Ericeira Restaurants - where to eat with who and why

Welcome to my conclusions on the best places to eat in Ericeira after 3.37 years of data collection :) I do think eating out whenever you want whatever you want is an essential ingredient to ultimate richness - and it is a joy eating out in Eri.

I'll talk about Ericeira restaurants ..
1. to have ya fancy coffee
2. to eat fish with an ocean view, cause that’s obv what you do when by the sea
3. to have cosy dinner with ya loved ones
4. to prove to ya Lisbon friendz that we do have fancy restaurants
5. to have proper Portuguese food, cause you're in Portugal, aren't you
6. to have quick lunch
7. to have a date and not the entire town is listening
8. to reserve for ya big (padel-)gang

Ericeira restaurants to have ya fancy coffee

1. Dear Rose

- I recommend the cosymosy corner inside; I have a craving for that corner most weekends
- the moccachino is sooo good and the burrata salad, shakshuka and overnight chias are my favourite breakkis
- the chef brings the food himself most of the time; with a big smile on his face

2. Sunset Bamboo

- Sunset Bamboo is open “until late” (7pm), so I go there if I wanna hang on my laptop for a bit later in the day
- can recommend the pancakes, quesadillas and the cinnamon tea :)
- nice comfy chairs and a sofa

Ericeira restaurants to eat fish with an ocean view, cause that’s obv what you do when by the sea

1. Ti Matilde

- erijoy fresh fish while sitting on a high cliff, basically above the ocean
- the super nice outdoor space can't be seen from the street, so only local-ish people know about it
- impress your date by ordering the desert (dessert?asking for a friend) as a starter, and then show that you're rich by getting the freshest fishyfish for €54 ishfish for 2 persons

Ericeira restaurants to have cosy dinner with ya loved ones 

1. La Popular

- the entrance looks already more than cosy, but inside it is even megamore cosy <3
- forget time and space while sharing Spanish tapas
- have an ice cream next door after :)

2. Petiscaria Âncora

- fancyyyy interior and fancy booking system; they only allow you to book tables during 2 time slots; 7 - 9 pm and 9:30 - 11:30 pm via Instagram only
- they don't have a website or a phone number (lol how modern) as far as I know, but 4.8 stars on Google from 204 reviews
- I took my mum there, and we got fantastic fish, meat and veggie tapas served by very nice waiters

Ericeira restaurants to prove to ya Lisbon friendz that we do have fancy restaurants

1. Costa Fria

- this is the one fancy expensive foodie place Lisbon people seem to know and come to Ericeira for
- it's right by the sea as you see
- I call it the orange restaurant cause of their orange chairs .. and there's something about them, idk, they look a bit uncomfortable, but I guess it's stylish 

2. Mar das Latas

3. Balagan

- they have a nice terrace with a roof, so you kind of sit both inside/outside
- they offer middle-eastern food, i.e. pretty healthy food
- Portuguese people already joke about that all the hipsters are hanging out here because it's so fancy

Ericeira restaurants to have proper Portuguese food, cause you're in Portugal, aren't you

1. O Gafanhoto

- it has a cute Portuguese name which means grasshopper, and it's located in the centre
- they have no website, but 4.5 stars on Google Maps from 1477 reviews
- they have been a fish restaurant since 1968, long before all the fancy people arrived

2. O Pescador

- that one was recommended to me by a Portuguese friend who is spearfishing himself and his father is a fisherman
- they make you feel local: one friend started chatting with the restaurant owner while eating there, and ended up on his birthday party
- it's located in another village (Ribamar), so tourists don't pass by accidentally, and you have to drive there (but it's worth it!)

3. Tasquinha do Gil

- it is located in a tiny tiny romantic Portuguese village, so you can do a walk and explore the village afterwards
- super nice tapas to share and they have an amazing terrace view over the hills; it's where Portuguese men take their dates
- even though it's a 25-min drive from Ericeira it's worth it, and in that way you can check if your date passes “the traffic test” (= if you like them so much that you want there to be traffic, so you can keep talking to them)

Ericeira restaurants to have quick lunch

1. The Organic Way

- it's in central central downtown and the dish of the day is €9 with organic ingredients only, yey!
- cowork a bit there before lunch; they even have sockets, which means they kinda want you laptop-person there :)
- after lunch, get some grocery shopping done in the organic store (which also has a cheat corner with normal cheap discounter food, ha!)

2. Be U

- you get an organic menu with soup, tea, and main dish for €13 (which I often shared with a friend = lunch for €6.50)
- get there around 12 to avoid a queue; people have heard now about it that lunch at Be U is amazing
- it's in semi-central downtown, but only 3 minutes from the 2 main coworkings in town (Kelp & Coastal)

3. Tasquinha dos Pescadores

- I have several friends who can not stop talking about how nice this place is and what amazing tapas you get there for just €10 (instead of going to the expensive tapas places in town)
- you can enjoy healthy tapas like pimientos (ma fav veggies, these cute green small peppers) or have that burger on ya cheat day
- it's 1 minute from the 2 main coworkings (Kelp & Coastal) in town, yey

Ericeira restaurants to have a date and not the entire town is listening

1. Chapéu Preto

- it's pretty cheap, but just because it's not so centrally located. The food is pretty amazing. Got the tip from a friend who lives close by and goes there regularly to have the €10 lunch menu. Which includes a massive (seafood) meal, drink & espresso.
- the drink can be a carafe of wine for you two :)
- unlikely that you're gonna meet other expats because it is soo out of town

2. Ribeira d'Ilhas Surf Restaurant & Bar

- sitting there you watch *that* beach where the surf world championships have been happening quite a few times, so you can small talk about surf for hours
- lots of people are around who have a beer after surf, so of course you should also have one
- you can have a sunset kiss on the cliff within 1 min

Ericeira restaurants to reserve for ya big (padel-)gang

1. Balagan

- Balagan is your safe bet, kinda everyone likes it and it actually works to book a table for up to 28 people
- you can share their food easy peasily
- play something like boules on the beach afterwards :)

2. Calavera - Mexican

- who can or wants to resist some nachos? Kinda everyone likes the food; vegans as well as carnivores end up being happy
- you can reserve a big table, yep
- you can share a lot of small tapas

3. Prédio

- they have one of the few rooftops in town
- confirmed once with them that 25 people reservation is possível
- nice sushi and other Asian stuff to share :) 

Soooo who needs to live in the city, if we can have all the fancy restaurants and cafés in a village? And even reach any restaurant in Lisbon within 50 min taking an Uber? Howeverrr, don't let “brunching” or so become the centre of ya life - let the padel gang become the centre of ya life 😊