If I had to pick a favourite regional Portuguese cuisine I’d choose the Alentejo. This expansive land of cork trees, olive groves, and vineyards has produced some of my all-time favourite Portuguese dishes.
At the heart of it all lies Évora, the Alentejo capital, a small whitewashed city finished with yellow trim where you’ll find traditional restaurants tucked down cobblestone alleyways next to Roman temples or medieval churches. Out here eating local is just known as, well, eating. In Évora the portions are hearty, the hospitality is warm, and I’m not sure you can have a bad meal.
Évora may be a city with more than 2,000 years of history, but it has a young heart. Some young chefs have stayed, moved back, or found their feet with small restaurants slinging the unexpected or pulling modern takes on traditional Alentejo cuisine. Évora is a fascinating place to visit for the history and culture, but I promise you’ll want to linger for the food.
Here’s everywhere I suggest you eat while in the small city of Évora. Make sure you try local dishes such as migas or sericaia, which are hard to find beyond the Alentejo’s borders.
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The best restaurants in Évora
Taberna Típica Quarta-Feira – €€
One does not simply walk out of Taberna Típica Quarta-Feira – you’re all but guaranteed to roll your way down the rustic cobblestone alleyway after this meal. This family-run tavern works with a set menu. For around €35 the owner will bring out a seemingly never-ending parade of plates, big and small. You’ll try regional specialities, house inventions, and deliciously hearty mains. Think traditional Portuguese but with a homely twist. Booking ahead is essential.
Rua do Inverno 18, Évora | Quarta-feira Facebook | Google Maps
O Templo – €
For a cosy meal, O Templo is a great stop for a traditional Alentejo lunch or dinner. The rustic family-run restaurant is named after the city’s most famous sight, the Roman temple, and here they serve a mix of Alentejo petiscos (similar to tapas) and hearty meals.
Rua do Escrivão da Câmara 2B, Évora | Google Maps
Botequim da Mouraria – €€
For a taste of Alentejo cuisine, look no further than the bar at Botequim da Mouraria. Since 1995, Domingos and Florbela have been serving delicious snacks –like fried quail’s eggs and smoked meats, or scrambled eggs with wild asparagus – at the countertop of their nine-seater Évora tavern. It’s only open for lunch, and only during the week. It’s not possible to make reservations, so arrive early.
Rua da Mouraria 16A, Évora | Google Maps
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Fialho – €€/€€€
This temple of Alentejo gastronomy is now in the hands of its third generation. An institution of local food and good wine, Restaurante Fialho has been open since 1945.Within you’ll find a charming European interior with antique plates on the walls, crisp white tablecloths, and waiters in waistcoats delivering old-school silver service. Here you can try more unusual or refined Alentejo dishes, such as pigeon rice, rabbit pies, dogfish soup, or partridge Convento da Cartuxa-style.
Travessa das Mascarenhas 14, Évora | O Fialho website | Google Maps
TascaTosca – €
This little wine bar is tucked down one of Évora’s most charming streets, Alcarcova de Baixo, where you’ll find a dozen or so tiny restaurants whose terraces sprawl out across the backstreet. We stumbled into TascaTosca one day after a light lunch when we saw the menu of Alentejo petiscos (tapas). There’s a great choice of cured meats made with porco preto – the prized black pork. Plus I love the cheeses from the award-winning Monte da Vinha.
Alcarcova de Baixo 53, Évora | TascaTosca website | Google Maps
Tua Madre – €€/€€€
On the same street as TascaTosca, Tua Madre is one of Évora’s most exciting restaurant projects. From this small and relaxed tavern space comes an ever-changing menu rooted in Italian and Portuguese cuisine. The chefs lean on small producers who grow seasonal, organic and bio products, and the wine list is also filled with organic, biodynamic and natural vinhos.
Alcarcova de Baixo 55, Évora | Tua Madre website | Google Maps
Café Alentejo – €/€€
Cosy, local spots are among my favourite places to eat, and Café Alentejo ticks that box. Step inside the moody, red cellar to find a bustling restaurant filled with local families celebrating mid-week birthdays and an extensive menu of Alentejo cuisine. This spot has been open since 1999.
Rua do Raimundo 5, Évora | Café Alentejo website | Google Maps
O Moinho do Cu Torto – €
Outside the old town, the “Crooked Arse Windmill” is a little restaurant set in the grounds of a charming old windmill. At O Moinho do Cu Torto there’s a little house, styled like a grandmother’s living room, serving up traditional Alentejo dishes in a rustic setting. Or you can sit outside in the garden beneath the mill, feasting on açorda do cação (dogfish soup), migas de espargos (asparagus migas – bread mash), or various grilled meats.
