21 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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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).

Come lunchtime Solar do Forcado fills up with locals and out-of-towners looking to sample regional delicacies like the espetadas de touro bravo (wild bull skewers). Inside, the restaurant stands out with its rustic stone archways and terracotta ceramic floors.

This boisterous bar and restaurant is a favorite among locals and out-of-town families who come to enjoy a meal overlooking the mountains. The cuisine is typical Alentejan, with specialties like migas with potato, lamb casserole, and fish.