Restaurants in The Algarve
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Café Inglês
This cafe has a wonderful shady terrace and is everyone’s favourite spot. The food is excellent (don’t miss the Chocolate St Emilion dessert). One of the Algarve’s liveliest restaurants north of the coast, it has an elegant interior and in summer has occasional live jazz, fado and African music.
reviewed
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Adega Nova
This popular place buzzes with tourists and country charm. It has a lofty beamed ceiling, rustic cooking implements on display and long, communal tables and bench seats. The meat and fish dishes are reliable and service is efficient.
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Restaurante O Barradas
The star choice for fine dining is this delightful spot, 3km south of Silves, past the Silves train station on the road to Lagoa. The German chef creates her own Portuguese wonders, always using Mediterranean ingredients, sourced where possible from local suppliers. Organic meats and fresh, not farmed, fish are used. Desserts use seasonal fruits (don’t miss the figs with muscatel). An elegant atmosphere, gourmet dishes, and too many fine wines (did we mention her husband is a winemaker?) make for a taxi booking (seriously, think about it).
reviewed
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A Tasca
Overlooking the marina and out to sea, this place – a converted fish warehouse – specialises in, you guessed it, seafood. The cosy interior is filled with hanging strands of dried garlic and chillies, and bottles and clay jugs are embedded in the walls. The kitchen is open and there’s a sunny terrace. Note – solo travellers – one of the few places in Portugal where you can have a cataplana for one person (rather than two).
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A Eira do Mel
A Eira do Mel, a charming, Michelin-listed restaurant. The meat leans to the Algarvian; the seafood has a more contemporary touch. Think rabbit in red wine sauce, octopus cataplana with sweet potatoes (€31 for two people), curried Atlantic wild shrimps (€16) and lamb stew (€14). Mouthwatering stuff.
reviewed
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Cervejaria Dois Irmãos
Cervejaria Dois Irmãos. Hordes of local businessfolk head to this relaxing and stylish place – which is housed in a quaint historical building and overlooks the beautiful Praça do Infante. The sublime selection of petisco plates (Portuguese tapas) includes everything from pipis to pork ear.
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Adega da Marina
This barnlike place is a bit like a Portuguese grandmother – she hasn’t changed her hairstyle in a while. But she dishes out generous portions of reliable (and economical) tasty grilled chicken and seafood favourites to grateful guests. Her accessories include iron chandeliers and farming implements.
reviewed
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Jardim das Oliveiras
About 2km from Monchique just off the road to Fóia (signposted), this atmospheric place, with beamed ceilings, serves up regional dishes. Outdoors, the garden, shady trees, hammocks and seating scream ‘long lunch’. It is known for its javali (wild boar), wild rabbit and game dishes.
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Vila Joya
Vila Joya Part of the renowned Vila Joya, this stylish haunt boasts a setting by the beach (near Praia da Galé), impeccable service, exquisite locally sourced produce and the best of the best cuisine from chef Dieter Koschina. This is one experience you’ll want to linger over.
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Meu Limão
This handsome international-style tapas bar has a trendy feel, a smart crowd and a postcard view of Igreja Santo António from the outdoor tables. Tapas choices (€3.50 to €6) include shrimp with coconut, lemon chicken and mussels. It also serves heartier plates and good wines.
reviewed
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No Patio
Run by an English expat, No Patio (which means 'on the patio') is a charming and petite restaurant, with a sunny enclosed terrace, where fusion cuisine comes expertly prepared. Prawns and guacamole, asparagus risotto and tasty grilled fish go nicely with the sangria. Reservations advised.
reviewed
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Vela Dois
Soccer fanatics will love this Benfica-crazy restaurant (which looks like it’s raided the Benfica fan club premises). The other extraordinary thing is the ideal meals: €10 for all-you-can-eat (very good) seafood feast. This restaurant is opposite the main police station.
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Mesa dos Mouros
With cosy indoor seating and a small outdoor terrace right by the cathedral, this place is blessed with high-quality cuisine (as confirmed both by us and the comments book!). Excellent choices include the seafood dishes or hearty gourmet-style mains such as rabbit with chestnuts.
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Bora Café
Tiny Bora is the ideal place for your healthy fruit and veggie fix, delicious batidos (fruit and milk drinks) and a cool setting. The downsides are that outdoor tables cost more, smoking is allowed, and the computers’ fashionable rubber keyboards are impractical.
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O Farol Cervejaria
This clean, modern blue- and white-themed beacon is located by the market complex and attracts many locals. It serves traditional Portuguese cuisine – fish and meat dishes – in a pleasant, airy environment. Generous and tasty plates of the day are around €9.
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Vino Divino
Rich and flavourful Italian dishes come beautifully prepared at this elegant restaurant. Appetisers like goat's cheese and roasted eggplant are fine preludes to homemade pastas and raviolis (try the tagliatelle with seafood). There are good wine selections and a rooftop terrace.
reviewed
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V Terra
Several simple local cafes front Estói’s small main square. Alternatively, next to the old Roman bridge at Milreu, V Terra, a cheery spot, serves a range of international dishes. There’s a sunny terrace on the top floor.
reviewed
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Barlefante
Signposted off the town’s main drag, this fun place has a touch of the burlesque, with hot-pink walls, red-velvet alcoves, ornate mirrors and green chandeliers. Excellent tapas (aka sandwiches). It’s young Monchique’s hippest haunt.
reviewed
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Agua Salgada
This two-storey bar-cafe serves a range of pizzas (try the mozzarella, tomato, ham, egg and banana selection) and veggie burgers and plenty of cocktails when evening arrives. Service can be slow and the music varies. There’s free internet.
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Restaurante O Ciclista
Just beyond the EN125 bridge, this isolated barn like spot rightly stands out on its own. Seafood here is among the best in town (and don’t the locals know it). It’s packed to the gills serving up fresh catches by the kilo.
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Restaurante Ponte Romana
Adjoining the Ponte Romana residencial, this basement restaurant has decorations – keys, cowbells and harnesses – as antiquated as its prices (which haven’t moved in years). Great value, hearty country fare.
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A Charrete
Touted as the town’s best eatery for its regional specialities, this place serves reliably good cuisine amid country rustic charm. A few favourites include cabbage with spicy sausages and award-winning honey flan for dessert.
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A Ver Tavira
A handsome new addition to Tavira, this place has an airy interior and outdoor tables with lovely views over town. Lunchtime bites include great salads, quiche and sandwiches. For dinner, a delectable multicourse meal is served.
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Gengibre e Canela
Give the tastebuds a break from meat and fish dishes, and veg out (literally) at this Zenlike vegetarian restaurant. The buffet changes daily; there may be vegetable lasagne, feijoada (bean casserole) and tofu dishes.
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A Forja
A ForjaThis buzzing place pulls in the crowds for its over-hearty, top quality traditional food served in a bustling environment at great prices. Plates of the day are always reliable, as are the fish dishes.
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