Restaurants and Cafés

It only opened in 2007 but is now already one of the best-known and most highly appreciated restaurants in Évora and in Alentejo. Located in a good location, beside the city walls, Dom Joaquim has a large room of discrete elegance and a very varied menu with typical Alentejo dishes honouring the tradition, and innovative dishes demonstrating the creativity of the chef Joaquim Almeida. The secret of its success lies there: in the simple and handsome space with a modern and intimate touch, and in the cuisine open to novelty but still typical from the Alentejo region. But there is another key to this secret: the perfect price-quality ratio. 

The extensive and well-structured menu starts with several suggestions by the chef, followed by cold starters, warm starters, soups, fish dishes, meat dishes, vegetarian dishes, children’s menus and desserts. The cold starters consist of snacks, such as crépine crackling and crab mayonnaise; warm starters consist of Évora Cheese PDO (grilled sheep’s cheese with oregano and toast), scrambled eggs with Montanheira farinheira and sautéed mushrooms with montado pork cured ham or with linguiça sausage and other smoked meats; soups include wild partridge pancetta soup or sargalheta toasted in the oven and dogfish soup; fish dishes include fried dogfish with clam rice, an innovative dish that clearly illustrates Dom Joaquim’s concept and bacalhau cataplana; meat dishes include Alentejo pork cushions, roast montado pork cheeks and oven-roasted Alentejo grass fed lamb that are irresistible. The same can be said of the desserts: chocolate mousse, fidalgo, toucinho rançoso dos Santos (an eggs and nuts delicacy), rich gypsy cake (lots of black-seed squash and lots of chocolate) and other temptations created by the chef. Excellent selection of mostly Alentejo wines. Service efficient and friendly!