While visiting the Algarve on a short holiday with my family, we went to the Olhao Seafood Festival. I had no idea what to expect, apart from seafood of course! What we got for our €8 entry fee (each) was a seafood extravaganza. We sat in among long rows of trestle tables, close to a full entertainment stage, and enjoyed everything that the Portuguese seafood chefs could throw at us.
The payment system was typically local. You pre-pay for your order and wait in line for someone to yell your ticket number. I had to ask for a little help as all numbers were called in Portuguese. We enjoyed grilled tiger prawns, crab, sticks of char-grilled prawns, Cataplana ( a local seafood dish in a pot), and Paella.
The Portuguese lived up to their hospitable reputation. We were quite obviously tourists, despite our determination to mix in. The family sitting adjacent, didn’t speak any English but we soon found a way to communicate. Food! They offered us a cake to try (A pastry filled with sweet coconut and topped with something like pumpkin jam). It raised a smile as my family clearly enjoyed the cakes. So, the favour was returned when I returned with two extra Caiparinha’s for them. A Caiparinha is apparently a Brazilian cocktail, but we never got to the bottom of what was in it.
All of the seafood and cocktails were accompanied by a support band and then one and a half hours of an Abba tribute band. They were excellent. However, I think we got better value out of them than our new friends as we knew all of the words.
I’d strongly recommend visiting the Olhao seafood festival. It’s great value, a good night out, and the Portuguese are very friendly. It’s an annual event and lasts for 5 days.
