As John Coltrane’s career evolved, his music underwent a profound transformation. He began as a virtuoso, dazzling audiences with his fluency and flair. But then, he transcended virtuosity, creating music that other players could not imagine because it came from a deeper source of inspiration.
The evolution of Ceia parallels this creative arch. From its inception, this restaurant, nestled within Lisbon’s most elegant hotel, offered unforgettable culinary experiences. But its current menu, orchestrated by a team led by chef Renato Bonfim, transcends technical skill to offer food that is new and exciting.
Titled Change, the menu is a series of culinary moments inspired by our planet and the way we interact with it. Most produce comes from Herdade no Tempo an estate in Alentejo that follows regenerative agriculture practices. Ceia transforms these products into elegies of cooking and celebrations of flavor.
We generally like to describe the tastes, aromas, and sensations that the food evokes, but Ceia’s menu is so unique that revealing too much would detract from its magic. What we can tell you is that the names of the menu entries could be titles of Coltrane tunes: Ocean, Carbon, Air, You Look but Don’t Sea, Solo.
The service at Ceia, as seamless as always, keeps the guests in a state of enchantment. Francisco Guilerme curates a pairing of rare wines that elevate every dish and Kristin Liebold offers an exquisite selection of non-alcoholic drinks.
Ceia is creating new culinary melodies from a deeper source of inspiration to feed our hunger and nourish our souls.
Ceia is located at Campo de Santa Clara, 128. Lisbon. Click here for the restaurant’s website.
The origin of alheiras (pronounced ahl-yay-ras), a traditional Portuguese sausage, is intertwined with the history of Portugal’s Jewish community during the reign of King Dom Manuel I (1495–1521).
Dom Manuel sought to strengthen Portugal’s standing in Europe by marrying the daughter of the Spanish Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. However, the union came with a condition: Portugal had to adopt Spain’s policies toward Jews, forcing them to either convert to Christianity and become “New Christians” or leave the country.
Jewish dietary laws forbid the consumption of pork, a staple of Portuguese cuisine. To avoid persecution, New Christians ingeniously created a pork-free sausage using bread, garlic, and other meats such as poultry or game. These sausages, known as alheiras (from alho, the Portuguese word for garlic), were smoked to resemble traditional pork sausages, allowing Jewish families to appear to conform to local customs.
Today, alheiras are a cherished element of Portuguese cuisine, particularly in the Trás-os-Montes region, where they originated. The town of Mirandela is especially famous for its alheiras. Although modern recipes often include pork, these sausages stand out for their distinctive flavor.
Preparing alheiras is far more complex than making traditional chouriços. To make chouriços, pork is marinated in vinha d’alhos—a flavorful blend of garlic, bay leaf, salt, olive oil, paprika, and wine—before being stuffed into casings and smoked until dry. In contrast, alheiras require meticulous preparation: a variety of meats are carefully cooked and then combined with bread and spices before filling the casings and smoking the sausages. Every detail is crucial in this labor-intensive process.
The finest alheiras we’ve ever tasted are crafted by Maria da Graça Gomes and her daughter, Rosário Buia, at Toca da Raposa in the Douro Valley. They are made with an exquisite mix of meats, including rabbit and pheasant, and seasoned with great finesse. Grilled, lightly fried in olive oil, or baked in the oven, these sausages are a culinary feast.
Toca da Raposa makes alheiras between November and January. You can place an order by calling 969951191.
Foreign residents often wonder how they’ll know they’ve been embraced as locals. A simple test involving jeropiga (pronounced zheh-roh-pee-guh), a traditional Portuguese beverage, provides the answer.
Jeropiga is made by combining grape must (freshly pressed, unfermented grape juice) with aguardente, Portuguese brandy. The brandy kills the wild yeast that lives on the skin of the grapes, preventing it from converting the grapes’ fructose into alcohol. The result is a fortified drink with an alcohol content between 16 and 20 percent that preserves the grapes’ natural sweetness. It is the perfect pairing for roasted chestnuts.
You cannot generally buy jeropiga. Farmers make it in small batches for personal consumption and to share with friends. Receiving a bottle is a clear sign that someone regards you as a local.
People rarely tell you where they got their jeropiga, but we’re happy to reveal that ours comes from our friend Raul Reis. Not content with growing the finest potatoes in Portugal, he also makes wonderful jeropiga in Sobral, a village near Lourinhã. This region is known for the excellence of its brandies, so it is no wonder Raul’s jeropiga is so great.
The ancients used to say, “In January, you see the weather for the whole year” (em Janeiro vês o tempo do ano inteiro). The first 12 days of January, called “arremedas,” were considered a burn-in period not useful for predicting the weather. Instead, the days from January 13 to 24 were thought to represent the weather for each of the 12 months ahead. For example, a rainy January 13 signals a wet January, while a sunny January 14 points to a bright February, and so forth.