Rua de Santo André 2A, Évora | Facebook | Google Maps
Cavalariça Évora – €€/€€€
You should run a mile from most restaurants located next to the city’s star attraction, but thankfully that’s not the case in charming Évora. Cavalariça is a chic restaurant set within the expansive courtyard of the Dukes of Cadaval Palace, right next door to the famous Roman temple. Besides the modern Portuguese plates, the star here is panels painted by South African artist Esther Mahlangu in 2018. She was 82 at the time of the art exhibition here, and her colourful Ndebele tribal forms cover the columns, arch and wall of the courtyard. The first Cavalariça in beachside Comporta has a reputation for having the best food in town, and the Évora edition is just as chic.
Palácio dos Duques de Cadaval, Rua Augusto Filipe Simões, Évora | Cavalariça website | Google Maps
Bakeries & cafés in Evora
Pastelaria Conventual Pão de Rala – €
Across Portugal every village, town and city has a signature sweet – and these sweets are always linked to religious orders. Portugal’s most famous “convent” sweet is the pastel de nata from Lisbon. Évora’s equivalent might be azevias de grão, a cinnamon and sugar-dusted sweet from Convento de Santa Clara de Évora. This convent along with Convento do Paraíso are represented in the hand-painted tile panels within this small bakery. You could also try the namesake sweet, Pão de Rala, which is made of almond, egg yolk sugar and water, or little queijadas de Évora with egg yolk, almond, or ricotta filling.
Rua de Cicioso 47, Évora | Google Maps
Pastelaria Violeta – €
If you can resist the cake-stuffed windows of Pastelaria Violeta then you are stronger than I am. There’s something about the glistening layers of cake shining beneath the marble-carved sign that makes me weak at the knees. Pastelaria Violeta is the oldest in the city, with more than 120 years of history. Here you can try many Évora specialties, such as pão de rala or queijinho do ceú. Apparently they still make marzipan here over fire, the old-fashioned way!
Rua José Elias Garcia 47, Évora | Google Maps
Quiosque Jardim Diana – €
There are few places in the world where you can admire a 1st-century Roman temple while enjoying lunch and a drink for under €5. Quiosque Jardim Diana is nothing fancy – it’s much like any other no-frills park kiosk in Portugal. Expect to find simple drinks, snacks, toasted sandwiches, and ice-cream. Don’t expect five-star service or anything gourmet. Simple!
Rua Francisco Soares Lusitano, Évora | Google Maps
Other places to eat in Évora
I try to keep it real here and only write in-depth about the places I’ve personally visited myself. I live in Lisbon, so I’m able to return to Évora semi-regularly, and I’ll extend this article as I try new places.
Since I only have one stomach and a limited food budget, I don’t like to gatekeep – so instead I’m sharing my food research. Here are other restaurants you could try in Évora.
More places to eat in Évora downtown
- Híbrido – a very cool project from a young chef.
- Tasquinha do Oliveira – old-school spot with traditional Alentejo cuisine.
- Cozinha da Catarina –homely Alentejo food in a rustic setting with cute terracotta crockery.
- Dom Joaquim –this place is a bit of an Évora institution, which has even caught the eye of Michelin judges. Here you can try even more Alentejo cuisine including seasonal game dishes and rarer Alentejo dishes.
- Origens – serves contemporary Alentejo cuisine using seasonal local ingredients. A female chef at the helm!
- Do Largo – there’s no specialty coffee in Évora yet, but this gorgeous day-time café spills out onto a square, pulls a decent coffee and serves top-quality wines. It’s connected to an organic herb farm.
Is Évora worth a visit?
Absolutely! It’s one of the prettiest and unique towns in Portugal. Discover more than a dozen things to do in Évora with my travel guide (to come), and read my blog about the best artisan stores and historic boutiques in town.
Where to stay in Évora
You can stay anywhere in the old city centre of Évora and be within walking distance of the top sights and best restaurants, tascas, or sweet shops. Évora is fairly flat, so it’s easy to navigate – it is filled with cobblestone streets that may be tricky to traverse if you have mobility issues.
That’s my list of the best restaurants, cafés and bakeries in Évora. Leave a comment with your favourite spot, or if you try any of these places!
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