Algarve chef Rui Sequeira honed his craft at the two-Michelin-star Ocean restaurant, among other kitchens. Done with traditional fine dining, he went out on his own in late 2018, in partnership with his wife, Cristina Monteiro, and created the restaurant Alameda in his hometown of Faro.
Here, the concept is “fun fine dining,” and the vibe is relaxed. There are no white tablecloths or formally attired servers. The dining room is full of tropical plants, and monkey sculptures hang from the light fixtures and over the bar. The outdoor area is also pretty, in front of Jardim da Alameda João de Deus.
To be sure, there’s still an emphasis on technique, as well as top-quality local ingredients, but nothing is too complicated the experience is fun, the kind of thing you could do every week, not just once in a lifetime. The meal starts off with snacks meant to be eaten by hand, and the watermelon gazpacho, which arrives frozen on top, comes with a small hammer to break the ice.
The four menus are changed frequently, depending on which fresh products Sequeira receives from his supplier that day. But in general, they emphasize fish and seafood—oysters from the Ria Formosa, octopus from Olhão, and vegetables and tuna from Tavira.
The best introduction is the Origami tasting menu, which has 12 ingredient-driven courses. Once you become a regular, the Alameda menu consists of snacks, one starter, one main, and dessert. In between the Umami menu has eight courses meant to showcase the various “tastes” (salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and yes, umami), and the eight-course Vegetal menu is 100% vegetarian.
The wine menu, under the direction of André Filipe Moreira Ramos, emphasizes “irreverent” Portuguese wines, particularly organic, biodynamic, and low-intervention ones.
For more information, visit the Alameda website.
Alameda
Rua da Polícia da Segurança Pública, 10
Faro
Phone: +351 289 824 831
Email: alamedarestaurantefaro@gmail.com
Hours:
Thursday to Monday – 19:00, 20:00 and 21:00
Sunday – 13:00, 13:30, 19:00, 20:00 and 21:00
