Camarão e Carvão - Portugal's Algarve

My family and I traveled across the pond again for spring break, this time destined for the beautiful beaches, stunning cliffs, and seaside towns of Southern Portugal.  Yes, we're those bougie parents who've flown our toddlers to Europe two years in a row now.  Honestly though, when looking at the prices for a trip to the Virgin Islands or a Jersey shore house for a week, the cost is almost identical these days.  My father-in-law was very helpful with the finances, too.  And with a couple of White House man babies currently laying waste to everything, who knows what the future holds.  Best to travel abroad while we still can, or sadly, even scope out some new places to live.  As such, this was a very appropriately timed vacation.  Mentally, physically, and emotionally, we were all in desperate need of a get-away.

Portugal Food Map

The Iberian Peninsula has long been famed for its cuisine, most notably its seafood delicacies and delights.  Valencian paella, Galician pulpo, Basques pil-pil, Lisboan bacalhau.  However, as I've sort of just done, these foods often end up all lumped together as one for those who are unfamiliar.  In the States, we typically get "Chinese" food, when in reality there's Cantonese, Hakka, Sichuan, Hunan, etc.  It's the same with Mexican, Indian, and many others.  Subcultural dishes from specific areas are packaged into pan-national presentations.  Even more, there are several dishes that have crossed those political borders, leading to further confusion.  Think of all the Salvadorian restaurants selling tacos or Korean restaurants making sushi.  I've found this to be true of Iberian cuisine too.  Countless Portuguese eateries around the States have patrons asking "where's the tapas?"  There's even a TripAdvisor thread dedicated to the best paella in Lisbon.  This isn't always a bad thing, though.  Traditional or "authentic" food has its much needed place, but cultural exchange and culinary "fusion" have created some incredible dishes too.  Either way, my goal for Southern Portugal was simple: find the best seafood bites I could in the limited I had.  Vamos! 😜

I immediately noticed that many towns in the Faro District offer a lot of Spanish style cuisine, likely in reaction to a burgeoning tourist industry and unacquainted clientele.  The industry was likely a major economic lifeline for many in the midst of the country's recent financial crisis, but it was a little weird to see so many tapas bars.  Don't get me wrong, there was ample representation of local, quality cuisine.  But it kind of reminded me of New England clam chowder's popularity at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf or cheesesteaks in Miami's South Beach.  Give the tourists what they're asking for, I suppose.  And, ironically enough, one of these establishments was my very first stop.  Good food is good food, right?  

Restaurante Mimar - Tapas & Wine

Restaurante Mimar is located in the heart of Old Town Lagos amidst the foot-traffic-only streets.  In my pre-trip Googling and research, this place kept coming up as one of the best seafood spots in the area.  It surprised me to find such a quality establishment pocketed amongst the mediocre gelatos and over-priced baubles of tourist town.  However, this place was legit.  The staff was incredibly attentive and accommodating of our party of seven.  Olives, bread, and butter hit the table almost immediately upon sitting down, followed very shortly by apple juices and fries for our testy toddlers.  The menu was an eclectic mix of regional and global cuisine.  Portuguese presunto, bacalhau with roasted potatoes, and piri piri chicken for the traditional;  BBQ ribs, tuna tataki, and salmon gravlax for the more internationally inspired.  Everything coming out of the kitchen to our neighboring tables looked great.  

We basically ordered the entire menu, and I have to say everything was phenomenal.  As pictured above, I focused in on the roasted octopus, bulhão pato clams, garlic prawns, and perch ceviche.  The octopus was tasty, though could have used a little more char for flavor and texture.  The ceviche was classic - bright, well-seasoned, and flavorful.  And the prawns, well, you'll see a theme through this whole trip.  The bulhão pato clams, however, were the best.  Clams sautéed in olive oil, wine, garlic and cilantro - delightful.  And while simple, the dish is deeply emblematic of Portuguese culture and cuisine, even being named after the 19th century Portuguese poet and epicurean Raimundo António.  More interestingly, the dish is viewed as a bar snack or nibble rather than part of a meal.  Just like we have buffalo wings at all of our bars or brew pubs, the Portuguese have bulhão pato clams at all of their tascas or cervejarias.  It felt like every other storefront on our late evening strolls through Lagos had locals clinking beer glasses and crushing clams.  I highly recommend both Mimar and the clams, and I'm pretty sure my son would agree.

