Restaurants and Cafés

Whoever wishes to enjoy the serenity of Alentejo, the Pousada Convento de Arraiolos is the ideal resting place. Even when it is full, the diners may taste the delicacies of the land in well-earned rest with a view to the countryside in a minimalist room where the main decorative element is part of a 17th century retable, representing the last supper. The menu drawn up by the chef Elisabete Velez is the focus of attention. Ms Velez studies the delicacies prepared by the nuns who lived in this convent. She has recovered some of their recipes, among which are flaked pigeon and pancetta pie. These are only two examples of a long menu that starts with soups, such as watercress, Alentejo-style tomato soup with fried quail’s egg or cream of squash soup with slivers of almonds.  

The starters, also homemade, include dishes such as soft cheese and rosemary flavoured honey roll, flaked wild pigeon with green plums and tarragon sauce. As for starters, there is the unmissable tomato and oregano paté, tuna with a duo of peppers and pennyroyal and blood sausage with pineapple.  

A well-balanced menu that also offers fish and seafood, such as: slice of salmon in lime purée and pomme of broccoli, dogfish cutlet in a tomato pie, broth of fresh pennyroyal and tiborna de bacalhau that has an abundance of onions and pepper and served on bread, among others. The meat dishes include free-range chicken leg braised in pine nut rice, Alentejo pork cheeks and a duo of sweet potato and spinach or lamb cooked in olive oil with potatoes in a clay dish and quince gelée. A board of Portuguese cheeses and some samples of regional conventual desserts, examples of which are pastel de toucinho and pão de rala. There is an excellent selection of mainly Alentejo wines. Service efficient and friendly!