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Restaurants

Just a few of our favourites

 

There are literally hundreds of restaurants in and around Carvoeiro. Most of them are pretty good, they are usually very child friendly, and the food is generally tasty. Inevitably we've found a few favourites. Essentially they are worthy of inclusion because they are Vegetarian friendly, but also because the food is either different or represents excellent value.

NB: Many restaurants, ironically led by the more expensive ones, do not take credit cards, so visit the ATM before heading to any of these suggestions below.

  

Smoked salmon starter at O Alambique

 

L'Orange (282 357 297)

  
Excellent food and exemplary service, just out of town
 €€€
L'Orange Restaurant   For a special evening, we always head to L'Orange , which is a bit more expensive than most, but the food is so well prepared and the service and ambiance make it all worthwhile. Duck, Steak, Lamb and Fish dishes are all tasty as well as a selection of Vegetarian options put together with care and thought.

 

Barnhard's (282 357 297)

  
Warm welcome in Ferragudo
 €€
Bernhards Restaurant, Feragudo   We always get a friendly Irish welcome from Geraldine at Barnhards. This unlikely looking restaurant on the main road heading down the hill into Ferragudo precedes an International menu headed by Lamb Shank, or some very interesting Turkey Breast or tasty Chicken special (not piri piri again!). Good Vegetarian selection as well as varying fish dishes are always tasty. Some fun surprises for the children with activities and a menu to suit.

Also check out their freezer filler service, or If you are thinking of having a large Barbecue, they can supply everything you need from fresh salads to seasoned and marinated meats

 

Ele & Ela (282 357 509)

  
Best food in the town
 €€€
Ele & Ela Restaurant   Currently best cooking in Carvoeiro is to be found at the cosy Ele E Ela  right in the middle of town. An eclectic menu, which changes frequently but best described as wild flavours from all over the world with Portuguese ingredients, meats, fish and some inventive Vegetarian options too. Desserts always worth leaving room for.

The setting is perhaps less elegant than many others, but once inside, the atmosphere is very professional where food and wine come before anything else.

 

O Salmao (282 357 031)

  
Home cooking in Monte Carvoeiro Square
 €€
O Salmao Restaurant in Monte Carvoeiro   A beautiful setting and always a varied, but distinctive menu with excellent fish dishes as well as my favourite lamb chops and an inventive Vegetarian selection cooked by Ed in the back, while Christina looks after front of house with her daughter Ana (both pictured here with Ingrid). Ed hails from Yorkshire, Christina is Portuguese but speaks impeccable English with a Portuguese-Scottish-Yorkshire accent that has to be heard to be believed, and if you engage her in conversation as the evening wears on, believe us, you'll hear a lot of it !

 

O Alambique (282 449 283)

  
An oasis in the country
 €€€
O Alambique Restaurant   O Alambique in Poηo Barret has been going strong for 7 years. We only found it in 2007 and are we glad we made the journey. Its a 10-15 minute drive from Carvoeiro past Silves and in the middle of nowhere, but when you arrive, the tables are very well spaced out and the food is all delicately cooked with fresh herbs from their own garden.

This restaurant is truly International with a German owner/front of house, Japanese chef, Brazilian cook and Moldavian kitchen help. Steaks that I could cut with a fish knife, and truly imaginative Vegetarian dishes co-exist with tasty fish dishes that you could not find elsewhere.

 

Bon Bon (282 341 496)

  
Glorious setting - at a price
 €€€
Bon Bon Restaurant   Bon Bon can be found quite easily just under the water tower on the road from Sesmarias to Lagoa. You can sit outside and watch a wonderful sunset, overlooking the mountains of Monchique. The service is warm and discreet, the dishes are beautifully presented. The menu is enticing to read, and some great Vegetarian options. Some say the food is great, some say it isn't. We say that if you were to close your eyes and ignore the setting, the ambiance, and the presentation, your taste buds would be quite disappointed.

No Credit cards accepted, so at the end of the meal, your cash reserves will also be severely depleted.

