day weekend, this “authentic and evolved” neighborhood, as described Baglivo, will be in full force – and fittingly so. Throughout the year, Baglivo said, the Portugal Day festival is the No. 1 item searched for on newarkhappening.com, the website of the Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The main event will be Sunday’s parade at 1 p.m., which will head down Ferry and Magazine streets before turning towards Clover Street and ending near an enclosed area at 35 Clover St., where food, drinks, music dancing, vendors and an area for children will be available. There will be free admission in the enclosed area, which will be open following the parade on Sunday only from 4-11 p.m.

Plus, if Portugal makes it to the UEFA Nations League Finals taking place on Sunday (which will be determined on Friday), large screens will be set up to watch the game at the enclosed area. 

Before the parade begins, Bernardino Coutinho will be memoralized at the Ironbound Immigrants Memorial Monument at 11:30 a.m. behind Newark Penn Station in Peter Francisco Park.

Another option for festivities will be near Sol-Mar Restaurant at 267 Ferry St., which has hosted acelebration known for its family-friendliness for 26 years thanks to the Nobre family, who owns and operates the authentic 60-year-old Portuguese eatery. The celebration will be open on Friday 6-11 p.m., Saturday 2-11 p.m. and Sunday 12-10 p.m. Admission is free. Here, too, large screens will be set up here if Portugal makes it to the UEFA Nations League Finals on Sunday. 

“We host over 50,000 people through the weekend and we have no fights and no problems,” said Tony Nobre, Sol-Mar owner. “You’ll see grandfathers, sons and children — three to four generations of families celebrating." 

Sol-Mar will host musical groups from Portugal and cook chicken, sardines, ribs, sausage, lobster, shrimp and other seafood options over custom-made grills, Nobre said. He said he’s met people who have flown from Florida, Rhode Island and even Canada just to celebrate for the weekend in the Ironbound.

'This is the place to celebrate'

“Our festival hasn’t changed, even though the Ironbound has,” said Tony Nobre’s son, Lou Nobre, director of operations for the restaurant. Over the years, the neighborhood has been home to Jewish, Italian and German immigrants.

It’s not easy, though. Lou Nobre said that throughout the weekend, his team of 50 people sleep three hours each over three days and “everyone takes vacation afterwards,” he laughed. “There is no rain date, and no room to make a mistake. There are other places that hold Portugal Day, but this one is the biggest country so this is the place to celebrate.”

However, Portugal Day isn’t the only day to celebrate Portuguese culture in the Ironbound – it’s only one of 365.

“If you’re looking for good food and plenty of it for an affordable price you can do that here in spades; however, we also have restaurants that are very high-end,” said Baglivo. “Some of these restaurants have wine lists where some of the wines run into the hundreds if not thousands of dollars. If you want a high-end experience, we got it, or an affordable experience, we got it.”

Where to dine on Portuguese fare

Visiting on Portugal Day weekend – or any day of the year? Check out some of these top spots for Portuguese cuisine while you’re in the neighborhood. (And yes, they'll be open for regular service during the Portugal Day festival). 

Sol-Mar Restaurant

Stepping into the fine dining side of Sol Mar Restaurant is like stepping into Portugal — everything in the elaborately decorated room was imported from the motherland and designed to resemble Nobre's family hometown of Vila Nova, complete with vintage wine and olive oil containers, murals of scenes from the town and a portrait of Tony Nobre's father. 

Sol Mar attracts a clientele that’s 60 percent Portuguese, with a good chunk of them coming from at least 30 minutes away to enjoy dishes such as the grilled Portuguese steak, chicken breast in garlic sauce, roasted sausage and colossal-sized Mozambican prawns. On the other side of the eatery, locals hang out at the restaurant's marisqueira (seafood bar) for a glass of wine, codfish fritters, octopus salad, fried calamari and other traditional fare in a casual setting.

For a taste: 267 Ferry St, Newark; 973-344-3041, solmar-restaurant.com

Seabra's Marisqueira

For the past 30 years, Seabra’s, located on a side street right off of main Ironbound drag Ferry Street., has been both the spot for a Portuguese bite and drink at its marisqueira as well as fine dining in an often-packed and traditionally tiled dining room on the other side.

At Seabra's, you can watch the experts at work through the open kitchen, as well as check out their collection of fresh fish on ice prime for dinner service. On that note, don't skimp out on your seafood craving here — Seabra's is known for its fish dishes and well as lobster selections. 

For a taste: 87 Madison St., Newark; 973-465-1250, seabrasmarisqueira.com

Adega Grill

Adega, which translates to wine cellar in Portuguese, says it all when it comes to this intimate spot adorned with grapevine murals, a fireplace and even antique gilded high-back chairs at its two special occasion tables. This is where you head for a romantic meal at the grill or stop by for a drink at the bar or in the lounge before heading out on the town. 

Here, traditional Portuguese fare gets an upscale and modern touch (still with those well-known gigantic portions, of course), which guests can pair with their choice of the restaurant’s 180 wines, making for one of the most expansive wine lists in the Ironbound.

For a taste: 130 Ferry St.; 973-589-8830, adegagrill.com

Portugalia

Looking for a casual meal that doesn’t forego traditional Portuguese dishes  or hospitality? In a simple corner space, Portugalia is that destination – you’ll know you’ve made it when you see a crowd almost entirely made up of Portuguese customers.

READ: 'Um pedaco' of Portugal in the Ironbound

At this old-school eatery, eat like the locals do and dine on traditional dishes as frango (Portuguese-style BBQ chicken) and chicharros (small, blue horse mackerel, a popular dish from the Azores), and sticklebacks, a limited dish which sometimes makes it to the daily specials (if you're lucky). 

For a taste: 280 Ferry St.; 973-465-0696, facebook.com/portugaliarest/

Coimbra Restaurant

We all know the Portuguese are known for serving huge portions, but at Coimbra Restaurant (named for a city in Portugal), you’ll find some of the biggest yet in the neighborhood, including a whole suckling pig roasted Bairrada-style in a brick oven, as well as other traditional entrees.

READ:Where to find and how to make sangria

However, that's not the only favorite dish found at Coimbra — visitors from near and far love their bacalhau a Coimbra (cod fish Coimbra-style), grilled squid with lemon sauce, flame-cooked Portuguese sausage and their many lobster-focused dishes. 

For a taste: 637-641 Market St.; 973-491-9811, coimbrarestaurant.com

Some other favorites

The Ironbound is chock-full of authentic Portuguese eateries, so by no means are these the only options — simply wander down Ferry Street and follow your nose. Some of our other top spots include Campino Restaurant at 70 Jabez St., which is one of the oldest Portuguese eateries in the area, for refined fare in an old-school dining room and Sagres Bar and Grill at 44 Prospect St., a festive eatery which features outdoor cafe-style dining in good weather. 

Jenna Intersimone has been covering food, drink and fun in the Garden State for the USA Today Network New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. Born and raised throughout every corner of NJ, she’s a tried-and-true Jersey girl. Contact her at Jintersimone@Gannett.com or follow her @JIntersimone.