The Piano Garden

The cooking is basically Indian, with the hot tastes and colours of the East, produced by chef Iqbal from Bangladesh – but there are also pizzas made by the pizzaiolo of the house, in the wood-burning oven.

This attractive eaterie is run by Elsa Dias, who keeps the atmosphere going. There is also excellent live music. The whole place: garden, terrace and interior was refurbished by self-taught Croatian artist Reno, from Dubrovnik – and, according to him, is as organic as possible: created primarily from wood (from) and stone.

The kitchen opens at 6pm and closes at 11pm (“only us”, jokes Elsa). We sample a number of delicious starters and flavours: perfect samosas, Prawn Pakoras, crispy Popadoms with various sauces, bread cooked in the Tandoori oven – all washed down with a great Sangria. There’s also a special menu for children, plus a reasonable selection of wines, all of them Portuguese, from Esporão, Quinta de Cabriz to Alvarinhos.

Our meal continued with a tasty Sashlik Gosh which came sizzling to the table, washed down with a red Marquês de Borba, and was brought to a close with a delicate mango ice-cream.

To sum up, the Piano Garden is an exotic, attractive, welcoming, romantic spot – a veritable oasis in Vale da Areia, near the beaches of Pintadinho and dos Caneiros.