Reviews

There are many excellent restaurants in the Quinta de Lago / Vale do Lobo area and around the marinas in the Algarve, some expensive some not so expensive. The restaurants that feature in this section are places that Portuguese people and other nationalities that live in the Algarve frequent rather than just tourists and people who are visiting the Algarve to play Golf. Most are inexpensive, all offer excellent food and I have had meals in each of them on many occasions.

INDEX

Please scroll down to read about & see pictures of the following restaurants

1. Calheiros - Olhos de Agua (half way between Albufeira and Vilamoura)
2. Retiro do Campones - Vale Judeu
3. La Cigale - On the beach at Olhos de Agua
4. Sueste - At Ferragudo near Portimao
5. Evaristo - near Albufeira
6. O Estamine - On Ilha Deserta near Faro
7. Mariscos & Petiscos at Cabanas near Tavira

Calheiros - Olhos d'Agua

This restaurant is in the centre of Olhos d'Agua and about 8 minutes walk from the beach. They have a good selection of meat and fish, with a choice of vegetables or salad. On the most recent occasion that I was here I had Chateaubriand (see photograph), which was excellent and extremely good value for money. Geoffrey who I am sitting with in the photograph said that he had not had a better meal in the Algarve. I often visit this restaurant for an inexpensive meal, for instance a Portuguese Beefsteak with home made fried potatoes (which are excellent) and salad is just 5.50 euros.
The service is always very good, it is the owner who does most of the cooking. The ambience is nice but slightly ruined by two televisions which seem to be permanently tuned in to football, but the volume is so low that one can hardly hear them and the food so good that you will soon forget that they are even there.

Retiro do Campones - Near Loule off the 125

Retiro do Campones is so well hidden from the public view that when you eat here for the first time you will be amazed that others have also found it. However it is popular because of its excellent food, attractive restaurant and excellent service from members of the owner’s family.

The menu offers meat and fish; the owner guarantees the fish to be fresh and bought from either Quarteira or Ohlao market that day. Prices are moderate and you will have as much or more than you can possibly eat. In the photograph you will see that we chose T-bone steaks, which were enormous, cooked exactly as we asked for them to be cooked and delicious. Another excellent choice on the menu is a small joint of lamb for two people, which is superb.

The general ambience is very attractive, as you will see from the photograph. The style of the restaurant is typical of the Algarve, a long low building with a tiled roof, the underneath of which is lined with varnished bamboo poles. Sadly there is a television in one corner but it is the other side of the bar and we were enjoying our food so much we didn’t notice it.

It is not difficult to find. Travelling east from Quatro Stradas on the 125, go for two miles then turn right where there is a Sumol sign on the right side of the road. From there go a few 100 metres, over the railway line, and take the second small turning on the left. The restaurant is 50 metres on your right. At weekends it would be advisable to book in advance, their telephone number is 289 328412.

La Cigale - Ohlos d'Agua

La Cigale is a well known restaurant, it overlooks the beach at Ohlos d’Agua with a fine view of the sea, an attractive interior very well laid out so that everyone can look out to sea through the enormous expanse of windows along the south facing side. A sign on the outside proclaims it to be a snack bar; it is a very expensive snack bar! But a very good restaurant. All the tables in the restaurant are quite close to the long window and so you have a wonderful view of the beach and the sea while you are enjoying your dinner. The menu is extensive with a variety of meat and fresh fish. We enjoyed an excellent halibut and the service was good although we had to wait a long time for our butter sauce because it was delivered to another table by mistake.

In addition to seating for a hundred people in the restaurant there are also chairs and tables on the terrace. The food is first-rate but not cheap, you are paying also for the location, ambience and reputation. If you are staying locally to Ohlos d’Agua they will collect you in an eight-seater mini bus from your hotel and deliver you back after lunch or dinner.

Even in mid March when we had dinner there the restaurant was almost half full, most of the diners seemed to be Portuguese. Later in the year I would recommend telephoning 289 501637 to book a table.

Restaurants on Algarve beaches that you can anchor off and

be collected from your boat and brought ashore for lunch

There are many excellent restaurants on beaches in the Algarve. All of them offer a wonderful selection of fresh fish, shell fish and a good variety of puddings plus a good selection of very good Portuguese wines. Given calm conditions and preferably an offshore wind we can anchor off a restaurant and go ashore in our tender for lunch or dinner. Whilst it isn’t much effort to launch a tender, it is a great luxury to anchor and then make a telephone call to a restaurant and ask them to send someone out with a boat to collect us.

I know of three restaurants who offer this service, going from west to east they are as follows:

‘Sueste’ at Ferragudo. Tel: 282461592.

When you telephone you will probably speak to Dadinha who speaks excellent English. Most of their food is cooked on a barbecue on the quay, you can see it under the large umbrella on the left of the photograph. Delicious fresh fish is their speciality, but you will also find on their menu fried shrimps in garlic, grilled king prawns, clams, fish and shell fish soup. For your pudding you have a choice of chocolate mousse, almond pie and orange tart plus a selection of ice creams prepared with seasonal fresh fruit. They have a very good selection of excellent Portuguese wine.