 

Some more nice ones ...
Pictures to come, but its the food thats important !
La Bella Vita (282 358 556)   A beautifully redecorated Italian/International style restaurant adjacent to the reception area at Club Atlantico. High on our list for special occasions, but not too expensive for a good evening out either. €€
Rei Das Praias (282 461 006)   Set right on Caneiros Beach it looks more like a cafe, but has an absolutely splendid setting, and grills some fresh fish that is to die for. Its expensive for what you get, but an experience worth booking days in advance for. Not Vegetarian friendly though. €€€
Maximes (282 357 852)   Half way up "Restaurant Hill" on the left serves large plates of highly decorative food thats also very tasty. Special care is given to the small selection of Vegetarian options. €€
Villa Medici (282 358 017)   Another popular and good quality Italian restaurant on the right hand side near the top of "Restaurant Hill" €€
Casa Velha do Pescador (282 358 840)   This Portuguese restaurant breaks the mould of tourist restaurants described below. Found up the hill just past Benagil beach on the right hand side near the top of the hill, where there are two adjacent restaurants. Casa Velha do Pescador is the lower of the pair, its very nicely decorated, the menu is a bit more expensive than Restaurant Hill, but we noticed many Portuguese families eating here, and above all, we enjoyed the presentation of the food and the creative Vegetarian options so absent in most other Portuguese establishments. €€
Elliotts (282 356 096)   Newly established in 2007 in the delightful Monte Carvoeiro square this restaurant has a bit of a hit and miss history. However, when its a hit, the food is really tasty. Your hosts make that extra effort to welcome you and walk you through the menu, the cooking, the food and match the delivery to your tastes and desires. Some spectacular reviews by friends and visitors, but we've also experienced the occasional average meal. €€
The Village Inn (282 412 036)   This is not easy to find in the little town of Mexilhoeira da Carragaηγo, but they advertise in Free Map with good instructions to a small cosy restaurant thats worth the effort. From the beginning of the meal with some of the most tasty Couvert in the area, through imaginative meat and Vegetarian dishes, the food is always faultless. This was the first and only Veggie friendly restaurant for miles when we first started going to Carvoeiro in 1999, and they are still popular and full, so book before you make the journey. €€
 

Portuguese eating I
Some of the tourist places

There are quite a large number of simple traditional Portuguese restaurants in the main town, particularly up "Restaurant Hill". We find them all very similar in terms of the menu with grilled fresh fish of the day as top choice. Or you can try grilled lamb chops by the plateful, steaks with various sauces or the specialities of Chicken piri-piri or Cataplana (fish stew in a cauldron - usually for 2 persons).

The other thing they all have in common is the typically informal, friendly service from the waiting staff, but we cannot help feeling that they have adapted readily over the past few years to the burgeoning North European tourist influx. This becomes apparent in the prices, which have risen noticeably, the inclusion of special children's menu (fish fingers, burgers, pizza), and sadly the feeling of conveyor belt cooking.
 

Here are just a few:

 
Casa Algarvia (282 357 604)   Towards the top of Restaurant Hill on the left going up, this double fronted restaurant is always busy. Favoured by regular visitors and residents alike, they offer some Vegetarian option, but you do need to like fish to accompany your garlic here. €€
O Chef Antonio (282 358 937)   Almost opposite Casa Algarvia, this very large imposing looking building reached up a ramp with a large covered verandah serves h u g e portions, so missing a starter could be a wise move. Although we've heard some stories of below average food, the waiters are very friendly, and if you have the Leg of lamb, be sure to ask for a right leg, as the left legs tend to be a bit less tasty J €€
A Rede (282 358 513)   Standard fare served with style, and occasionally some interesting desserts €€
Vimar (282 358 322)   More standard fare, but the grilled fish is optionally served headless. €€
Algar Seco Bistro (282 350 449)   Great setting, a longer than usual menu which covers snacks as well as nicely cooked fish dishes (recently changed ownership, new one untried) ??
 

Portuguese eating II
Not for your average tourist

Running east to west along the whole of the Algarve is the infamous N125 road. South of the N125 are all the good, the great and not so great tourist towns, areas and complexes, where English is widely spoken, and most of the restaurants cater to the visitor. These are described in the preceding section.

If you want authentic Portuguese hospitality, you need to go North of the N125 into any town or village and be prepared to find menus without any English or even the total lack of menus.

But prices will be substantially lower, and Vegetarians will starve.

 

If you want a taster of what is available in the genuine Portugal, we have found a few local establishments that still maintain the old ways and for the time being at least offer exceptional value for money - we hope it lasts.

 
Escondidinho   The Escondidinho is on the far side of Quinta do Paraiso from Carvoeiro. Past the reception area and up a slight incline, keep left. There is a large unpaved car park on the left filled with cars and trucks.

