restaurants, restaurants - Portimao

Restaurant Review – No Solo Água, Portimão

No Solo Agua - perfect at sunset

No Solo Água, at the Fortaleza end of Praia da Rocha in Portimão, is one of our favourite haunts. Tucked away from the crowds and with its own private bit of beach and swimming pool, this beach club provides a wonderful place to sunbathe, swim, eat and drink. It’s not a cheap option, but we don’t mind paying the extra to escape the masses, lounge on the giant, cushion-covered beds and enjoy a little corner of peace in the western Algarve during the super-crowded summer months.

No Solo Agua - perfect at sunset

No Solo Agua – perfect at sunset

Though we go to No Solo Água most frequently for cocktails with friends, we’ve also sampled the food there on several occasions, from snacks to full meals. Everything we have tried so far has been really tasty and clearly made with care.

The Portuguese prawn curry is a particular highlight – creamy and delightfully seasoned – while if I’m just after a quick snack the herb-covered garlic bread with cheese is the perfect thing to nibble on. The squid rings are very good too, cooked until soft but not chewy and with a light batter that doesn’t become cloying the more you eat.

The real star of No Solo Água’s menu, though, is the sushi. So far we’ve only tried one dish from the hot sushi section so far, but already I can’t wait to go back for more. I’ve never eaten hot sushi before and wasn’t sure quite what to expect. What arrived at our table looked similar to regular sushi, other than a delicate, floaty-light coating of batter around its outer edge.

I tried it with some trepidation and was delighted at how good it was. At over €10 for 10 pieces, when our favourite sushi restaurant – Nagoya – provides 20 pieces of sushi and 4 of sashimi for €6.90, No Solo Água’s offering needed to be pretty special, and it was. I can see me eating nothing but sushi for our next several visits there!

Overall No Solo Água is a great place to spend time. The food is great, the cocktails are nice and the scenery is just lovely. There’s no denying that this is an expensive place to spend time, but in my view it’s definitely worth paying the extra.