Restaurante Quintinha

The heat and strong winds have managed to make everything worse – so it’s particularly good to be welcomed warmly when arriving at a restaurant, totally anonymous (as we always do), for some moments of calm at a table.

To get here you have to travel the frenetic V6 in the direction of Praia da Rocha, and then take the turning immediately after the first (Repsol) filling station. After that it’s uphill until you see the blackboard proclaiming the dishes of the day.

We’d already heard good things about this place. There are two separate dining rooms: smoking and non-smoking, and for those who want to, one can eat at the counter.

One of the tempting and very fattening things that brought us here is the special variety of fried meat that’s served, with the respective dripping for spreading on bread.

Very tasty, but not wise to make a habit of! So, it’s like this: on Thursdays there’s Bairrada-style suckling pig; on Sundays there’s “Feijoada de Buzinas” (sea snail and bean stew) and “Cozida à Portuguesa” (traditional heavy meat-based stew with beans and cabbage), and the rest of the week the menu varies.

The day we visited, there was fried chicken with garlic and Russian salad with tuna. It’s a very simple summery dish, but not one that you find very often - which is why we chose it.

Other suggestions from the chef include clam cataplana, roasted salt cod, Portuguese-style steak and grilled Pork chops. Another highlight here is the variety of starters and desserts.

With a modest covert, a drink and coffee, we paid exactly €10… certainly not the cheapest of places, but it’s good and the staff know how to look after their clients – and that’s something money can’t buy!

Specialities: Portuguese cooking, dishes of the day; Hours: Lunches & dinners, closed Saturdays; Bank cards: Multibanco; Bill: €10 (for 1); Owner: José Paulino Paquito e Joaquim José Rato;

NIF 900 393 068.