Four Australian girls raised on a diet of sun, sand and surf having survived another English winter were overjoyed to discover that 45 minutes out of Lisbon there is a beautiful beach called Estoril. Estoril has it all - white sand, waves and even its own castle owned by the Portuguese Royal family. The girls baked themselves in the suns heat (don't worry they were covered head to toe in 30 plus) and swam in the ocean before deciding that they were feeling a little peckish and so wandered along the sand to Restaurante Praia do Tamariz.
Restaurante Praia do Tamariz is in a prime position right on the beach itself and if you are lucky you can score an outdoor table under the beach umbrellas. The menu makes the most of the location offering boat fresh seafood but also exhibits an Italian influence with a selection of pizza and pastas available which the girls duly ignored. They ordered ice cold beers, gorged themselves on fresh bread and runny cheese and then tucked into a seafood feast.
Grilled sea bass was served whole and the delicate flesh flaked apart all pearly and white. The tiger prawns were perhaps the largest prawns I had ever seen (pictured). Seared until the tails blackened on a hot grill they were split straight down the middle and served on a bed of shredded lettuce, carrot and red cabbage naked but for a squeeze of lemon. The prawns were buttery and smoky all at the same time. To accompany our seafood extravaganza a serve of crunchy chips offered a dose of fried food heaven. There is something about eating seafood by the sea which means that it always tastes fresher and is more flavoursome. The four girls wished they could bottle all that sun, sea, sand and salt and bring it back to London with them.
Details: Tamariz beach, Estoril, Portugal (Ph 214 68 1010)
Damage: Pricey
7/10
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