The 8 Best Restaurants in Faro, Portugal

Whilst only a small city on the southern coast of Portugal, Faro still manages to deliver on the food front. This is my guide to the best restaurants in Faro!

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I recently visited Faro as part of a trip with Jet2Holidays and spent a good few days sampling as many restaurants and places to eat in Faro as possible. This was our first trip abroad since Covid-19 and our first with our little daughter and what a place to come to. Faro is the most perfect little city for a leisurely break, wandering the streets and hopping from cafes to restaurants to bars.

Whilst the city’s small size allows for a much more laid back approach to finding the best places to eat, it can’t help to do a little preparation in advance and that’s where I come in. I’ve pulled together this guide to the best restaurants in Faro so you can pick and choose which ones you might fancy eating at when you visit!

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A FOODIE’S GUIDE TO THE BEST RESTAURANTS IN FARO

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Se7e Pedras

Se7e Pedras is the home of petiscos in Faro and certainly one of the best places to eat. Petiscos are the Portuguese version of tapas and Se7e Pedras serves up an ever-changing menu of creative dishes. We ordered quite a few different plates to share with my favourites being the slow cooked pork cheek bao bun, a lentil dish that surprised me with the depth of flavours and the padron peppers.

The place was however empty at 7pm which, for us with a little one, was perfect but I can imagine that the atmosphere really picks up as the clock gets later. The alleyway between Se7e Pedras and Grains 864 is beautiful with exposed lighting and, if you fancy a few more beers, order from Grains 864. Without doubt, this is one of the best restaurants in Faro so please don’t miss this one!

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A Venda

Sticking with petiscos, A Venda was an excellent little find that delivers traditional homecooked cuisine in a small plate style. This is authentically Portuguese. We tried a lot of food that was perhaps a little out of our comfort zone but that’s the whole point. We had chestnut croquettes, roasted pumpkin and black Iberico pork with pickled onions!

I loved the decor here too, it’s extremely rustic and will make you feel as though you’re having food with your Portuguese avó (grandmother!).

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Xic

If you’re looking for the most popular place in Faro to sample the legendary Francesinha, look no further than Xic, just a stone’s throw from Faro’s municipal market. The Francesinha is an iconic Portuguese sandwich hailing from Porto that somehow manages to pack in layers and layers of meat between toasted bread topped with melted cheese before being drowned in the tomato and beer sauce. Sounds insane right?

Xic is the place in Faro to go for the best Francesinha and you will find a range of different filling options dependent on how extravagant you want to get. We went with the ‘Francesinha Extra Xic’ for €15 with ham, chorizo, sirloin steak, chicken, egg and a shrimp to top it all off. This was more than enough for two of us to share especially as it came with fries too! We were offered some form of extra ‘spicy’ topping that we couldn’t say no to and, all in all, it was an incredible lunch. I’m sure if you had a hangover this would cure it almost immediately!

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O Recife – Churrasqueira

This is the kind of place that you find by simply following your sense of smell. The aroma of Portuguese grilled chicken floats through the streets surrounding O Recife – Churrasqueira and, honestly, this is one not to miss. It’s a favourite among locals with limited space inside so be aware that you may struggle to get a table. Whilst we were there, there were paramedics and police officers all collecting their grilled chicken to take away after their shift.

We had a full grilled chicken (we chose spicy but it wasn’t overkill) with rice and chips for just €20. It was perfect and a great introduction to Faro and Portuguese food.

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Old Tavern

The Old Tavern was one of those places where we just grabbed a table based on its great location in the old town, the quality of the menu and how popular it seemed when we walked by; you know, like we did before we had phones and before we scrutinised reviews beforehand.

Well we were certainly not disappointed with our lunch at the Old Tavern. We went for a sharing board with a mix of meats, cheese and bread along with the pretty impressive flaming chorizo. Highly recommend this one; it transpires that this is one of the most popular restaurants in Faro and I can see why!

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A Fabrica

If you’re wanting to know where to find the best burgers in Faro, well you’ll find them here at A Fabrica. Avid followers of the blog should know by now that I find it very difficult to not choose a burger when eating out so obviously I had to conduct some research whilst in Faro as to just how good of a burger it could offer! A Fabrica certainly delivers (UberEats FYI…). I went with the ‘My Sweet Bacon Cheeseburger’ and, whether or not that’s the exact English translation, the burger was fantastic. A combination of juicy beef, cheese, bacon and mayo was exactly what I needed. The kids portions are also great value for money – this was Evelyn’s first burger experience and needless to say she loved it (all three bites or so)!

Oh and don’t miss the infamous cheese pour – I went with a blue cheese sauce poured over the entirety of my burger. Too much? Never!

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Aperitivo

This is one restaurant that sadly we didn’t get chance to try but came highly recommended from a trusted friend. We walked past a few times and each time, if we hadn’t already eaten and perhaps didn’t have the little one, we would without doubt have sat in for food. This is the sort of place you spend your entire evening. There’s a great atmosphere that you could feel just wandering past and the food, from what I could see and read on the menu, looked and sounded incredible.

There’s a little bit of everything on the menu here so you won’t struggle to pick something that you like the sound of. From the starters, I’d definitely pick fried sweet potato with garlic mayo, padron peppers and homemade croquettes. I’d love to return here just to order loads of food to share and have a good few drinks!

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Ponto Smokehouse

Opposite the train station, out of the way of the tourist hotspots, is Ponto Smokehouse. Completely low key, Ponto Smokehouse offers up highly rated low-n-slow smoked pulled pork sandwiches alongside great coffee and an apparently delicious almond cake! Whether you’re waiting to catch a train or fancy something a little different to eat, Ponto Smokehouse will have you covered.

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