Top Restaurants in Alvor
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Alvor Food Guide: 10 Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Alvor
This former fishing village on Portugal’s southern coast has become a popular resort. Spend a day on Alvor’s main beach, or find one of the smaller, secluded coves along the coastline. In the evening, stroll through the town’s narrow cobblestone streets, dine on fresh local seafood, and enjoy live music at one of the many lively bars.
Things to do in Alvor
1. Cactos Bar II
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 450 reviews
As well as being popular for the night time live music in our clean and comfortable bar, we also have a large sunny Terrace near the swimming pool at the Apartments Dunas do Alvor. We hope you will find it a perfect place to relax in the sun or enjoy those long summer nights. We have a tasty snack menu from midday to 5pm and a variety of special offers on drinks during the day (happy hour from 12 until 7pm), with our €1 large Super Bocks and €2.50 Cocktail Specials being especially popular. Come and taste our delicious desserts: petit gateau and Nutella wrap! We offer only brand name spirits and hope that you will find the perfect mix of pleasant surroundings, friendly staff and outstanding value for your money.We have live music at night and show Sky Sports/Setanta and ESPN for major sports events. We look forward to meeting you!
Reviewed By ferretWrexham - Wrexham
Had Lunch here one day, nice meal, served very quickly, nice friendly waiter, very good price. Would return.Hello Mr Ferret, Thank you for your compliments. We serve food with quality and always will. Hope to see you again next season :)
2. Restaurante Ruccula
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Reviewed By JOHN L - Doncaster, United Kingdom
Superb fillet steaks (perfectly cooked), tender lamb shank and duck breast enjoyed in a very pleasant atmosphere by friendly attententive staff. A perfect evening and quite inexpensive. Travelled for over an hour and stayed overnight for this. Highly recommended - we will certainly return.
3. Por do sol
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 397 reviews
Reviewed By Babsstockport - Stockport, United Kingdom
We went for dinner one evening and found this restaurant to be exceptional, both in food and service quality.
For starters we had avocado with prawns and onion soup and for mains 2 people had steak and I had an omelette. For desserts we had flambe,
The presentation of the meals was first class and the servers were extremely attentive. Lots of people obviously were return customers as they were greeted like friends when they arrived. We ate outside and by the time we left it was full.
A little gem of a restaurant with a first class menu and very high quality food and service. To be recommended if you are in the area.
4. Capacho
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 255 reviews
A Typico Portuguese Restaurant with exceptional Staff and superb Food
Reviewed By CAM52 - Scotland
We celebrated New Year's Eve with friends at this restaurant. The hospitality provided by Fernando and Paulo was superb from start to finish. Paulo had decorated the restaurant and this gave the place a real party atmosphere. The food was exceptionally good with a choice provided for each of the five courses. Thank goodness we had booked our table well in advance as the restaurant was full.
It was a wonderful evening and excellent value for money.
5. Restaurante O Arco Da Velha
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 626 reviews
Excellent grilled fish
Reviewed By Tricia063 - Ballynahinch, United Kingdom
This was the first time that I ate in this restaurant and it won’t be the last. From the quality of the food, to the first class service, it was the best that I have been experienced in Alvor. Steaks were cooked to perfection, delicious pepper sauce and home made cheesecake to die for! Nice little touch of a complimentary port given with the bill. If only all restaurants were as good as this one. Highly recommended!
6. Marco's Bar & Bistro
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 252 reviews
A bar / bistro located at the Dunas do Alvor Complex. Serving breakfast, snacks ,full evening meals plus a SPECIAL ORDERS menu (24 hour notice) Soft drinks, beers and wines.
Reviewed By valerie s - Dundee, United Kingdom
A return visit to Marco''s bar & bistro, where Marco, Jackie and their staff do everything possible to provide a pleasant dining experience! The Sunday Roast was amazing and Jackie even provided a Gluten free pudding for one of our party, 'the extra mile' .
Sandwiches should have a special name they are so good! and the coleslaw....what more can you say?
7. Salsa Bistro
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 690 reviews
Reviewed By Alshepuk - Hadleigh, United Kingdom
We booked a table here based on other reviews.
Glad we did as it is small and the night we visited it was full.
Although there was a large group in front of us we were not made to wait too long.
Service was excellent and polite.
