Restaurante Dom Dinis

We found this typical Alentejan town emptier than usual - with a lot of the shops closed - and so had only two restaurants to choose from. We opted for “Dom Dinis” – a welcoming place with seating for around 30. The walls were wood-lined and hung with a collection of old photos of farmers from the area. The owner and manager greeted us.

After a few words, and heavy accent, we learnt that Sr Garcia left the Canary Islands to come to peaceful Almodôvar seven years ago. He explained he’d found a quality of life here that even nostalgia for the sea couldn’t beat. On the menu we found local specialities like Alentejan style pork (€12); “migas” (€10) and grilled lamb chops (€11).

There was also a good choice of dishes with “bacalhau” (salt cod). If you’re with someone with a big appetite, it’s definitely worth trying the “sopa de toucinhos”, a dish combining bread with tomato, pork ribs, two kinds of smoked sausage, chips and poached eggs.

A meal for a king! We actually decided on “migas alentejanas” (a pork dish), the lamb cutlets and old-fashioned style fried lamb. We had to wait a while as the migas are a speciality that takes time and lots of flavouring, but the delay was worth it. Beautifully presented in a clay dish, the migas won the day! I don’t remember ever having eaten any better.

The lamb wasn’t bad either, grilled or fried. In fact, the whole lot was just what we needed to get those digestive juices flowing – accompanied by rounds of fried homemade potato and a mixed salad that helped relieve any feelings of guilt about calories! But one day doesn’t make a trend, so we toasted King Dinis (who granted this town its charter in 1285), and thoroughly enjoyed our royal lunch!

Specialities: regional Alentejan cooking; Bill: €42.70; Owners: Ana Teresa Barôa & António Garcia.