Nortada, Sagres, Portugal, the perfect beach restaurant

So the beauty of this website is that I can share details of my meals abroad and relive the joy of summer holidays whilst I look out of my office window on a grey rainy day in London. We have now been 3 times now to the Martinhal resort in Sagres, Portugal. It is a lovely family resort in the midst of a nature reserve so buildings are tastefully low rise. Sagres itself is a sleepy little fishing town with a seasonal influx of tourists. Visitors are split between families like ours and a younger crowd of surfers from around the world. Sagres is on Cap St Vincent, the most westerly point of mainland europe so the fish and surf are top notch. I found Nortada on my second trip to Martinhal. I'd taken baby G for a walk and play on the beautiful beach and walking back we decided to stop in Nortada for and ice cream and maybe a beer for a thirsty dad. Nortada is a beachfront restaurant at the end of the beach road partially hidden behind a sand dune. it has plenty of seating inside but the best place to be is on their veranda looking out onto the beach shielded by the sand dune from the wind. 

That first visit I sat savouring an ice cold beer whilst I looked around at the other tables enjoying hearty food which looked and smelt amazing. I had a feeling this could be a top lunch spot. I returned the following day with my lovely wife for a late lunch having left baby G in the able care of the Martinhal kids club. She wasn't convinced by my plan as we walked down the dusty beach road but changed her mind once sat down on the veranda looking out over the seascape. The previous day I had seen a group enjoying a big pot of pasta which turned out to be spaghetti and clams. It comes in a portion for 2 which is basically a big saucepan full of spaghetti and clams cooked in olive oil and garlic. It was amazing. The clams were fresh, the pasta perfect and the sauce so tasty. I even ordered some bread to mop up the juices in the saucepan. Nothing fancy here just great freshly cooked food.

They have good fresh fish every day which you pick from a tray. My other favourite dish is the prawns fried whole in garlic and chilli served with the lovely chunky local rice. We tended to wash this down with a bottle of crisp white wine called 'Planalto' they also did an excellent G&T. Pudding tended to be ice cream (for baby G) and maybe a local Pudim for us. They also served the best coffee I've had in a while. We all loved it here. The staff were friendly and the food came out to us in a timely manner but no one was rushing here. They don't rush you here and they serve food all day which is what you want on holiday.  For some reason our last visit in early September coincided with fly season which was a touch annoying. Other than that I cannot think of a better place to spend a lazy afternoon with your loved ones.