Restaurante Encontro dos Amigos

Maybe it’s a throwback from our genetic memories – to the times when people travelled on horseback, and stopped at roadside inns to stay the night by the fire.

There are certainly enough stories of such idyllic settings – and this is one of the last stop-off points before the climb up to Monchique, the land of thermal waters with curative powers. But let’s get back to reality…

We came here because we saw lots of cars parked outside – usually a sure sign of good cooking within. The space here is varied: there’s a terrace, with two frontages and then a number of rooms inside. One of them seems to be a kind of tent.

The lunchtime peak had passed, and most of the tables – ours included - were waiting to be cleared of plate loads of chicken bones and used napkins.

In the end we had to ask a number of people to remove the dirty glasses and dishes filled with olive stones, and after a lot of huffing and puffing, three different people came to ask us what we’d like to eat: fresh tuna kebab and strips of lean wild boar.

But then we waited, and waited, and no-one appeared.

At the end of almost a litre of wine and a long, very enjoyable conversation – when the time arrived when we’d actually forgotten that we’d come here to eat lunch – the food arrived.

The table next door had actually chosen the same thing, but it had taken so long to arrive, that they’d ended up ordering something else. An old saying: it was good when it came, but it came too late.

And, in the end, there were no desserts, just ice creams. Thus we set out once more, in the hope of a different destination where we could change the world…

Specialities: dishes of the day, regional cooking; Hours: closes only on Christmas Day; Bank cards: Multibanco & Visa; Bill: €26; Owner: J. Inácio Unipessoal Lda;

NIF 505 527 022.