Buzio

This seafood restaurant has been around for more than half a century, situated in the little seaside village of Colares, not far from Sintra (about 40 km from Lisbon). The seafood is certainly dazzling fresh, the shellfish kept alive in large tanks at the back of the restaurant, the fish mostly caught that day by local fishermen. The dining room is very simple indeed; you cannot quite see the water from the dining room due to a building in front of it, but the beach is partly visible, and you are only yards from the ocean.

A "local crayfish" as described on the menu and by the waiter was in fact a spiny lobster. This is actually a delicacy in France and I am advised by a very knowledgeable friend that this costs EUR 50-80 a kilo wholesale and so the price of EUR 90 was very fair. The shellfish was simply boiled and was very fresh, just out of the tank and quite lively; it was cooked a little longer than ideal but had excellent flavour (13/20 only because of the overcooking). A local "sea bass" was actually some other local fish (a language barrier issue as I don't speak Portugese) but was nicely grilled. There was a very simple salad of lettuce and tomatoes (which at least tasted local and had good flavour) and some soggy chips, which was a shame given how good the seafood was. The bill was well over £50 a head for lunch, mainly due to the spiny lobster, with two courses and no wine. This is hardly a tourist trap, and there were hardly any diners when we went, so at these prices it would seem not many locals are willing to pay for the top quality seafood on offer.