Bistro Central lies right in the middle of Salema with the front door facing the sea , land side of the small carpark and the road. There are pavement tables, served by the small outside bar, for those just having a drink and wanting to sit in the sun. There are about 14 covered terrace tables and the restaurant can serve 20 covers inside. Run by Frenchman, Bertrand and his team, the restaurant delivers something a bit different.
There were 6 in our party and we chose a variety of dishes between us, some from the menu and some from the special dishes blackboard. For starters, between us, we chose onion soup with croutons, fish & curry soup, salmon mousse, anchovy tapas couverte with a cheese & walnut dip, the latter two served with very chunky pieces of toasted bread, and roasted quail, stuffed with apple, in a creamy mushroom sauce. The starters were a proper size, ample but not daunting portions as can be the case, particularly with soup.
The main courses selected were chicken kebab with a satay sauce, seabass, both on the bone and filleted and steak and prawn surf & turf kebab with a sharp, sweet and sour bbq sauce. All were served with a stack of chips or gratin potatoes together with vegetables or salad. Most of us drank the house red wine which was Monte Vilar, a good robust red made from Alicante Bouschet, Trincadeira and Aragones grape varieties (14% alcohol) from Beja in the wine producing Alentejo region. White wine spritzers and beers were chosen also.
We had an enjoyable evening and appreciated food which had a slightly different touch to it. The favourites of our visit? We thought the quail and the curry fish soup were the stars of the starters and the surf and turf kebab and the grilled sea bass were declared sensational. We're sure we will be back to sample more from this interesting menu as we would like to try the lamb done in the oven (borrego no forno), sometimes to be seen on the specials board but not the night we were there!
Bistro Central, Praia da Salema
open 09.00 hours to 12.00 midnight from April to end October
closed Tuesday
Breakfast, including a full English, served in the morning. Tapas menu served during the day and dinner menu in the evening.
small carpark and the road. There are pavement tables, served by the small outside bar, for those just having a drink and wanting to sit in the sun. There are about 14 covered terrace tables and the restaurant can serve 20 covers inside. Run by Frenchman, Bertrand and his team, the restaurant delivers something a bit different. 
There were 6 in our party and we chose a variety of dishes between us, some from the menu and some from the special dishes blackboard. For starters, between us, we chose onion soup with croutons, fish & curry soup, salmon mousse, anchovy tapas couverte with a cheese & walnut dip, the latter two served with very 
chunky pieces of toasted bread, and roasted quail, stuffed with apple, in a creamy mushroom sauce. The starters were a proper size, ample but not daunting portions as can be the case, particularly with soup.
from Alicante Bouschet, Trincadeira and Aragones grape varieties (14% alcohol) from Beja in the 