Food was very good. I had the Piri Piri chicken which was excellent and the sauce very hot. My wife had the lamb chops which looked very nice. Both were accompanied with nice vegetables and chips and some superb sliced potatoes.
We will revisit next year.
8. Restaurante Dom Joao
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 202 reviews
Reviewed By lithgae - Scotland
We had a great night at this fabulous restaurant. It is run by two brothers named Antonio and Jose. The food is so tasty and authentically Portuguese. We had the couvert, followed by a lamb cataplana and finished off our meal with a gorgeous apple tart and ice cream. The wonderful flavours of the cataplana and the apple pie are coming back to m as I write this review.
Although the food was great and highly recommended, the highlight of the evening was the wonderful hospitality received from Antonio, Jose and their staff. I genuinely have never come across nicer people. They did everything they could to make our visit to their restaurant memorable.
Thanks again.
9. Tasty Cuisine
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 405 reviews
Reviewed By Ravmeister - Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
A wonderful evening at this unpretentious but delightful little Indian restaurant.
Joseph and his crew conjure up some truly mouth-wateringly tasty delights which wowed even us born curry eaters from India/England!
And cheery service (and fab Sambuca ;-) from Manish is the cherry on top.
A must visit if you are ever in this delightful little fishing village!
10. Ciao Baby Pizzeria Trattoria
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 527 reviews
We are an family owned authentic Italian Restaurant with a variety of Mediterranean cuisine. Opening hours are from 6pm to 11pm.
Reviewed By Anwar K
Context:
I am originally from South Africa and have been driving my partner crazy for the last six years in a lifelong search for decent calamari across Europe and the other parts of the world. South Africans take good calamari for granted because you can go into any local fisheries/takeaway‘s and get calamari that is crisp on the outside and soft and tender on the inside -so soft and tender that it melts in your mouth. You would think of this would be easy to find, but I am constantly disappointed. We would come to a restaurant on our many travels, will look at the menu and I will see some version of calamari, and then it’s the not so internal debate - sometimes involving my partner- should I or shouldn’t I order? Inevitably, curiosity gets the better of me, inevitably I’m disappointed -so much so that my partner often says ‘don’t - you know you’re going to be disappointed’. Aluta continua - I think the search might finally be over and I’ve finally found some peace. We came to Alvor in Portugal for the second year in a row- good value and great seafood. The first Italian restaurant was very good last year, but we decided to try the other one. When I saw the Calamari frite, I was hesitant as usual. I shared my expectations with Renato, our waiter, who said it was tender, not rubbery-my more usual experience. I wasn’t optimistic when the finger sized portions arrived. Lightly and finely crumbled, deep fried- it looked very appetising, but I had been fooled before.
I hesitantly tasted, half in disbelief - half in relief-finally, my patience has been rewarded. Crisp, melt in your mouth tender and well spiced. Wow!
I expressed my gratitude and appreciation to the owner who had delivered the calamari in person with the promise of ‘tender’, when she commented on my accent.
As I heard hers, we came to mutual realisation- mine delayed by the enjoyment of my food- that she and her family were originally Italian South Africans- that many of the recipes originated from her 90 year old mother who came from the south of Italy.
Naturally I’m unbiased, I’m convinced that’s there’s also a strong South African influence.
I found it ironic, yet slightly unsatisfying that my pursuit of great calamari across the world was finally successfully over, at an Italian restaurant in Portugal, yet the owner just so happens to be part South African.
More about the food...
Unusually in my experience, the restaurant was kind enough to split our pizzas so we could each order what we wanted - mine olives and anchovy, hers a Quattro staggioni - four seasons. My partner is French Corsican - very fussy about pizza, and we were both very satisfied.
This was followed with a shared beef cannelloni, creamy, tender, with al dente pasta- delicious.
Câprese salad with the lovely olive oil and vinegar was flavourful and colourful.
Our allergy ridden son enjoyed his milk, cheese and egg free spaghetti bolognese, a man sized portion which we helped him finish, with the addition of some deadly parmesan. Not a scrap was left in any of the dishes.
The bill for three, including a 1.5l water was about €43,00 excluding the tip.
We had not ordered dessert, simply because the portions were plentiful, but hope to next time- because we will return to make sure the calamari is consistently good of course, and explore the rest of their inviting menu with renewed optimism and faith in finding fantastic food.
