Portimão What a nice welcoming place in the heart of an inhospitable Praia da Rocha in January. This place was suggested by our friend Orlando Vieira – a man of a thousand trades who has helped breathe new life into some of our more decrepit computers. […] »S.B. de Alportel Once more, we arrived here thanks to the recommendation of one of our clients – and discovered another hidden jewel in Algarve’s crown! This time, it’s in the middle of the “barrocal” region (between coast and hills), about three kilometres from […] »This Christmas we have the pleasure, once again, of bringing you a seasonal recipe created specially for this issue by our sales rep. Elise Palma – who is a trained chef… The basis of this easy recipe is a product invented and made exclusively in […] »Almodôvar We took advantage of the last Bank Holiday 1st December to widen our horizons a little and discover a restaurant outside the Algarve. The motorway shortens distances and in 45 minutes we arrived in Almodôvar. We found this typical Alentejan town […] »Loulé Not long ago, one of our clients recommended this place to me – so I decided to try it out. After a bit of hunting around, I managed to find it on a road running off from Loulé’s main avenue. It’s quite small, with seating for roughly 30. […] »Faro This restaurant is rarely noticed by those who travel daily on the EN125, just outside Faro. You have to turn into a small street - between two cafés and just before a car dealership - to find it. It’s not worth asking anyone for directions as no-one […] »Lagos It opened last February and is run by a very friendly Portuguese-Swiss couple and their daughter who some time ago used to work for our newspaper. It’s half way along the road to Praia Dona Ana, in Lagos. For lunches, they told us, they hoped the […] »Almancil Almancil is already well-known for having some of the best restaurants in the Algarve, but while we struggle through the crisis not all of us can opt for high-class eateries for lunches and meetings. The invitation here came from Luís Carlos (from […] »Almancil One of the few universal truths that most people accept is that food quality directly influences health – but even so it’s still difficult to find a restaurant with a daily vegetarian menu, or even some vegetarian suggestions. Ingredients like tofu […] » There’s an old Latin proverb that says union creates strength, and there’s no end of examples to prove this throughout history. Today, in the grip of economic crisis, it’s a good motto to resurrect. We do need to learn to work in tandem; to make […] » There may well be no sociological explanation based on scientific data/ statistics or quantative methodology but the truth is that cafés are the alma mater of the country – places alive with Portuguese popular culture. They’re the arenas where the […] » We were waiting for the right time to come here – to flee the mad summer confusion. This restaurant is right in front of the entrance to Quinta do Marim/ the Natural Park of Ria Formosa. At the back, you can just make out the sea in the distance […] » We decided to take the bull by the horns this week and try out one of the many “gourmet” options offered in the Algarve. This one was part of the «Allgarve’11» initiative:
Set up within the excellent dining area of Portimão Museum, everything […] »Portimão “Pure excitement in the kitchen!” It’s with these happy words that António José de Almeida introduces us to the concept behind this little eaterie, located almost in front of Portimão Town Hall. After many years working in car rental companies, Almeida […] » It’s time for change. We need solutions. Competition from emerging countries is the next “global threat”. Anyone who doesn’t adapt to the new times will not survive. We need more efficiency to combat the crisis – otherwise, there’s no chance. […] » This is an incredible place. There’s probably nowhere else like it anywhere in the Algarve. To get here, you have to enter the Olhão docks (the same way the fishermen do before and after working on the trawlers) – and when you do, it’s worth taking […] » There are certain things that endure the test of time, even when memory has ceased to recall them. Anyone who travels the highways and byways of the Algarve will occasionally find, in the most unlikely places, a tile panel with the advertising slogan: […] »Olhão According to local legend in Olhão, there used to be a market here many years ago (when the Algarve was agricultural) where animal meal was sold. One day, a man from Cacela came to stock up on fodder and farm products, and in the confusion of all […] »Almancil For 25 years, José de Brito Gomes (better known by his nickname “Joe”) worked in a restaurant in the Eastern Suburbs of Australia’s capital city. He was head chef at Doyles in Sydney Harbour, where he specialised in that famous British combination […] »Monchique No, this is not the kind of typical restaurant we usually review. Is it worth it, you’ll ask? Hotel food often leaves people suspicious – but what we discovered here was a gastronomic experience that surpassed all our expectations. In general, the […] »Quarteira Quarteira is just as much a victim - possibly more - as any other tourist location in the Algarve. It’s empty in winter and stuffed full of people in the summer. Many shops and restaurants close in the low-season and only open when tourists start […] »Grândola We almost never get a chance to get out of the Algarve, it’s true – but when we do, it’s nice to try different things. The crisis forces a return to the past, to the era when the road to the Algarve was just the old fashioned EN 120. It was a time […] »Portimão We’ve often said this: there’s always something romantic about restaurants at the side of the road. 