Flavours from Algarve
The fish and seafood are, of course, the flag-bearers for the quality of the food served in the Algarve.
Restaurants in the Algarve have excellent ingredients that they can transform into truly sublime dishes. Delight in tasty octopus rice, seafood açorda, tuna with onions, salt cod and fish stew “Algarve style”, whelk and bean stew, migas with baby clams, shark soup and maize porridge, amid a host of other delicacies that go straight from the sea to your plate.
From the oysters and other bivalves (clams, cockles, razor clam) farmed in the Ria Formosa, to the Barnacles from Sagres and octopus and tuna, a whole symphony of flavours marks the rhythm of the Algarve’s cuisine.
With their clearly defined characteristics, the region’s wines and sweets are stars in their own right and complement the flavours of the Algarve’s seafood to perfection.
And why not round off your meal with a delicious Algarve orange?
RESTAURANTS - MICHELIN STARS - ALGARVE
In the Algarve there are restaurants to suit every taste: from traditional dishes to signature cuisine by chefs who take the Algarve’s flavours to the very highest level and put the Algarve on the map of the great gastronomic routes.Of course, we are talking about Michelin-starred restaurants. Eight Algarve restaurants currently hold one or two stars awarded by the world-famous guide. Holding two Michelin stars, and located on Estrada de Galé in Albufeira, we have the Vila Joya, run by Chef Dieter Koschina, and the Ocean at the Vila Vita Parc Resort & Spa, in Alporchinhos, Lagoa, headed by Chef Hans Neuner. The four other restaurants have maintained their one Michelin Star: the Vistas, run by Chef Rui Silvestre at the Monte Rei Golf & Country Club; the Gusto by Heinz Beck, run by Chef Heinz Beck in the Hotel Conrad Algarve, in Quinta do Lago; the Vista in Praia da Rocha, Portimão, headed by Chef João Oliveira; the Bon Bon in Carvoeiro, under the responsibility of Chef José Lopes; the Al Sud, in Lagos, by Chef Louis Anjos; and the A Ver Tavira, in Tavira, by Chef Luís Brito.The "Bib Gourmand" category, awarded to restaurants that offer excellent value for money, also features two restaurants in the Algarve: the Check-In, in Faro, run by Chef Leonel Pereira (formerly chef at the São Gabriel), and Chef Roeland Klein's Avenida, in Lagos.From the most genuine Algarve regional cuisine to the signature dishes created by some of the top names in Portuguese and international cuisine, the Algarve is a vast table, set from east to west, which invites you to taste, enjoy and share unique moments.We have only given you a few suggestions, so you should consider them as just that, mere suggestions. We hope they will whet your appetite for the huge variety of options that the region has in store for its visitors. Enjoy!