Foodies go local on the Algarve

GO PORTUGAL: The Algarve is making a name for itself among food lovers, combining adventurous cooking with great indigenous ingredients while its wines stand shoulder to shoulder with the world's best, writes ALEX MEEHAN

THINKING OF destinations for a high-end foodie break in Europe? Chances are you’re considering old reliables like France or Italy, or perhaps even Copenhagen, the city at the vanguard of modern Scandinavian cuisine and the home of Noma, reputedly the world’s best restaurant.

One area that probably won’t have sprung to mind is the Portuguese Algarve, which over the years has gained a reputation as a package holiday destination offering nothing more exotic on its menus than piri-piri chicken and grilled sardines.

But there’s a side to this region that’s becoming better known, and is likely to change perceptions of it dramatically. The Algarve is making a name for itself as a food lover’s destination, combining some of the most adventurous cooking in Europe with great indigenous ingredients, and wines that stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best.

The area is home to Portugal’s only two Michelin-starred restaurant – the Vila Joya just outside Albufeira – while more Michelin-starred fare is available at Ocean in the Vila Vita Parc resort in Porches. But if Michelin prices are too rich for you, there are also plenty of exciting wallet-friendly options dotted around Portugal’s southernmost region.

The key to finding them, according to Irish chef Jonnie Pratt, is to look beyond the main tourist drags and head for where the locals eat. Pratt moved to Portugal in 1999, having previously worked as a sous chef in the Shelbourne in Dublin and the Marriott Hotel in Druid’s Glen, as well as in Dubai and on cruise ships in the Caribbean.

He opened his own restaurant, Bistro des Z’Artes, in 2008 in the small town of Almancil, around a 30-minute drive from Faro airport.

Even though he’s lived in Portugal for 12 years, Pratt says he’s still learning about the country’s cuisine. “It’s such a long and narrow country that it’s very hard to pin down exactly what Portuguese food is – it changes so much, as the regions are all so different.

“Take bacalhau, or salt cod, for example; it changes totally from the north of the country to the south. In the north it’s cooked with offal and tripe, but down here it’s much more fish-based.

“There’s a lot more to Portuguese dishes than just piri piri or salt cod though. A great example is cataplana. When it’s well made, it’s epic – a wonderful mix of seafood and meat cooked in a traditional copper pot. Porco à Alentejana, fried pork with clams, is also fantastic, but doesn’t get talked about enough.”

To prove his point, Pratt takes me for Sunday lunch in Gracas do Alentejo, a family-run restaurant in nearby Quarteira. There’s not a hope that I would have stumbled on this place on my own – it’s tucked well out of sight down a cobbled street – but inside it’s buzzing, with large tables of extended families enjoying home-made sausages, the aforementioned porco à Alentejana, and another local speciality – secreto.

“Secreto is pork neck steak – one thing about the Portuguese is that they eat the whole animal, from snout to tail, and this is one of the best bits,” Pratt explains.

Our lunch, which also included a generous portion of local pata negra and some fantastically runny local cheeses, cost around €25 per head, including a bottle of red wine from the Douro which was more than a match for our meaty feast.

LUNCH NEXT DAY was an entirely different affair. This time our destination was the Vila Joya, and the good value lunch served every day on its dining terrace overlooking the ocean. Bear in mind that this is good value Michelin-style – lunch here will set you back around €90 per person without drinks. But it lasts for hours, and as well as the official three courses, chef Dieter Koschina will send out at least three or four extra treats, including incredible home-made petits fours.

For years, the Vila Joya was barely known outside the immediate surrounding area and among the high-spending German tourists who visited every year.

But it’s now being run by the daughter of the couple who founded it, and is becoming increasingly popular among thirty- and forty-somethings keen to sample the best produce the Algarve has to offer. Every January it attracts some of Europe’s top chefs to its annual food festival, Tribute to Claudia, while in summer, its beach bar is one of the chicest spots on the coast to kick back with a beer or cocktail.

Unlike many of the restaurants in the region, it also has a decent website; many of the smaller eateries don’t, and even fewer have sites with English translations.

If you are planning a foodie break here in the Algarve, check out inspirationsalgarve.com, which includes reviews of restaurants at all ends of the price spectrum.

Algarve where to eat

* Vila Joya, Estrada da Praia da Gale, Albufeira. See vilajoya.com or tel 00-351-289-591795. The epicentre of the new wave of cooking in the Algarve, the restaurant is in a small boutique hotel in Albufeira which also includes a spa and golf academy. Dieter Koschina won his two Michelin stars in 1999 and is still at the top of his game, serving clever and inventive dishes. Born in Austria, Koschinas style of cooking is international in focus, and displays astonishing attention to detail. Off-season, there are good value accommodation and dinner packages available.

* Gracas do Alentejo, Rua de Gaivota, Quarteira. Tel: 00-351-289-388452 or see www.gracasdoalentejo.com. Located in the heart of Quarteira, Gracas do Alentejo is about as authentically Portuguese as you can get. Specialities include fried pork with clams (porco à Alentejana) and roast neck steak (secreto). Ask the friendly staff to recommend a good local wine.

* Bistro des Z’Artes, Rua Calvario 69, Almancil; bistroalgarve.com or tel 00-351-919-407366. Charismatic Irish chef Jonnie Pratt serves an eclectic mix of Portuguese-influenced French and Mediterranean food in his cosy bistro in Almancil, and also offers daily specials and weekly food-themed events. Good value food cooked with passion in an unpretentious environment; if it’s on the specials board, try the pork cheeks with acorn mash.

* Ocean, Vila Vita Parc, Alporchinhos, Porches. Tel: 00-351-282-310100 or vilavitaparc.com. Located in the stylish Vila Vita Parc beach resort in Porches, Ocean features food cooked by baby-faced 33-year-old Austrian Hans Neuner, who won his first Michelin star last year and who, along with his team of five chefs, spends 10 hours a day cooking food for just 30 people. The menus change on a weekly basis, and while its not cheap, it is fine dining executed at a very high level.

* Retiro do Camponês, Vale Judeu, São Sebastião, Loule. Tel: 00-351-289-328412. This local favourite specialises in grilled meats, stewed goat and fresh fish purchased fresh each day from the markets in either Quarteira or Ohlao, and offers moderately priced, good quality food in a typical Portuguese setting. Visitors will need to book at weekends.

* Herdade dos Grous, Albernoa, Beja. Tel: 00-351-284-960000 or herdadedosgrous.com. About an hour from the Algarve, this vineyard also offers food and accommodation. Its award winning wines are becoming increasingly popular in Ireland, and many of them are on the wine list at Ocean, which is owned by the same company.

* Vistas, Monte Rei Golf Country Club, Vila Nova de Cacela. Tel: 00-351-281-950950 or monte-rei.com. Chef Jamie Perez trained under the legendary Ferran Adria at El Bulli, and has imported Adria’s cutting-edge approach to cuisine to the Algarve. Expect adventurous creations such as quail’s egg in potato and white truffle foam. The restaurant closes for the winter but will reopen from April for the summer season; the resort also has luxury villas available for rent.

* Veneza, Mem Moniz, Paderne. Tel: 00-351-289-367129. A wine lover’s paradise, with over 800 bottles of red, white, sparking and port wine in stock at any one time. Veneza also offers local specialities, such as wild rabbit and bean soups, and provides a wine delivery service to Ireland. With prices from €6, there’s something to suit every budget.