Café Ingles – Silves
At the foot of the steps leading up to the Castle sits Café Ingles, managed by a Dutch fellow and his English wife (Claire), although owned by an English woman whom I’ve never met. Café Ingles has been at it for many years and very much feels like it is part of the Silves scenery. Tables are spread out under the trees and it is rather fun to dine while watching folks climb up and down from the Castle! There is a more formal dining room inside as well as a semi-alfresco terrace available. Like most places in Portugal the food is made fresh daily and is of very good quality. Soups, sandwiches, pizza, salads are typical. Vegetarians take note. Café Ingles is one place in the Algarve where it is easy to for you to dine. My favourite pizza is the Ad Astra – shrimp, pineapple and black olives on a crisp, thin crust. Yum. Their garlic bread is really like strips of pizza. Also yum.
And don’t be fooled by the great pizzas. Café Ingles regularly offers Portuguese fare, especially from their daily specials menu.
I especially love their house white wine. Almost like a Vinho Verde, it is light and crisp with a touch of pétillance. They tell me it is ‘draft wine’ that is widely available throughout the Algarve, but there is something about sitting under the shade of their trees on a hot, sunny day, sipping this white wine and munching a pizza that I find terrifically satisfying.
Service is good. Prices are surprisingly reasonable for such a touristy location. On weekends evenings they tend to have live entertainment so check to see what’s happening at the time of year you’re visiting. Fridays are fado nights, Saturdays are salsa nights and Sunday afternoons are for jazz. I’ve been lucky enough to see a fadista (female fado singer) on a couple of evenings. If you hang around long enough, the formality peels away and local musicians show up to jam with the 2 highly skilled guitarists and the singer. Alas, I tend to be an early-to-bed type so can’t usually stay awake until the party really starts to roll. You’ll usually need reservations on these nights. I’ve also had the joy of dropping in for a late Sunday afternoon snack to discover a Latin jazz trio playing. I was told the musicians were mostly Angolan immigrants. Man could they swing! It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a group as much as this. So the music is definitely of good quality.
For me, a visit to the Algarve isn’t complete without a visit to Café Ingles!
Restaurante Rouxinol – near Caldas de Monchique
A Rouxinol Welcome
Stay on the main road as you pass the Caldas and just around the bend you’ll see a rather large sign for Café Rouxinol on the right. It is easy to miss its entrance, so head around this bend rather slowly.
Restaurante Rouxinol has become another of my favourite spots, as much because of the delightful owners as for the food. Run by Stefan, an ex-pat Swede who will happily tell you all the reasons no one in his right mind would want to live in Sweden, and his partner Lisa, this is definitely not your typical Portuguese dining spot.
Stefan comes from a family of restaurateurs, is a trained chef and offers an international style menu. The house wine is from his own vinyard and the daily specials are very eclectic. Yes you can get the ubiquitous Chicken Piri-Piri if you seek something cheap and cheerful, but this is one place I encourage you to splash out a bit.
In my opinion, the Potato Pancake with Smoked Salmon is first rate. Actually, for my taste, you can skip the salmon and focus on the potatoes: they are flavourful and crisply cooked. And some two years after first being served it, I am still ever hopeful that I’ll happen by one day when they are serving their homemade paté once more: rich, creamy and delicately flavoured.
If grilled pork chops with mushroom sauce is the offer of the day, jump at it. The pork is beautifully done, and the mushrooms are absolutely delectable. Scandinavians have a way with cream that makes the heart sing all the while it is clogging up!
Many main courses are served with Lisa’s homemade slaws on the side. These slaws are to die for in my opinion.
Rouxinol recently discovered they are proud owners of a 2,000 year old orange tree!
This is one place where desserts can be counted on to please. Stefan makes a Chocolate Cake that is not only sinful, but is different than any other chocolate cake I’ve ever had. Extremely thin, it is more like an intensely rich fondant than cake. Yummy, yum, yum. Their Carrot Cake outshines any other than I’ve ever had. It looks different, has a different consistency and is very delicately flavoured.
The Panna Cotta is sublime. If you are lucky enough to happen upon an offering of Chocolate Panna Cotta, go for it. Rich, dense, … divine. Stefan used to make it for the King of Sweden. What a lucky guy that king was!
On a cool day Rouxinol's fireplaces warms both body & spirit
Beyond the food, the ambience at Café Rouxinol is wonderful. It overlooks the Caldas and Monchique Mountains. Views from the patio, if you are there on a sunny day, are fabulous. If it is cool or rainy, move inside and you are transported into a hunting lodge of old. The dining room is focused around a massive walk-in fireplace, large enough in which to roast a whole suckling pig. What a cozy retreat when the fire is roaring away. Get Stefan to tell you about the wild boars that used to frequent the property and that he is helping to return.
“Rouxinal”, by the way is Portuguese for Nightingale. The songbirds used to be all over the place. Now, alas, their images alone grace the walls of the restaurant.
O Arraiolos -village of Olhos D’Agua
Towards the western edge of the village of Olhos D’Agua you’ll find O Arraiolos, a gem of a restaurant. It sits on the southwest corner of Torre de Medronheira in a building that gives you no real idea of the treat that awaits you as you step inside. The quality of food, friendliness of staff, warm décor and astonishing array of wine bely the austere exterior.
From the first second that I entered O Arraiolos I knew I had found someplace special. Joaoquin, the owner, is originally from the next province to the north, the Alentejo, bread-basket of Portugal. His roots are easily seen in how he offers traditional specialties, up-dated to today’s tastes and presentation style. His staff are well-trained and knowledgeable, both about the foods being served and the wines on offer. O Arraiolos always has a generous number of Portuguese patrons, as well as tourists.
Each day there is a special dish, offered at very reasonable prices. His grilled pork ribs (Piano) are scrumptious. Dry grilled and salty, but tender, tasty and finger-licking good. Monkfish Rice is fabulous – large pieces of this rich fish swimming in a flavourful tomato rice. Every meal my clients, friends and I have had at O Arraiolos has been great. I’ve even brought other restauranteurs for a visit and they’ve been impressed by the array of dishes, knowledge of the owner and quality of the wines on offer.
About the only thing I wouldn’t strongly recommend is the beef. And this is not about how it is served at O Arraiolos, this is about Portugal, in general. Portugal isn’t a beef country. Beef here tends to be expensive and isn’t up to the standards we’re accustomed to. As a rule, I don’t eat beef there simply because the fish, chicken, pork, lamb and goat are so much better!
O Arraiolos from the street
The Couvert at O Arraiolos is worth the price. Several kinds of peasant breads are served, as is cream cheese, sardine paste, marinated olives and marinated carrots. I can practically make a meal on the carrots and bread alone. Yum, yum …sweet, garlicky, herby carrots. What a way to set up your palette.
And the wines! Everywhere you look in the restaurant, great bottles of wine are on display. Not all of them are expensive, be sure that you talk with your waiter about what you are looking for. They will happily describe to you different options available and come up with something that is in your price range. It is easy to get spoiled in Portugal and become accustomed to buying half litres of wine for a couple of euros. But you are missing out on some absolute delights that cost no more than cheap plonk in neighbourhood dives to back home if all you order is house wine. Splurge occasionally! And this is one place to splurge.
O Arraiolos is slightly more expensive than many local restaurants. However, a couple of times each visit I can’t miss out on the combination of quality and friendliness that it offers. This is definitely one of my favourites and I highly recommend that you try it out. I usually make my last night in the Algarve a visit to O Arraiolos so that I can carry away with me the memory of grand food and great people!
Closed Mondays.
