Review of 'Foz Do Banho'
Located just opposite our hotel at the top of a mountain in Monchique, “Foz Do Banho” obviously sees a lot of foreign visitors but even so they have a good selection of local food and drink.
This small restaurant on the side of the road has space for parking out front along with outdoor seating beside the car park. To the right of the entrance there is a small souvenir shop selling local handcrafts and a lot of stuff with “Portugal” and “Monchique” on it. Entering the restaurant the till is to your right along with a small takeout counter. There are two dining rooms to the left and another straight ahead (which also has the fridge containing the homemade desserts). The restaurant is perched on the edge of the mountain and has great views down the valley all the way to the Mediterranean.
Visiting early on a Wednesday, we took no chances and made a reservation though it turns out this was not necessary as only one other table in the large dining room was used during our stay. We were seated in the corner with large windows providing a great view down the green valley and the winding road that follows it, all the way to the water in the distance. The décor is quite local and a huge cabinet holding wines at the one side dominates the room with my companion asking why they were not locked up…It all feels quite relaxed though the lack of soft furnishing means it likely gets very noisy indeed when busy. There were quite a few people visiting that were just having drinks which is understandable so “early” in the evening, 6pm, not time for dinner quite yet!
The simple menu is helpfully in both Portuguese and English. We were not too hungry and it was unclear whether our meals would include salad or any other sides so we ordered some bread, butter (extra) and a salad to start. The local bread is quite chewy but with a tough crust which was really good with the butter though we were also given sardine spread (in a container) which I avoided but was told it was quite nice. The salad was quite good with a very nice, light vinaigrette dressing whose taste did come through but did not overwhelm the fresh vegetables.
For my main I had “Assadura à Monchique” which is local, grilled pork with light spices which was served with a side of absolutely delicious chips made with the wonderful local potatoes. The char-grilled pork was slightly dry but very tasty, cut up into small cubes making it a great snacking-style meal. It was a generous portion size as well.
My companion had the fish of the day, “sea bass”, which was served on the bone with a good sized portion of boiled potatoes…and salad. Despite the bones, the fish I am told was very delicious and tender.
I skipped on dessert but my companion was convinced into trying the “Bolo De Batata Doce E Medronho”, “Sweet Potato and Strawberry Tree Cake” (€3.50) which looked more like a tart than a cake. She reports that the small slice of cake (?) was quite creamy and rich, like a pumpkin pie except without the nutmeg and cinnamon. It was served simply on the plate with just a small swoosh of coulis to provide some colour.
We were largely left to ourselves for the meal which suited us fine as we relaxed and took in the experience and enjoyed the food…there was a rather lot of it with portions being generously sized (though we should have skipped the bread and salad as starters). The staff were very friendly with most of them speaking quite good English. At €61.80 including a number of non-alcoholic drinks (including a very nice post-meal espresso) and a large amount of food with a small tip added by myself on payment at the till using the card machine before I left, it was reasonably priced for the quality of the food and the nice surroundings.
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2026-04-01
Cuisine: Portuguese
Address: Caldas de Monchique 8550 - 232 Monchique, Portugal
Location: Algarve (Portugal) - Monchique
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Telephone: +351 282 913 860
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