Ferragudo is a beautiful village and one of the few places in this part of the Algarve that is totally unspoilt so you will enjoy your meal in a natural ambience, the building was probably fishermens’ cottages originally and so both inside and outside your surroundings are traditional Algarve architecture. If you choose to eat outside you will be overlooking the quay and the river Arade.

Directions: On arrival by boat at the entrance to the ‘Rio Arade’ steer a course of 025°M to leave red buoy number 2 to port, then steer 010°M leaving Marina de Portimão and red buoy number 4 to port, go for another 100 yards to green buoy number 1, leave it to starboard and alter course to 335°M, travel for another 100 yards and Ferragudo will now be abeam to starboard. You will see the lifeboat station with its red door and ‘Sueste’ is immediately to the left of it. Between you and Sueste there are a number of Yachts that are on moorings, anchor a little to the west of them in about 6 metres of water. A soon as you have anchored, telephone the restaurant and they will send a boat out to pick you up.

‘Evaristo’ three nautical miles west of Albufeira. Tel: 289591666

Whilst Evaristo is a modern building it is in the most beautiful of settings with its own beach overlooking where you will have anchored your boat. There is a relaxed ambience in the restaurant, good music and of course wonderful food. Fish is their speciality, plus shell fish & clams. They have a reputation for being innovative with their food. If you are not a fish eater their barbecued ribs are a speciality. In addition to a fine selection of Portuguese wines their speciality is Sangria.
In 2002 ‘Evaristo’ won an award for the best traditional dish in Portugal.
‘Evaristo’ is very popular with owners of motor cruisers from Vilamoura Marina, it is just 20 minutes away, and has a clientele that visit often by both boat and car.

An additional service that ‘Evaristo’ offer is that if you prefer to stay on board your boat they will bring your meal out to you.

Directions: Evaristo is 8.8 nautical miles west of the entrance to Marina de Vilamoura and 2.4 miles west of Albufeira Marina entrance, if you anchor at GPS position 37° 04’28 N 008° 18’30 W you will see Evaristo as shown in the photograph. When you telephone and ask to be collected someone will come out from the beach in the boat shown in the photograph.

‘O Estaminé’ on Ilha Deserta near Faro in the Ria Formosa

Tel: 917811856

‘O Estaminé’ is owned and run by José Vargas and his wife Isabel Vicente. The restaurant is an attractive wooden building that is in fact the only building on the deserted Island. There are no cars or quads here, the atmosphere is one of complete tranquility that is totally unique in the most beautiful of settings. Wild flowers grow in profusion in the sand surrounding the restaurant.
The food is delicious, mostly fresh fish, clams and a variety of local shell fish. Squid and cuttle fish are a speciality. Their ‘beach prawns’, a recipe invented on Ilha Deserta, are wonderful. They have a variety of salads, my favourite being ‘Montanheira’ salad which is ‘short chopped tomatoes, cucumber, onion, pepper and oregano’. Most of the food is cooked on a barbecue, for anyone who does not want fish they have excellent entrecote steak. Their puddings are very good and are all recipes invented by Isabel.
They have a choice of excellent Portuguese wines, beers and of course soft drinks.
The restaurant is closed in January and on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Directions: ‘O Estaminé’ is 15 nautical miles south east of Vilamoura, it is on the island known as Ilha Deserta, but in fact its proper name is Ilha da Barretta. It is situated in Ria Formosa and is the long strip of sand between Faro Island and Ilha da Culatra. Between these two islands is the channel at Cabo de Santa Maria, that is the only navigable entrance into Ria Formosa. From the centre of this entrance steer 015°M leaving red number 2 buoy to port, ‘O Estaminé’ is at that point abeam of you to port, continue on this course to red buoy number 4 and alter course to 240°M go for about 200 yards on this course and anchor in about 5 metres of water. Then telephone José and he will come out to pick you up with his launch. José has another boat and by prior arrangement can pick you up at the Porta Nova Pier at Faro. Alternatively there is a Catamaran Ferry that goes to the island departing from Porta Nova Pier at 1000, 1130, 1300 and 1615 and returning to Faro departing from the island at 1045, 1215, 1530 and 1800 everyday.

Mariscos & Petiscos at Cabanas near Tavira Tel: 281370722

This is without doubt one of the best seafood restaurants in the Algarve, it is very popular and I advise that you should book a table. Cabanas is a popular holiday destination and is very unspoilt as you would expect of this part of the Algarve.

The service at the restaurant is excellent and all the waiters speak English. Your first course is provided soon after you sit down at your table and consists of delicious small rolls, butter and both olive and seafood paté, cheese and local prawns. For your main course The Mariscada (very large plate of mixed sea food) is just amazing, there are various different prawn dishes, all of them are delicious and of course fresh fish. For anyone who prefers meat they have excellent steak. For your pudding they have several different chocolate specialities, however one that is called 'The best chocolate cake in the world' is definately the best chocolate cake in the world!!

Directions: Mariscos & Petiscos is on the waterfront on Rua Comandante Henrique Tenreiro in Cabanas which is just off the 125 about 5 kilometers north east of Tavira.
By car turn right off the 125 following a signpost for Cabanas, go for one and a half kilometers and turn right at a T junction, go for about 300 metres and you will find the restaurant on your right.
By boat, anchor at Quatro Aguas (Tavira) and travel north east by dinghy up the channel inside the sandbank, you will find the restaurant on your left after about one nautical mile.