The Best Restaurants in Alentejo Coast
Thinking about taking a holiday along the Alentejo Coast?
That means enjoying delicious cuisine. The region is home to restaurants serving mouth-watering dishes, especially seafood and fish, scattered all along the Alentejo Coast.
The AP Hotels & Resorts group has put together a list of some of the best and most highly recommended restaurants, which we present in this article.
So keep reading to discover the best spots for lunch and dinner during your holiday along the Alentejo Coast.
Tasca do Celso – Vila Nova de Milfontes
Tasca do Celso is the first stop on this gastronomic tour along the Alentejo Coast. Like many of the restaurants featured here, Tasca do Celso specializes in dishes from the sea.
Starting with appetizers, you’ll find fish roe or octopus salads, fried baby squid, clams à bulhão pato, and garlic prawns.
Then come the main courses, where you can choose from grilled ray, turbot with bean rice, john dory fillets with tomato rice, or the house specialties — fish cataplana.
Porto das Barcas – Vila Nova de Milfontes
At Porto das Barcas, fresh, locally caught fish takes center stage, thanks to the restaurant’s close proximity to the sea. Highlights on the menu include scarlet prawn açorda served in bread and seabass rice with clams, as well as Brás-style prawns and seabass and shrimp rissoles with clam rice.
There are also other standout dishes, such as pan-fried octopus with sweet potato, scarlet prawn steak (bitoque), and creamy rice with scarlet prawns and shrimp.
The restaurant also features a terrace with panoramic views of the sea and the traditional fishing port — the perfect setting for a relaxing lunch by the coast.
Manjedoura – Vila Nova de Milfontes
A Manjedoura, in Vila Nova de Milfontes, offers an alternative for those who aren’t fans of fish or seafood. While the menu does include a few seafood dishes, the true specialty lies elsewhere.
This spot focuses on Italian cuisine, featuring wood-fired pizzas and hearty meat dishes like black pork “Pica-Pau” or an Angus cheeseburger.
Still, if you’re in the mood for seafood, you can also find clams à Bulhão Pato on the menu.
Yabalulu – Praia das Furnas
For those looking for a vegetarian dining option, Yabalulu, located right on the sands of Praia das Furnas, is the perfect choice.
With creative and flavorful dishes, Yabalulu promises to leave you craving more with every bite.
Baba ganoush, beet tartare on a bed of Lebanese cheese, and golden cauliflower are just some of the highlights at this restaurant with a view over Vila Nova de Milfontes.
If you’re in the mood for a vegetarian burger instead, you’ll find three tasty options to choose from: falafel, Asian-style, or patanisca-inspired.
O Josué – Longueira
A menu that brings together the flavors of both land and sea is what you’ll find at Restaurante O Josué.
For starters, you can choose from a variety of seafood delicacies such as spider crab, goose barnacles, local prawns, and clams — perfect to kick off your meal.
As for main courses, seafood lovers will enjoy dishes like grilled white seabream drizzled with garlic and olive oil, or indulgent options like lobster and crayfish. There are also hearty, pot-style dishes such as fish stew, seafood rice, and monkfish rice.
And for those who prefer something from the land, O Josué serves up its house specialty: fried rabbit.
Ar’ Terra Bistrô – São Luís
Winner of the Odemira Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, Ar’ Terra Bistrô is another must-visit spot to add to your list.
Set in a traditional Alentejo house and decorated with vintage furniture, this charming restaurant is known for its meals made with local, organic ingredients.
House specialties include the “Hambúrguer Malcriado” — made with wild boar meat, spicy mango chutney, and a fried egg — the codfish tiborna with roasted peppers, and black pork cheeks with orange-flavored migas. You can also enjoy starters like beet carpaccio or a papaya tartare salad with falafel and pineapple.
Marisqueira Costa Alentejana – Zambujeira do Mar
If you’re looking for a restaurant that specializes in seafood, you’ve just found it.
This is probably the most well-known seafood restaurant along the Alentejo Coast, and for that reason, we highly recommend booking your table in advance — otherwise, you might arrive only to find there’s no seat available.
The house specialty is a boat-shaped platter filled with ocean flavors, including bruxinhas (small cuttlefish), scarlet prawns, crayfish, goose barnacles, spider crab, razor clams, dog cockles, and clams. You can also enjoy octopus and fish roe salads, as well as cockles, prawns, oysters, and spiny crab.
To top it off, the restaurant offers a beautiful outdoor terrace — perfect for ordering a refreshing drink and soaking in the surrounding atmosphere while you eat or sip.
A Barca Tranquitanas – Zambujeira do Mar
With over 50 years of history, A Barca Tranquitanas is another must-visit restaurant to add to this gastronomic itinerary.
Here, you can try dishes like prawn carpaccio with green apple, lemon caviar, and olive oil, octopus carpaccio, whelk bean stew, cuttlefish with clams, and octopus with sweet potato.
This is yet another restaurant that stands out for its use of fresh, local ingredients in every dish.
O Bejinha – Sines
This is another restaurant where it’s recommended to book in advance due to its high demand.
It’s a typical grilled fish restaurant, where you can enjoy a beautiful sole, seabass, or gilthead bream. In the summer, there’s even an option to enjoy sardines, served as much as you like.
Lamelas Restaurant – Porto Covo
A mix of land and sea is the offering at Lamelas Restaurant, in Porto Covo.
Among the specialties are brothy rabbit rice, Alentejo-style pork fish, and squid stuffed with collard greens migas and hake roe pâté.
Also, be sure to take advantage of the restaurant’s terrace, which offers a beautiful view of Porto Covo Bay.
Where to stay during your holiday on the Alentejo Coast
For a memorable stay on the Alentejo Coast, we recommend AP Sines, a hotel that combines comfort and sophistication. Located in the city of Sines, the hotel offers modern accommodations, excellent cuisine, and a prime location to explore the entire region. Whether for a romantic getaway or a family vacation, AP Sines is the perfect choice to enjoy the best that the Alentejo Coast has to offer.
