Palmela Travel Guide

Situated with magnificent views on a spur of the Serra da Arrábida, Palmela Castle is one of the finest examples of Portuguese military architecture. Constructed by the Moors, it was rebuilt after the 12th-century Reconquest, but was partially demolished by the 1755 earthquake that laid waste to Lisbon.

We happened on this restaurant by chance when we were in Palmela going down the main road searching for one restaurant, and instead finding this. We decided to stop for lunch here, as judging by the full parking lot in front, we were sure this was going to be one lucky find. We were not wrong. The entire place was filled to the last table, and we had to wait for about 15 minutes before being seated. Other clients were coming in continuously.

We ordered the ensopado de enguias (an eel dish in a thick sauce with fried bread), which is a big favorite of mine, and which this region is quite known for, and açorda de marisco (açorda is a thick mixture from bread, olive oil, garlic, and eggs which serves as a base, in this case, with big shrimps) -- both typical local dishes. For starters, we had Azeitão cheese (only produced in this small area in Palmela) which is the best Portuguese cheese hands down, on some freshly baked corn bread. It was so good, we were forgetting that this was just the beginning. All this, of course, with the house red, and dessert of almond tart, and coffee made for one very satisfying meal. And did I mention the servings were quite substantial, it was really not possible to finish an entire serving. Service was fast and efficient.

And as in most cases here in Portugal where a great meal does not mean having to break a bank, we paid only a little over 30 euros for all that. The specialty of this restaurant is grilled meats and fish, arroz de tamboril (monkfish rice), the shrimps rice i mentioned, and steaks.

Now I know why this is a local favorite!

In the town square you'll find the church of S?o Pedro with the 18th-century tiles of scenes from the life of St. Peter.
All this pictures were taken when we were coming back home from Algarve (see my Portim?o, Sagres and Lagos pages), Beatriz was starting to be tired and so we didn't had time to visit the town.