Nevermind what Rick Stein says about Piri piri chicken in Lisbon – The Algarve is the real home of piri piri, and Guia (near Albufeira) is the undisputed capital of the dish. There are hundreds of piri piri (or frango assado) joints to choose from, but one of the best is Ramires.
Background
The restaurant has been open since 1964, when it was a small snack bar. They became famous for their chicken, grilled over charcoal and marinated in a tasty sauce. This was one of the very first piri piri restaurants that put the spotlight on Guia’s chicken.
Today they have three floors, with lots of seating and different rooms. They serve food all day, and accept reservations (although they don’t during the high season during July and August).
The experience
We walked up a flight of stairs into a bright and airy restaurant, ringing with the sounds of people eating and the low murmur of chatting. The friendly waiter offered us the option of two tables, and we seated ourselves. Because this place is so famous for chicken, the waiters usually assume this is what you’re after so it’s unlikely you’ll be given a menu. There is one on the wall outside the front door, so if you fancy something different I recommend reading it and deciding before heading in. Or (if you’re not confident in Portuguese) take a quick snap on your phone so you can point out what you’re after once you’re seated.
The food
The chicken comes with chips, but you’ll also be offered a tomato salad. We said yes, but to be honest it wasn’t as good as other salads on the Algarve so I’d say you should skip it. The couvert is also worth waving off, apart from the carrots (marinated in olive oil, garlic and coriander: yum) and the melon jam. We tried a little bit of everything but weren’t really impressed with the bread (tasted slightly stale) or olives, and I’m not a big fan of queijo fresco (fresh/cottage cheese) anyway.
The main attraction at this restaurant is definitely the chicken, which is the best I’ve had on the Algarve. We asked for it spicy (picante) and it had a little kick to it but wasn’t too hot. It was really garlicky and the skin was cooked to crispy perfection. The chips were good too, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, just the way we like ’em.
The dessert menu was split into two sections, with pre-made ice-cream treats on the top and home-made puds at the bottom. We shared a slice of the house-made tarte de alfarroba, which was absolutely delicious. It featured a layer of almond marzipan on top of a layer of dried fig cake.
Cost
We spend €29.90, which is expensive for lunch in the Algarve. We could have kept the costs down if we’d shared the bottled water, as we didn’t realise it was going to be a big one.
Our cost breakdown:
2 x Chicken piri piri: €13 (€6.50 each)
Tomato salad: €2.80
Couvert (Olives: €0.60, carrots: €0.60, queijo fresco: €1.50, sardine pate: €0.80, bread: €0.60)
1 x tarte de alfarroba: €3.90
1 x can of Coca Cola: €1.60
1 x 75cl bottle of sparkling water: €2
2 x espressos: €1.80 (€0.90 each)
Verdict
We really enjoyed our lunch in Ramires, and would definitely go back although we’d skip the salad and most of the couvert. Chicken, chips, carrots, a slice of cake, one bottle of water and two coffees would do (and would only set you back €17.40).
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