There are restaurants that become, in themselves, a reason to travel. For Fortunato da Câmara, Cabanas de Tavira has one of those places: Noélia Jerónimo’s restaurant, where the cuisine continues to justify the journey to the Eastern Algarve.
In a review entitled We Have to Go to Cabanas Reencounter the Genius of Noélia, published online on June 17 by , the gastronomic critic alludes to We have to go to Viana, a song with verses by Pedro Homem de Mello and music by Alain Oulman, made famous by Amália Rodrigues, and adapts it to the experience he found at the table.
“If my taste buds don’t deceive me, let’s go to Cabanas!”, he writes, before presenting Noélia Jerónimo as a “fundamental cook of this century in Portugal”.
Praise is not born from a first visit. In the new review, Fortunato da Câmara recalls that he has been following the evolution of the house for more than a decade and that, 14 years earlier, he had given one of his texts the title Sabor e Masoquismo. At the time, he considered that the service, space and wine list still did not keep up with the talent that was already evident in each dish.
Now, at a spring lunch, he has found a more balanced home. According to the report published in Expresso, the menu was still extensive for the size of the room, but the midday service filled up within a few minutes and the experience revealed improvements beyond the kitchen.
A meal that starts at sea
The lunch opened with “My Fish Soup”, costing six euros, described by Fortunato da Câmara as “a lesson in flavor”. The critic highlights the cleanliness of the broth, the fish chips, the cod roe and the contained presence of spicy and aromatic notes.
This was followed by Spanish-style anchovy tapas, served on regional bread with salmorejo, in a combination marked, according to critics, by the freshness of the tomato, the olive oil and the delicate curing of the fish.
Not everything, however, received the same enthusiasm. The cuttlefish roe was considered less successful, mainly due to the texture and a sauce that the critic considered to be too watery. Still, he recognized their taste.
The meal quickly returned to its high points with the sea bream crudo and passion fruit cream. The translucent slices of fish and the balanced acidity of the fruit preceded one of the dishes that Fortunato da Câmara already considers a house classic: the octopus pataniscas with tomato crumbs.
The critic praises the frying, the octopus and the freshness of the migas, in a combination that, in his words, was already beginning to “call for summer”.
Rice that takes cooking to another level
Among the main dishes, the grilled sea bass with broad bean rice was particularly noteworthy. Fortunato da Câmara highlights the quality of the fish, prepared in a coal oven, and the carolino rice enriched by tender broad beans and mint.
The result impressed him to the point of writing that Eça de Queiroz would dedicate “a new page” to him.
The oven-baked rice with Black Angus also confirmed, in the critic’s opinion, one of Noélia Jerónimo’s great talents. The dish added toasted rice, vegetables, notes of saffron and grilled meat, served pink and juicy.
For Fortunato da Câmara, that visit also revealed progress in an area that for years he considered a weakness of the house. The service was provided with availability and empathy, while the wine list presented, according to the critic, greater criteria, variety and comprehensive prices.
The pastry shop opens a new chapter
Desserts appear in the review as another sign of the restaurant’s evolution. The dried fig cake with orange, Algarve almond and gila was described as moist, rich and disconcerting, accompanied by an orange cream that gave it freshness.
This was followed by the cheese pie with egg and pepper jam, the lemon-lime meringue mousse and grandma’s farófias. The latter received one of the most expressive compliments of the meal, for the texture, shine and balance of the egg cream. “Professional sweets!”, he sums up.
Behind this new dimension is also Beatriz Jerónimo, daughter of Noélia, whose excellence in confectionery is highlighted by Fortunato da Câmara.
The current Noélia & Jerônimo project turns 20 years old in 2027. The history of the house, however, dates back to 1985, when it operated as a confectionery and pizzeria, and Noélia Jerônimo began transforming it into the restaurant known today in 2007. Fortunato da Câmara considers that the space is starting to be too small for the creativity and potential of the Algarve cook.
“Noélia is clarity of flavor, simplicity dressed in irreverence, and magnetism through the dishes that make going to Cabanas an unrepeatable moment”, he writes, before concluding: “It’s worth booking and trying to touch the sky!”
Also read:
