36 Best Restaurants in Évora and the Alentejo, Portugal

Hidden away on a narrow side street a few minutes from the main square, this family-run restaurant is the best place in town for hearty, no-nonsense grilled meats. The front part of the former wine cellar is a rustic brick bar with a pork leg mounted on the counter, and a charcoal grill nestled in the front window alcove. Walk past the bar area across a sloping, concrete floor into a cozy dining room, lined with huge terra-cotta wine jugs. The furnishings are basic—benches at planked tables—and you can expect the service to be casual, at best. Specialties include burras (pork chin), migas with wild asparagus, and sopa de cação, or dogfish soup, a hearty dish made with a bony local fish which is sometimes also called baby shark.

This rustic restaurant with red-and-white-check tablecloths and cork carvings adorning the walls serves authentic Alentejan dishes. The atmosphere is rustic, with long wooden tables for boisterous families and intimate little two-seaters tucked behind huge clay wine jugs. The house wine—literally cheaper than the bottled water—is a wonderful value and complement to any meal.

The charming elderly owner, Amor Fialho, is the third generation of Fialhos to operate this popular restaurant. He has handed off daily operations to his children, Helena and Rui, but he's still present most evenings in the kitchen, and has been known to give foreign visitors a tour, pointing out photos of the former Spanish king's visit. The dining room, with a beamed ceiling and painted plates hung on its walls, is regularly packed on weekends, and reservations are essential. Fialho's renowned specialties are borrego assado (roasted lamb) and perdiz à convento da cartuxa (roast partridge with potatoes and carrots), made according to a recipe from a nearby monastery.

If you'd like to grab a sandwich, cup of tea, or glass of wine between museum visits, there's no place better than Gadanha. You'll likely end up leaving with more than what you ate, as this deli also sells gift-wrapped gourmet treats like local ham, cheese, and chocolates. The café and shop are superb, and the restaurant in an old barn annex, with exposed wood beams and an antique hearth—is even better. Specialties include lamb croquettes with mushroom mayonaise and platters of local Alentejan cheeses. You can dine on a smattering of petiscos (tapas) or settle in for the larger main courses.

Hands down, this restaurant in a restored wine cellar near Praça da República serves the best food in Serpa, and perhaps even all of Alentejo. Huge wine barrels sit at the entrance to a traditional dining room with domed ceilings, tile floors, and antique farm implements hanging on the walls. In winter, the specialty is grilled pork; in summer, try the gazpacho, followed by the fried fish. The Serpa cheese and the Alentejo wines are good at any time of year. Keep an ear out for some cante alentejano at this restaurant.

This is the best option for a traditional Alentejan meal in Castelo de Vide. Walk through the entryway bar into a lovely domed dining room decorated like an old wine cellar. Specialties include goat and lamb roasts and dogfish soup with local chestnuts.

There's no better spot to sip a glass of wine than in the front garden of this social club in Montemor's Praça da República. In pleasant weather you'll struggle to find a seat at this see-and-be-seen establishment. The food is simple lunch fare, including thick ham-and-cheese sandwiches.

This wonderful spot serves up some of the best traditional Portuguese dishes on the entire coastline. The rustic dining room has old-fashioned Alentejan farm tools hanging on the walls, and opens up to the airy kitchen on one side and a small shop on the other that sells gourmet treats and local wines. The restaurant's name comes from owner José Ramos Cardoso, who as a boy was nicknamed "Celso" after his father, a well-known Vila Nova de Milfontes resident. Specialties include shrimp sautéed in garlic, clams with coriander, grilled fish or veal with roasted tomatoes—but you can't go wrong with anything on the menu.

The charming husband-and-wife duo of Manuel and Carolina Oliveira own and operate this tiny upscale dining room with huge taste. There are only 14 seats in the entire restaurant, creating the atmosphere of a family dining room. The tiny size makes reservations essential, and the restaurant is frequently booked solid on Friday and Saturday nights. Specialties include lamb, pork, and game dishes, created by Carolina in the open kitchen and served with a flourish by Manuel.

Set right in the heart of Milfontes, this cozy café serves one of the best breakfast spreads in town. Hikers following the Rota Vicentina often stop here to recharge.

People drive miles to dine at this well-known restaurant 16 km (10 miles) from Elvas in the town of Terrugem. The owner takes pride in the cozido de grão (boiled dinner with pork, smoked sausages, cabbage, and chickpeas), but their menu also lists international dishes such as spinach with shrimp au gratin and delicious sorbets for dessert. Call ahead to book on weekends, as it's often booked solid with wedding parties.

This simple restaurant serves Alentejo classics like grilled pork and veal inside a white stucco dining room decorated with blue-and-white tiles. If you're brave, try the cabrito (baby goat), a local delicacy. The weekend menu, offered at both lunch and dinner, is a great value. At lunch, the deal includes wine as well.

First-timers are in for a surprise at this lively restaurant on the outskirts of Montemor. Instead of handing out a menu, the owner sings you a rhyme with the daily dishes on offer. Even the bill comes with a special fado performance at your table.

Housed in a converted wine cellar, Adega da Lua serves a mix of traditional treats. From generous portions of sopa do cação (dogfish soup) to juicy meat dishes such as black pork and roasted loin. The restaurant is located in the town of Cuba, about a 20-minute drive from Alvito.

There are several refreshment stands and snack bars along the Rossio, but for more substantial fare try this casual eatery. From this popular 60-year-old art deco–style café and its first-floor restaurant, you can watch the goings-on in the square. Inexpensive accommodation can be found upstairs.

Opposite the fountain on Praça do Giraldo, Café Arcada is a local institution open since the 1940s. The large hall now features a newspaper stand, a bakery, a wine shop and a restaurant. Tables on the square are just the place from which to watch the city on parade. Try the queijadas (cakes made with fresh cheese).

At the entrance of this popular restaurant is a huge, rounded oven with an iron door, hence the name (forno is Portuguese for "oven"). Picture windows line the dining room and afford a spectacular view over the rolling plains. The Alentejan menu appropriately features roasts; one special dish worth trying is the borrego assado no forno (roast lamb prepared according to an ancient recipe of the nearby monastery).

At the entrance of town near the Abade Correia da Serra public gardens, this spacious cervejaria (beer house) is said to have been pouring the best beer in Portugal since 1957. Old pictures adorning the walls take you back in time to the way Serpa used to be. Wild asparagus with eggs is a good choice for a starter, and then try the grilled carne de porco preto, which is always a tasty choice. As in most cervejarias, the atmosphere is casual, and the service is fast and good. On festival days, when tourists crowd the city center, this is the place to hang with locals instead.

This upscale coffee shop with friendly service offers sandwiches and other light lunches, making it the perfect stop between sightseeing trips around town. The outdoor terrace in back offers superb views of the hillside across from Castelo de Vide.

After training in a former Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen, Chef Diogo made a move to the Alentejo to open his own place. Now he's expressing his creativity by reinterpreting classic Portuguese dishes. The recipes may change, but the ingredients are always seasonal and sourced as close to Marvão as possible. The open kitchen allows you to watch every step of the process, from prep to serving.

Local chef João Narigueta leads this trendy restaurant just off Praça do Giraldo. After years of researching Alentejo's culinary history, João is bringing forward long-forgotten recipes and upgrading them with modern cooking techniques. Think river crayfish topped with kimchi or wild boar pies served with pickled mushrooms.

This Beja institution, which first opened its doors in 1893, serves great coffee and conventuais, sweets made according to recipes from local convents. In a pedestrian-only area just outside the city walls, it's conveniently located next to a few hotels and offers far better breakfasts, including delicious torradas (simple white toast with butter). Don't be surprised if you're the only tourist in the ground-floor dining room; the friendly barman may try his (rusty) English on you.

This little restaurant in one of the old village houses has a devoted clientele that hails from both sides of the Portuguese–Spanish border. The dining room is small, but there is a terrace for outside dining with views over the valley to distant mountains. The menu is classic Alentejo, with good lamb roasts and hearty casseroles. Although their main specialty is ensopado de borrego (lamb stew), the grilled fish dishes are also excellent. When available; try the chocos grelhados (grilled squid) or the peixe espada grelhada (charcoal-grilled swordfish).

Decorated in typical Alentejo style, this quaint eatery serves regional dishes such as migas (bread fried in olive oil, garlic, and coriander and served alongside meat or fish) and sopa de cação (dogfish soup). Try the carne de porco preto (black pork), a specialty of the house. Especially popular on weekends, the restaurant is a warm family setting, with terra-cotta walls and a huge stone oven in the center of the dining room.

Roughly 7 km (4 miles) northwest of Alvito, the main attraction of this large, popular restaurant is its wood-burning oven in which delicious legs of lamb, pork, and other meats are cooked to perfection. They're first marinated in coriander, oregano, and aromatic herbs that grow in the region. The owner is also well-known for his açorda dishes, the most popular being açorda de cação (with baby shark). The atmosphere is cozy and authentic, with brick domed walls, wood paneling, and a huge antique chandelier dangling overhead.

In the village of Reguengos de Monsaraz, O Gato is a bed and breakfast, pastry shop, and restaurant in a traditional Alentejan white-stucco building with blue awnings. It's a huge favorite with locals, serving traditional fare like lamb stew made with fresh herbs and spices. There's an extensive wine list.

This riverside restaurant looks like a traditional Alentejo house with its whitewashed walls and blue trimmings. Inside, the staff is ready to welcome you with a feast of regional delicacies. Some of the house favorites include the Burras Assadas (roasted pork jaw) and the Filetes de Peixe-Galo (dory fish fillets).

After winning the hearts of locals with its delicious seafood near Praia das Furnas, Alento has moved to the town center to reach a wider audience. Owners Marília Martins and André Silva still run the show, but they've updated the menu with new creations such as the monkfish risotto and the fish ceviche.