There are some great restaurants throughout the area. I have been enjoying trying different restaurants and learning more about Portuguese food. Because of all the visitors and immigrants, however, there are plenty of options and styles.

There is a lot of seafood, of course, and I found this article that helped with different types of fish: Portuguese Fish. I used this to make a cheat sheet and saved on my phone when I eat out.

Carrapateira

• Microbar Carrapateira – great food! I had their Paris burger with goat cheese my first visit, huge and very flavorful.

Faro

• O Castelo – A beautiful location overlooking Ria Formosa Nature Park. Nice place for dinner or just a drink after exploring the city. They have great red, rose, and white sangria.

Lagos

• Abigail’s Cafe – vegetarian breakfast and lunch. Lovely location, good selection of smoothies, bakery items, pancakes, egg dishes. I had a great breakfast burrito, the avocado smash with scrambled eggs looked wonderful, too.
• Adega da Marina – huge, busy place in Old Town, always crowded. Great fish and grilled meats.
• Amorizade – great food and service. Local and freshly sourced food.
• A Petisqueira – Typical Portuguese, excellent food and service. Loved their shrimp curry and cod with lentils.
• Beats and Burritos – finally found a great Mexican place.  Old Town Lagos, burritos, tacos, gorditas, lots of vegetarian and vegan options.
• Campimar – a wide menu for all the tourists, from Portuguese to hamburgers. Lots of fish and seafood, great wine selection. A lovely back patio to sit and enjoy a glass of wine.
• The Collab Bar and Take a Bao – great selection of craft beer and Asian food. Love their bao buns.
• Dumpling House – a favorite! Love their chili dumplings.
• Eattica – a selection of seafood tapas and sandwiches. Great food and prices, nice outdoor seating.
• Eat Thai – one of my favorite foods, love Thai. Wide selection, lovely location on the marina.
• Gelateria Pinocchio
• Go Bao – another great place for bao buns; they are open for breakfast with egg and bacon buns.
• Lazy Jack’s Bar and Grill – on the marina. I enjoy the live music, good place for a drink.
• Mania Beer – good locally brewed beer, available for pickup or the Wednesday market, some restaurants.
• Munich – some great German food and German beer.
• Nah Nah Ba – good burgers and piri-piri chicken.
• O Antonio – on the beach, lots of seafood.
• Qian Tu Barbeque – a Korean BBQ place with grills at the table, lots of options for meats and sides. Some better than the others but really enjoyed the chicken.
• Real Portuguese Cuisine – in Old Town. Nice restaurant, good menu. The Cataplana was very good
• Sudoeste – casual Portuguese, huge servings and low prices.
• Sweet Home – a wonderful bakery. Friendly owner. Everything I’ve had here has been delicious, spinach cake, caramel cheesecake, cookies, and love the black fig jam.

Loule

• Hamburgueria da Baixa – good selection of burgers and their wedge fries with garlic aioli are delicious!
• O Avenida – delicious tapas, great cod a bras’. Loved their goat cheese with lemon sorbet.
• Mercado de Loule – there are plenty of food options plus produce, spices and more.

Luz

• Chicca’s Restaurant – great menu. Many of their entrees come with “9 organic salads”, greens, different vegetables, and lentils, delicious and unique.
• Fortaleza da Luz – restaurant in the old fort. Slightly expensive but great menu. The food is all excellent with a beautiful presentation.
• Kelly’s Sports Bar – has a nice selection of sandwiches
• Latitude Wine & Tapas – went with a group of friends, and we split 6-8 different small plates, everything was wonderful. Highly recommend.
• Rubini’s Pizzaria – a great selection of pizzas, right off the N125, outside Luz in Espiche. Nice patio for outside dining.
• The Urban Restaurant – finally made it over to their new location. Great menu, great food.

Odiáxere

• Restaurante Chico Ze – lots of fresh fish to choose from, big family style servings of potatoes and salad. Lovely building and huge, covered outdoor seating. Check price per kilo of the fish as it can get expensive!
• O Marcelino – a “churrasqueira” or barbeque chicken. The piri-piri dry rub on the chicken is great. Chicken, fries and salad, all served family style.

Portimao

• The Algarvian Brewery – local beer and Mexican food. Can’t beat that combination. Burritos, tacos, and more. Owner is Mexican and imports all the ingredients.
• Allgarbe – very fresh fish, varies by daily catch. I had the sargo (a type of sea bream) and Sam had good octopus. She let me try it again as I am usually not a fan but I enjoyed the bite I had.
• Hamburgueria Meet Me – a large selection of hamburgers with different toppings, plus chicken, tuna, tofu burgers. Good fries and garlic aioli dipping sauce. Good prices.
• Terraza by La Golconda – a wide menu, they had some great tapas. Nice location.

Sagres

• Art Bianca – rated some of the best pizza in Europe, unique toppings. I enjoyed the black fig pizza I had twice with two different groups but when I ordered something else on my third visit, very disappointed with the thin limp crust and tasteless toppings.