Almada has announced the winners of Sabores de Almada, the municipality’s annual food competition. The winners of the 21st edition were revealed on October 1 at Casa da Cerca, a contemporary art centre overlooking the river. A total of 34 restaurants took part.
The competition has been running since the mid-2000s, showcasing why it is worth crossing to the south bank for more than just grilled sardines in Cacilhas. Restaurants are judged on flavour, ingredient quality, presentation and how well dishes work together, as well as service, cleanliness and the comfort of the dining room. The jury includes representatives of business associations and food critics, while diners also get a say. Here are this year’s winners.
Contemporary Portuguese Cuisine: Cum Grano Salis
Cum Grano Salis is tucked away in the residential neighbourhood of Charneca de Caparica, well away from the beach crowds. Its name comes from the Latin expression cum grano salis — “with a grain of salt” — traditionally used as a reminder not to take everything at face value. The owners give it a more literal spin: a pinch of salt to season tradition.
Guests describe the food as the kind of cooking a Portuguese grandmother might make, reimagined with a modern touch and local ingredients. The menu features bacalhau à lagareiro (oven-baked salt cod with potatoes and olive oil), tuna stew, rice with squid and prawns, and entrecôte and beef tenderloin served with beer sauce.
After dinner, you can linger at the bar for Portuguese wines and cocktails, or head out to the cosy patio in summer. The restaurant recently reopened after renovations, and one thing that comes up repeatedly in reviews is the service: the staff make the whole evening feel like being welcomed into someone’s home.
Rua António Andrade 1177, Charneca de Caparica (map). Lunch: 12:00–15:30; dinner from 19:00. Closed on Tuesdays. Reservations: +351 214 051 584.
Traditional Portuguese Cuisine and Best Wine List: Galeria
For Galeria, in Cova da Piedade, winning at Sabores de Almada is nothing new. This year, the restaurant took home two awards at once.
It has been serving traditional Portuguese food for more than 20 years, and owner Carlos Dias still personally welcomes guests in the dining room. Its signature dishes have been winning over the Sabores de Almada jury since 2005. They include cataplana de tamboril (monkfish stew cooked in a distinctive copper clam-shaped pot), soparra, a hearty fishermen’s soup from nearby Trafaria, octopus braised in red wine with sweet potato, massada pasta with cod tongues, and samess (cod swim bladders) with chickpeas.
This is the cooking of the south bank’s fishing families, where every part of the catch is put to use. If you prefer something less adventurous, there is carne grelhada over charcoal and a selection of steaks. Portions are huge, so it is worth asking the waiter for help choosing a wine. Expect to pay around €25 per person. One thing to know: the bread and cheese brought to the table before you order are not complimentary.
Rua António Sérgio 3, Cova da Piedade (map). Open daily, lunch 12:00–15:00, dinner 19:00–00:00. Reservations: +351 212 596 585.
International Cuisine: Eunoia Brunch
In Greek, Eunoia means “beautiful thinking” or goodwill. This brunch café in the Capuchos area was opened in 2023 by two longtime friends, Maria Loureiro and Carolina Martins. Both were in their late twenties and left their office jobs to start a business of their own.
Chef Pedro Lemos runs the kitchen, where everything is prepared on site. The menu ranges from Mexican bowls with meat or soy chilli and tacos with fresh salmon to avocado or beetroot toast, bagels, burgers, and sweet and savoury pancakes.
Guests also rave about the fruit bowls, which are almost too pretty to eat, and the freshly squeezed juices. The staff take note of every request, right down to how you like your eggs cooked. The café sits along an unremarkable stretch of road, so you are unlikely to stumble across it by chance. But those who find it tend to come back. Expect to pay €10–20 per person.
Estrada Nacional 10-1, 685, Caparica (map). Open 10:00–19:00. Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Phone: +351 215 896 354.
Vegetarian and Vegan Cuisine: Damasqino
Damasqino was opened in 2022 by Bashar Habbaz, who comes from Damascus. He fled the war to Dubai, where he met Catarina, a Portuguese woman. Together, they eventually moved to Portugal.
Bashar could not find the kind of homemade Syrian food he remembered from childhood, so he decided to open his own restaurant. The heart of the kitchen is a wood-fired oven, where flatbreads are baked over an open flame right in front of guests. They are served with mezze such as hummus, baba ganoush, falafel and muhammara, a spicy roasted red pepper and walnut dip.
Damasqino won the award for its vegetarian menu, but meat is also on offer, and the kitchen is halal. In the evening, guests can smoke shisha on the terrace. Bashar’s outdoor venue, Damasqino Terrace, also made the podium, taking third place in the international cuisine category.
Rua Comandante António Feio 28A, Almada (map). Tuesday–Saturday, 12:00–00:00; Sunday until 23:00. Closed on Mondays. Phone: +351 936 481 949.
Other Award-Winning Restaurants
If you have already worked your way through the four winners, here are the restaurants that came second and third in each category:
- Contemporary cuisine: De Raiz, led by chef Luís Calejo, and Oh Carlos Taberna.
- Traditional Portuguese cuisine: Maré-Viva — Catedral dos Fondues and Cuica Restaurante Bar.
- International cuisine: Chica Pimenta pizzeria and Damasqino Terrace.
- Best wine list: Arizé and Maré-Viva — Catedral dos Fondues.
- Vegetarian cuisine: Meia Volta de Úrano — Casa das Artes.
