We had seen a row of promising restaurants along the harbour in Peniche. All seemed to offer a great range of grilled fish. I was given a copy of the Lonely Planet guide which recommended the Restaurante Popular which even suggested that grilled fish dishes started at €4.50!
We had done an afternoon trip to Berlenga Grande so arrived back in the harbour. We were hungry and although it was 19:30 - a bit early for a Portuguese restaurant - we decided to try the Popular. We were the first there although it started filling up shortly afterwards. We were welcomed by a waiter who spoke no English but who was delighted when one of my sons used the correct Portuguese word for 'beer'.
The seating area is under and awning but with solid sides. We found a table with a harbour view.
The menu was helpfully translated into French, German and English but I was not confident of the English translation. The French and German versions appeared to be more solid. However better still was to look at the fish counter near the door.
Most of us chose fish skewers (Misto de Peixe), though having missed it on the first day I went for grilled swordfish. The skewers all contained white fish though some included prawn or squid too. The skewers were a great success and very tasty.
We realised that with grilled fish the restaurant had a simple but good formula. For these dishes they did not have to worry about preparing sauces and the cooking time on a charcoal grill was short. The accompanying choice of rice, boiled or chipped potatoes were standard as well as the vegetable side dishes.
On a nearby table, a Portuguese family had an enormous pot of fish stew which also looked very good. Portions were generous and after a started and hearty main course we could not manage a desert. The bill when it came was very reasonable - €68 for five so approximately £9 per head - even though we never found a dish for €4.50. Very good value, for drinks, starter, main course and coffee!
By the time we left (sometime after nine) the place was full and there was even a queue outside. That is usually evidence of a good place to eat though doubtless the other places were also good.
The food had been fresh, tasty and very good value for money. The inside of the restaurant was fine (though not the best) but service was friendly and helpful. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anybody visiting Peniche.
PS I will now stop boring you with my Portugal holiday on this blog.
menhir
Much of the foodie stuff looks like our home cooking - we have fish (some of it caught in the north Atlantic last year) and meat and veggie kebabs. I dislike sauces from a jar, mine taste better and I know what's in them. We did treat ourselves to a rather good quality shop-bought pizza earlier in the week, when speed was of the essence, served with a good mixed salad, home made and included leaves from the garden.
We have such good raw ingredients available to us locally, apart from fruit, it is sometimes tired because of the distances travelled, there's no excuse for poor diet unless you come from the generation that has never seen proper cooking done at home and never learned to cook.