Restaurants

City dwellers make a point of heading to coastal communities south of the city for platefuls of arroz de marisco (rice with shellfish) or linguado (sole). One summertime delights is the smell of grilled sardines wafting from restaurants and beachside stalls. Seafood is the specialty along the Estoril Coast—even the inland villages here and on the Setúbal Peninsula are close enough to the sea to be assured a steady supply of fish, and the seaside fishing town of Sesimbra attracts seafood-loving foodies from across the country with its excellent seafront restaurants.

In Sintra, queijadas (sweet cheese tarts) are a specialty; in the Azeitão region of the Setúbal Peninsula locals swear by the queijo fresco, a delicious white cheese made either of goat's or sheep's milk. This region also produce good wines. From Colares comes a light, smooth red, a fine accompaniment to a hearty lunch; Palmela, a demarcated wine-growing district of Setúbal, produces distinctive amber-color wines of recognized quality; and a local specialty is a dessert wine called Moscatel de Setúbal.