Restaurante Camilo

It was my niece's turn to choose dinner for the next stop.  She said "I'd like us all to dress up nice and go to a fancy restaurant."  I can't imagine much else that would have better fit the bill.  South of downtown, family-owned Restaurante Camilo sits atop the picturesque cliffs of Praia de Camilo overlooking the Lagos harbor.  They've been serving up Atlantic seafood in traditional, Southern Portuguese styles for over 40 years.  Several dishes even need to be ordered a day ahead of dining to ensure they've got the appropriate seafood on hand.  Most notable was their fresh fish and shellfish display right at the entrance.  You know an establishment's going to be quality if they're confident enough to display their seafood on ice, front and center for the curious and scrutinizing diners.  And while a bit higher-brow and more expensive than all else I'd researched, this place did not disappoint.  They were even kind enough to accommodate our morning-of-request for one of the aforementioned dishes.  

   I'd considered a number of classics from the menu: charcoal grilled sea bream, piri-piri chicken, seafood caldeirada.  I ended up pre-ordering an Algarvian icon: cataplana.  Named after the copper vessel in which it's cooked and served, cataplana is essentially a seafood stew with tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, white wine and olive oil.  Not to offend any Portuguese, but think cioppino or seafood pan roast.   Little is known of the dish's origins.  Most believe it stems from Moorish and North African influence with the tagine, cooking food through a hermetic steam process.  The Algarve has also been long known for its copper artisans, so the creation of the cataplana was a logical next step.  Separately, I've read the cataplana's origins stem from collusion amongst fisherman, restauranteurs, and the Portuguese Ministry of Tourism.  To utilize undesirable or close-to-spoiling cuts of fish, throw them all in a fancy pot with some heavy seasoning and sell it at an incredible markup to none-the-wiser tourists.  Fine by me, as long as it tastes good.  Nothing's wrong with fin-to-tale, economical cooking.  Either way, it was delicious.  Cuts of bone-in monkfish, sole, and cod collars are always more flavorful.  Pair that with a deep, savory garlic and tomato broth with some clams and you can't go wrong.  Oh, and of course we had the prawns.  Massive, charcoal grilled scarlet prawns topped with garlic butter in this instance. 

 Marisqueira O Perceve

I managed to sneak away for a few hours during the kids' nap time for some exploring.  Aside from my 2-year-old daughter, nobody in my family is really a raw seafood fan.  So, this was the perfect opportunity to check out a Portuguese raw bar.  As I headed to Marisqueira O Perceve, things immediately began to feel less touristy.  Cobblestone footpaths and decorative lintels quickly gave way for contemporary high-rises and petrol stations.  While still close to the downtown harbor, O Perceve felt much closer to where the locals live and go about their days.  The restaurant is even seated at the base of an apartment complex.  When I arrived, there was a table of five middle-aged Lagosians each with their own personal seafood platters and bottles of vinho verde.  Five diners, five seafood feasts, and five bottles of wine.  If that's your standard Wednesday afternoon in Lagos, count me in. 

This was the first restaurant I'd visited where the staff didn't speak much English, which was actually quite refreshing.  With a little Google translate, Portuñol, and menu pointing, I ordered a brown crab, percebes, and a few Ostra Select oysters.  I honestly hadn't done my proper diligence here and thought Portuguese oyster farming and harvesting was focused more in the Northern part of the country, specifically the Ria de Aveiro region just south of Porto.  Poor oyster nerd form.  Turns out the Algarve has an oyster culture dating back centuries.  Most have been historically exported to France, but the boom in oyster popularity the last few decades has seen more small farms pop up and sell domestically.  The Ostra Selects from Ria de Alvor were crisp and snappy with a mild brininess and fruity cucumber notes.  Very tasty, as was the crab, and of course, prawns...again. 

