The Food

The Algarve is blessed not only with a 220km of beautiful coastline and wonderful sandy beaches, but also with a sea rich in a variety of fish; it’s not surprising that the fish and seafood are a major part of the diet for the people living in the Algarve region. With almost daily fishing trips bringing in huge amounts of fresh sardines, tuna, bream, cod, monkfish and many other types of fish as well as plentiful supplies of clams, oysters, prawns, not to mention octopus and squid, it’s easy to understand why you too  can become a seafood and fish fan.

A huge selection of fish dishes are normally offered in most traditional restaurants and in the summer months the Portuguese “grilled sardines” served with boiled potatoes and salads take centre stage.

The “cataplana” is seen as a symbol of the Algarve cuisine and it’s a year round dish. You can find the cataplana in most restaurants and is served to the table inside the uniquely Portuguese pan with a shell shape. Although there are several ways of cooking this dish, it’s usually a stew mix of onions, tomatoes, vegetables, garlic, olive oil, clams, fish, mussels and shrimp, but even that varies depending on the Algarve region; the flavour is rich and aromatic and it’s a great way of having your seafood washed down by a cold bottle of white wine.

The restaurants in the Algarve are generally reasonably priced and the portions are very generous; you can expect to pay as little as €25 for a meal for 2, including your house wine.

Apart from fish you have of course many meat dishes cooked in a variety of ways and in the more tourist areas you will find all sorts of restaurants with international cuisine and your Hamburger, Pizzeria, Chinese and Indian are just around the corner. So you will not have any problem find the food of your choice in the friendly Algarve.

For the sweet tooth there is a really huge choice, but some of the most famous sweets are the “pastel de nata” basically a custard cream tart know all over the world, the “almond tart” a biscuit type base topped with caramel covered almonds, the “fig cake” chopped dried figs made into a small firm cake, often with almonds or walnuts pressed into the sides.

The Portuguese food is just great no matter what your choices are; Come and join us! Choose the wine and enjoy it! Cheers!