Food review: The Market Albufeira

In a place you wouldn't expect, the end of the Strip, with all its ugly burger restaurants, you will find this hidden gem.

Chef Marcio Silva, is an amazing chef!

Located on the 1st floor, The Market has a bar, a restaurant, and a very large terrace, overlooking the sea and the Strip. Fun to watch all the (young) people walking by from upstairs.

The restaurant looks very good. Owner Jorge Mateus, who hails from the North of Portugal, has had the restaurant for 27 years. He is proud of it, and I can understand that! He personally greets all guests every night and makes sure everyone is not short of anything.

The service is friendly and quick.

Vegan Menu

Besides the regular menu, there is a vegan menu, as Jorge was getting more and more demand for it. And especially when you have a lot of groups like him, there are always a few vegetarians or vegans among them. By now, this generates around 10% extra turnover!

Main course prices range from 14.90 - 24.90.

Great chef

Chef Marcio Silva is a great chef. What he prepares you could also expect in a Michelin-star restaurant, only here you pay much less for it. Previously, he worked in such renowned establishments as Grande Real Santa Eulalia, Tivoli Hotel and Vila VitaPark.

We start with a delicious white wine (€5).

This is followed by a fantastic bruschetta (6.50 euros), with tomato, carrot, onion, caper and beetroot humus. Not only does it look amazing, it is also the tastiest bruschetta I have ever had!

Next is the main course, a delicious ravioli filled with seitan (18 euro), with a fantastic sauce of pumpkin and tomatoes. Wonderful!

And for dessert, I had a vegan cheesecake (8.90 euros) of cashew nuts with raspberries! Yummy!

I'll be honest, being at the bottom of the strip, I wasn't expecting much. But how wrong I was! One of the most delicious meals I've had in the Algarve!

An absolute must-stop if you are in Albufeira!

Reservations:

http://www.themarketrestaurant.pt/

Opening hours:

18:00–22:00 (7 days a week)

Rating: Food 9.0 Service 8.5 Price/Quality 9.0 Atmosphere 8.0 TTL rating 8.6

Vegan friendly: 5/5

More info: https://www.hotspotsalgarve.com/restaurants/the-market-albufeira/

Meet Peter Cruiming, an Algarve-based food blogger. Residing in Almancil with wife Marlot Anna, a professional photographer, and their 7-year-old son, Elyas. Explore daily Algarve dining stories at www.HotspotsAlgarve.com, focused on Peter's passion for healthy and vegetarian food. Photo by www.MarlotAnna.com.