Where to eat in the Algarve, Portugal

Restaurante Adega do Papagaio in Espiche

The Adega do Papagaio is tucked away in Espiche just 5 minutes drive from Praia da Luz and 10 minutes by car from Lagos - park at the bottom of the hill in the middle of Espiche village and turn right up the hill and then left - look for the sign with the parrot on it and you will find the Adega do Papagaio.  The menu is simple but fun.  The whole restaurant revolves around the main course - a very hot stone is brought to your table and you are your own cook.  Without using oil or fat of any kind, you grill  7 different kinds of meat (pork, lamb, chicken, steak, sausage etc), which you eat at your own pace, accompanied by salad, vegetables, rice, chips and sauces brought from the kitchen - you eat as much as you like - all for around € 12.50 

For € 15 you can wrap this main course in a menu with soup to start and the chef's dessert and coffee to follow or go for the fully inclusive € 24 option which also includes ice-cream, beer, wine or lemonade.

Alternatively, you can choose from the traditional Portuguese cover of bread with sardine pâté and olives, starters including mixed salad, melon with ham, Shrimps Papagaio or Shrimp cocktail (ranging from € 2 to € 6.50), move into the main course and finish with ice cream, Chef's dessert or coffee (€ 2 to € 3.5).  All prices are 2005 prices and are per person, of course.  A good range of wines and beers are available too.

On Tuesdays and Saturdays, the restaurant puts on live Fado music.  This is the traditional Portuguese music, often quite sad sounding but you should, at least, make your acquaintance with it once.  This is a fun restaurant - it's quite a novelty cooking your own meat and it gets quite popular in the summer season - so to book, ring local Portugal number (00351) 282 789 423

Maggie & John

If you would like to know more about Portuguese Food and Drink, why don't you dip into our Restaurants in the Algarve section and our series of articles on Portuguese Wines and Ports.  We also feature some Traditional Portuguese Recipes and a glossary of useful Portuguese food & drink words and phrases