Its occupied most lunchtimes with local builders and workmen. For no more than €7.50, you get a 3 course lunch with wine and coffee, but do not expect any menu in English. In fact, no menu at all. Granny will tell you what you want, she won't wait for you to um and ahh about it, but she will deliver platefuls of wholesome food very quickly.

 €
Fatacil Cafeteria   Inside the gates of the Fatacil (the "fairgrounds" by the roundabout at Lagoa opposite the Blue elephant car wash) is the Fatacil Restaurant, but we hesitate to call it a restaurant. Its huge inside, extremely bright noisy and filled with local workmen eating their way through a 3 course lunch with wine, coffee and maybe even a liqueur for less than €8.00. Some English help may be available, but don't count on it ! €
       
 

Something different
Fed up with formal dinners ?
Both of these are quite a way out of town (car or taxi essential). Neither are really culinary extravaganzas but they certainly are different and make a very welcome change if you're eating out most nights.

 
Chicken George   As the name implies, all you can get Chicken and Chips. You do have a choice of with or without piri-piri sauce and an optional salad (worth having!). Its way out east toward Benagil. From Rocha Brava complex go out of the front and straight over. After 1/4 mile this will bring you to a "T"junction which is the m 1273. If you turn right you go to Benagil if you turn left you go to Lagoa. Go straight over at this junction down a narrow road. Chicken George suddenly appears 100 yards on the right. €
Piano Bar (282 493 278)   This one is west of town on the road from Sesmarais to Ferragudo on the right opposite the turnoff to Casabela Hotel. The sign on the right of this turning tells us that its a Pizza and Indian Restaurant, and when you arrive you find its all true. Two large brick Pizza ovens in the front, very tasty Indian kitchen and live music make it all a bit different. €€

 

Some Ethnic Restaurants
Included for completeness
ITALIAN
   Quite frankly, apart from the two already mentioned above (Villa Medici and La Bella Vita), we've found most of the others to be too variable to warrant a mention here.  
Forno de Fraser   Take away Pizza. Definitely the best Pizza in town - if Pizza is what you want. You'll find this small establishment just up the one way road that comes down to the Post Office (Correiro). €
       
CHINESE
   There are about 3-4 in Carvoeiro itself, but only two worth a mention, and one of these is outside town anyway.  
China Town (282 359 121)   This one may be found almost at the top of Restaurant Hill on the left hand side going up. Its nicely decorated and serves a good standard Chinese meal, but won't really set the world on fire. €€
Jardim do Sul (282 352 273)   If you really want Chinese, then head to Lagoa where you will find this unpretentious restaurant in the pedestrian precinct in the middle of town with easy parking nearby. €€
       
INDIAN
   A new Indian restaurant opens each year, and most of them keep their clientele and stay open, which is no bad thing, but we can only find one to recommend.  
O Castello (282 357 218)   What a setting ! This is on the hill leaving the main square past the ice cream parlour and on past Rascals. They have a small number of outside tables which are well worth booking in advance, but even if you're sitting indoors, the food is very tasty, and never too hot. €€
THAI
      
Koh Samui (919 326 682)   Found up a steep hill in a side street to the right a short way up Restaurant Hill (kind of opposite the turning for the Municipal Market). Although it may sound a surprising suggestion for eating out in Portugal, the flavours are subtle, spicy items not too strong, and a high quality alternative to the standard fare of fish, meat or Pizza ! Definitely worth a try.

Update: June 2008. Avoid this place. Seems to have changed ownership and its terrible. Service atrocious, you may get what you ordered, but its pot luck, and you may even pay for your neighbours meal as well as yours. Some of the food is still very tasty, so we're watching carefully.

 ?
       
ENGLISH
   We just could not resist adding this listing in the Ethnic section. Well we are in Portugal - right ?  
Ma Ja's (282 083 920)   Hidden away in a back street. From the square, walk a short way back along the "in-road" then first left up past the post office, then hard left back on yourself up the one way (down) street on the West Side, you'll find Ma Ja's Bistro, where Mark and Jan (get the name now ?) have set out to offer home English cooking specifically for those who miss it. Prices are very reasonable for freshly prepared fare on an ever changing menu, with vegetarian option to boot. Sunday Lunch speciality as well. €
 
 
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