Restaurants in Praia da Luz and area during the winter months

When you have a happy snap like this one of Gabrielle about to munch on her cheese omelette, you can see that this was not high cuisine ... but boy, was it good! Food while you're away is an essential element in the sum of your happiness and finding the best restaurants is a first step. So here's a little look at some of the ones we have sampled so far in Praia da Luz.

Firstly, it's important to say that we've not tried all the restaurants - nowhere near. There are two or three Indian ones and a large Chinese that have not had our custom - not because we don't like them, but because we don't tend to eat that type of food in restaurants; we prefer to cook it at home.

It's worth saying that, as we did today, stopping in any cafe that serves food will give you good basic grub. They don't last long unless they can do this. Things to watch out for - the sandwiches are nearly always on white bread and they are cheese, ham, cheese and ham ... or ham and cheese! Portugal's not yet discovered innovative sandwiches and toasties are much the same. They're cheap, cheerful and boring for the most part. So, best to go for local delicacies perhaps? Always worth a try.

The other thing to watch out for is the television. There's always one, no matter how high class the restaurant, and it's always showing sport - usually football. You have to train yourself not to be distracted by it or to let it spoil the atmosphere. If the sound is on, this can be a real killer ...

A really good restaurant in Luz is Ondaluz. It's rated fourth on TripAdvisor, at the time of writing, but for us it's one of the best for general fare. Tightly run by a maitre d' who has the most amazing smile, this restaurant has a good mix of Portuguese and European food.

Another cracker is Chicca's - number three on TripAdvisor. This one is not open during January, but when it's there, you'll get a most amazing selection of generously proportioned meals, majoring on vegetarian. Really lovely - one friend called it "the best restaurant in the Algarve" after we recommended it.

Last night we tried a restaurant that we didn't even know existed. Tucked away in the brutalist structure of the Luztur (has to be seen to be believed - built apparently after the revolution!) the Aquario restaurant is not to be missed if you like good cuisine . I had Beef Wellington which was frankly stonkingly good. To start I'd had mussels with cheesy hollandaise sauce. Generous bowl of cognac gratis at the end and very attentive waiter/chef, Sergio who made looking after all the tables look very simple. Gabrielle was less impressed because she found the food too salty - but that's true of all Portuguese food for her, although she enjoyed the meal and the atmosphere generally - as you can see from the pic!

We've had a good meal in Atlantico, but that's closed in the first part of January, however, when we revisited it just recently it did not disappoint - beautiful seafood, well-cooked and a great welcome. Similarly, we have had lovely meals in Fortaleza, but that seems to shut for a good part of January and February. We had New Year's Eve there in 2015 and it was good boisterous fun. In the summer we have dined on the beautiful terrace that overlooks the sea - lovely!

Paulo's restaurant served us the most amazing mussels I've ever had followed by a pasta that kept me up half the night - my digestion's fault, not their cooking. It was so saucy and delicious.

Slightly further afield, take the clifftop walk to Burgau and you can have simple food, good beer and wine at the bar that's near the beach in Burgau. Easy to find because it's the first one you encounter as you walk over from Luz and descend into the village. Picture at the beginning of this post says it all.

Head the other direction towards Lagos, again over the clifftops, and you'll stumble across O Antonio at Praia de Porto de Mós. This place does seriously good fish or meat and it's right on the beach. Well-used by the locals, it's one that we regularly visit and, guess what, here's a pic of Gabrielle with a drink!

So, do we do anything but eat and drink in nice restaurants and cafés? Well, yes, actually. Remember the Fish post - the last but one before this? We can see the fish shop from our apartment window and it has great fresh fish - nearly as good as Gary from Grimsby and his van that comes to Eccleshall. Cooking in at home is a pleasure too, because we can get a good variety of food here.

This post has not covered even a tenth of the restaurants around Luz. There are many more, some expensive, some well reputed, others not so much so. If the locals use them, then they're usually good and we've found the best test is to ask the locals - in the hairdressers or local bars, where's good to eat? They'll tell you!