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 […] »Portimão It’s an old saying: there’s nothing new under the sun (in Latin: nihil sub sole novi) - everything’s already been invented. Well, let’s forget that. What’s more important is ringing in new changes to keep attracting business. This little place has […] »Lagos We continue to scour conspicuous places for hidden treasures – and this time, the search brought us to Odiáxere, at the gates of Lagos, to collect an old friend. We arrived early, with enough time for a peaceful lunch together. Could there be an […] » | Parchal (Lagoa) It’s one of those things. I must have passed this place literally thousands of times, always putting off a visit till another day. It happened this week, after driving round Portimão and seeing just how terribly sad the town has become. […] »Silves For more than 30 years, this place was an old inn. Then dynamic Moita businessman Nuno Gonçalves came along, rolled up his sleeves and tarted everything up. The only remnant from the old days is the name, in memory of the former owner. In a time […] »Lagoa/ Silves The day starts early at the little tavern owned by Paulo Correia. Opening time is 7am, before even the sun’s up – and whoever’s on the way to work, pops in for a quick “bica”. There are even those who order the first bifanas of the day at this ungodly […] »Faro Last week I received a lunch invitation from a friend and one of our clients at 123: Maria, owner of Planeta Hair (which specialises in hair extensions). She’d heard a lot about a new restaurant in Faro, and wanted us to check it out together. […] »Faro Ah! Back again to the delights of raw fish and rice! Well, I am justifying the choice by the fact that this restaurant is very new. It opened only six weeks ago – and could have passed unnoticed (as it’s taken the place of another kind of oriental […] »Olhão Olhão has long been a golden corner when it comes to typical Algarvian cuisine. In this land of fishing folk it’s difficult to choose from all the possibilities on offer – but while all restaurants here offer fish and shellfish, «O Franginho» also […] »Ferragudo Throughout the years this newspaper has always supported restaurants – though, sometimes, of course, our comments have not been glowing. Now that we’ve got to edition 700 it’s time to evaluate our efforts. One thing’s for sure: we never thought we’d […] »Lagoa I once had a boss who used to say people did unspeakable things to chickens – like plucking them on the grill when they were cut down the middle, or in pieces. He said in Germany they’re known as “rubber eagles”. To be honest, Portugal’s full of […] »Faro Word-of-mouth continues to be of very good way of getting news “out there”. We’d heard that you could eat well and cheaply here, but was it more of the same? Yes and no. First of all, this is a great example of how to transform a typical (read: sad […] »Faro Only half a dozen years ago, the word sushi didn’t even enter into the Portuguese alphabet. Anyone talking about it would have been considered an alien from outer space – but even after this delight from Japan has become commonplace, there are still […] » This is perhaps the best-known pizza house in the interior Algarve – and there are even those who leave the coast and venture into the hills to come here. The welcome is very friendly and the staff has time for clients who come up with extravagant […] » This is an excellent example of how businessmen, particularly in the restaurant sector, can create agreeable spaces within the city – even if they’re surrounded by houses and old buildings waiting for better days. At the back, which used to be an […] »Faro Faro’s heart has managed to beat a little faster since Café CHOCOLATE opened in the centre of town in July 2010. Two Portuguese and one Frenchman joined forces to open a very different space and give Faro’s downtown area a welcome change of tempo! […] »Portimão In the hurly-burly of apocalyptic news about the national debt, we’re all running around like headless chickens, stressed out and bags of nerves. The heat and strong winds have managed to make everything worse – so it’s particularly good to be welcomed […] » Carlos Encarnação Costa has dance music in his heart. For almost 20 years he’s run an events hall underneath his restaurant where almost every weekend there are light-hearted, romantic popular music nights. Musicians play here from all over the country. […] » It’s a concept that has stood the test of time. “Casa do Pasto” is a name that was very popular throughout Portugal until the end of the 19th century. It symbolizes a mixture of the rustic simplicity of a tavern, and the functional order of a restaurant. […] »Portimão Benedicte is a Danish lady who studied at the Estoril school of catering. She speaks various languages and has worked in as a manager in some of the best restaurants in Lisbon. Last November, she decided to open her own place (from scratch) in the […] »Faro The HQ of this Faro collective is also something of a hidden gem, nestling in the backstreets of town. There are cups and trophies all over the place, bearing witness to heady catches, but there are those who come here that don’t fish but join for […] »Albufeira It opened recently under new management and with a new energy - affirming itself as a unique experience when it comes to restaurants in the Algarve. But let’s not get too carried away… First, we should explain that this is a restaurant with an “erotic […] »Alvor Lunching with a (Danish) dentist friend is a pleasure – but it also brings to the table certain existential, almost banal questions that nonetheless are real (unnoticed) dilemmas: “Why don’t you eat all your salad? Have you stopped to think how this […] »Portimão There’s a new trend being touted around (which actually isn’t new at all) going by the name of «neofrugalism». There are those who say it’s the bible for the current economic crisis and times of recession and austerity. The “prophet” is North American […] »Faro Anyone who enjoys the whole “Amercian Wild West” imagery should definitely make time to come here for a drink and admire the décor. This place has got it all! There’s a steam engine, pistols in the Sheriff’s holster, cowboy hats, Mexican mariachis, […] »Monchique It’s a little formula of mine. Really, it boils down to simple observation. Wherever you see local people sitting round tables, it’s usually a good sign. If the Mayor is among them – even better. It means this is a place where you can eat well. […] »Portimão It has changed management, face and philosophy. At the helm these days is José Silva, 29, a catering professional from Tomar attempting to bring new tastes to the south. These include regional sausages from the Ribatejo, olive oil from the presses […] » |
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