Restaurante Snack-bar da Ana

And it’s here that we find the snack bar “da Ana”. The terrace, under the shade of palm trees, is beguiling – while the proprietress has a motto: “Eat well to live better”. And eating well doesn’t mean spending big bucks.

A blackboard at the entrance announces the dishes of the day: steamed “corvina” with vegetables, pork steaks with onion and egg, fried octopus with olive oil and garlic, and, finally, battered squid.

The price is €6 a portion, €4.50 a half portion. We opted for the last two dishes, although there was a lot more to choose from: salads, omelettes, toasties, natural fruit juices and milk shakes.

Owner Dona Ana Maria seems to have unlocked the secret of how to cook octopus – which, in our case, literally melted in the mouth. Her homemade fried potatoes, in rings, cried out to be dunked in the olive oil and garlic, and while we drank our coffee, Dona Ana apologised for the delay.

Even though we’re in the middle of August, she hasn’t been able to find people to work for her. The problem may well be that we’re talking about “work”, and at this time of crisis and unemployment, I may be going out on a limb when I say that that people don’t always want to work…

Owner: Ana Maria Cardoso Santos, NIF 121 702 340