The percebes, however, stole the show.  Also known as gooseneck barnacles, percebes are a stationary, clustering crustacean that reside primarily on the rocky intertidal zones of the Eastern Atlantic from Morocco to France.  You may be familiar with their close cousin that can be found on coastal California and Oregon.  They're incredibly dangerous to harvest as it often requires rappelling off cliffs into the crashing waves.  Concurrently, they cost a pretty penny but are well worth it.  Sweet and briny, they're a brilliant marriage of lobster and clam in flavor with a firm texture like squid.  Being so rare in the States, if you ever see them on a menu, I advise you give them a try regardless of cost.  Check out the medieval misconception that lead to their gooseneck name sometime, too. 

Tasca da Lota

Last stop came exclusively from Lagos insights and recommendations.  Throughout the week, I'd asked some other vacationers, vendors, and expats where the best seafood was.  One place kept coming up over and over again, and that was Tasca da Lota.  Located right between the Lagos train station and the commercial fisherman port, Tasca da Lota loosely translates to "fish market tavern."  They specialize in "peixe no carvão" or charcoal grilled fish, something I'd seen on a number of menus but had yet to try.  And man, the place had serious vibes.  No reservations, so we literally lined up across from the harbor's rusty crab traps and shrimp pots to wait to be seated.  The queue quickly became a diverse mix of local teens, German expats, Lagosian bikers, Korean tourists, and more.  Fresh seafood was prominently displayed for inspection and selection.  The sweet, smoky smell of charcoal spread across the mess hall style dining room.  Busy, no-fuss servers sternly inquired "what would you like" before moving on to the next dozen tables.  It reminded me of the robatayaki stalls near Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo; the right place to be. 

Swordfish, sea bream, tuna belly, cod steaks, scabbard fish, sea bass.  Unfortunately, we were a few weeks shy of sardine season.  But this place pretty much had it all, straight from the docks less than fifteen meters away.  After a thorough review of the fresh fish on ice, I landed on the sarda or Spanish mackerel.  The churrasqueiro promptly cleaned, split, and heavily seasoned the whole fish, placing it directly on the smoking grill in the open air kitchen.  A few minutes later, the mackerel arrived at my table paired with a mixed salad and salt boiled potatoes.  Straightforward yet perfect, and what I came to understand as quintessentially Algarvian.  Great ingredients simply prepared.  Same for the prawns we had at Tasca da Lota, and literally every other restaurant.  Fresh, head on, simply sautéed, poached, or grilled, and mostly served in or with garlic butter.  Each just as delightful as the last. 

Mercado Municipal de Lagos
 

Each restaurant I'd visited was special in it's own unique way.  Wonderful experiences.  However, our villa in Praia da Luz was equipped with a full kitchen and outdoor grill, and nothing beats a home-cooked meal.  The thing that excited me most about Algarvian cuisine was its embrace of open fire.  Every restaurant had at least a few grehlada dishes, and in many instances, focused on charcoal grilling.  Sardinhas na brasa are in integral part of any Portuguese cookout.  The other exciting part of Algarvian cuisine was its use of local, seasonal ingredients.  And nothing quite inspired like a few walks through the Mercado Municpal de Lagos.  Three stories of farm fresh vegetables, butchers, and small boat Atlantic seafood.  I decided our penultimate Portuguese meal would be a whole fish, charcoal grilled, with some farmers market produce. 

An entire floor of the market is entirely fishmongers.  I thought Tasca da Lota had it all, but this place truly did.  Octopus, croaker, john dory, gurnard, mackerel, skate, squid, sea bass, mullet, monkfish, pigfish, one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, and of course, prawns.  I was immediately drawn to a beautiful, four pound galinha do mar or red scorpionfish.  While quite dangerous due to its venomous spines and barbs, it's incredibly delicious from a diet of primarily crustaceans and mollusks.  With a quick exchange of some Euros and a "para a churrasco, por favor," my fishmonger proceeded to prep and split the whole fish for the grill.  I grabbed some early spring leeks, broccolini, a jar of piri piri, and a few salsichas frescas.  Later that evening, we fired up the carvão and enjoyed a few beverages while casually grilling.  Paired with some local rice and a sauce of cilantro, parsley, garlic, and olive oil, it was the perfect family meal to cap off our Algarvian vacation.  

Though, I suppose we were missing the prawns 😂.

Abraços,

The SF Oyster Nerd

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