As January unfolds, we’ll closely examine its clues about the weather in 2025. Regardless of the predictions, we look forward to returning to this beautiful corner of the world—and we hope you’ll join us. Happy New Year!
If you’re looking for last-minute holiday gifts, check out Bordallo Pinheiro, an irreverent Portuguese ceramics brand.
Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro, born in 1846 to an artistic family, learned to draw and paint with his father. He started his career as a cartoonist focused on political satire and then brought the same playful spirit to his ceramics work.
His cabbage-shaped tableware, exuberant animal motifs, and unique use of bright colors and textures become iconic, recognized for their artistry and distinct Portuguese flair.
These timeless pieces have been crafted in the same factory in Caldas da Rainha since 1884. But the old factory is also learning new tricks. Over the past 15 years, contemporary designers have been invited to answer the question: what would Bordallo Pinheiro design today? Their imaginative answers honor the legacy of the great ceramist, producing pieces that, like the originals, surprise and delight.
Bordallo Pinheiro ceramics bring fun and joy to our dining tables, turning every meal into a special occasion.
“When my father came home from work, he would spend hours studying military maps,” recalls Jorge Rosas, the CEO of Ramos Pinto, a port wine house founded in 1880 by his great-grandfather, Adriano Ramos Pinto. “He was searching for the perfect farm in the Douro Superior, a region he believed could produce exceptional wines like the legendary Barca Velha.”
Sitting on the floor with an old magnifying glass that had lost its handle, Jorge’s father, José António, pored over contour lines in search of flat land. He wanted to find terrain that was easier to cultivate than the steep slopes that dominate the Douro Valley. From Friday to Sunday, José António drove through rustic roads, to visit locations he had marked on the maps.
One day, crossing a remote mountain path, he found his dream farm. “Shangri-La!” he exclaimed. The estate, then planted with cereals, was called Ervamoira. It was love at first sight—a love so strong that his wife often felt jealous of the farm. Determined to buy it, José António contacted the owners in Lisbon. Despite having little attachment to the estate, they hesitated to sell a property that had been in their family for generations.
An avid trout fisherman, José António donned his fishing gear to fish in the rivers that cross Ervamoira, the Coa, and the Douro, even though he knew they had no trouts. Fishing was merely an excuse to immerse himself in the landscape, imagining the vineyards he might one day plant.
In the aftermath of the 1974 revolution, many farms were nationalized. Fearing expropriation, the owners of Ervamoira agreed to sell. Despite his family’s concerns about buying an estate amid so much uncertainty, José António seized the opportunity. “My father is a cereal killer,” jokes Jorge, alluding to how the cereal fields were soon replaced with vineyards.
At Ervamoira, José António introduced innovative viticultural practices. He assigned each grape varietal to a separate plot. Instead of using traditional terraces, he planted vines on platforms that facilitate mechanization. High-density planting forced roots to delve deep for nutrients, enhancing quality through higher polyphenol content and increasing drought resistance.
But a shadow loomed over paradise. In the early 1990s, plans resurfaced to construct a hydroelectric dam that would flood the estate. Horrified, José António fought tirelessly against this project. The discovery of a Roman tomb and ancient coins on the property provided fleeting hope, but archaeologists deemed the finds insufficient to halt the dam project.
Desperate, José António entered his wines into international competitions, receiving numerous awards. But not even these accolades could stop the project. “What now?” he wondered. “Only a miracle can save the farm,” his cousin, João Nicolau de Almeida, remarked.
Then, a miracle happened. Archaeologists discovered prehistoric cave engravings near Ervamoira. An expert who secretly evaluated the site revealed that the engravings are about 30,000 years old. It was widely assumed that outdoor prehistoric art couldn’t survive millennia of exposure to the elements. Ervamoira proved otherwise.
The discovery attracted the attention of the Portuguese media but failed to sway the government. Deliverance came from an unexpected source. A Portuguese émigré, who had been Jacqueline Kennedy’s butler, read about the engravings in a local newspaper. He shared the news with an acquaintance at The New York Times, and the newspaper published an article titled “Vast Stone Age Art Gallery Is Found but Dam May Flood It.” The story sparked an international outcry that led to the abandonment of the dam project.
Today, Ervamoira thrives. Its grapes contribute to the iconic Duas Quintas wines, made from a blend of grapes from two farms—Ervamoira and Bons Ares. The schist soils of Ervamoira, at 150 meters altitude, lend structure, while Bons Ares, perched at 550 meters with limestone soils, adds refreshing acidity.
Ervamoira’s magic is unmistakable. Nestled in the remote Douro Superior beyond the Cachão da Valeira—a region inaccessible until Queen Maria I spearheaded efforts to make the Douro River navigable—it is a gem of the Douro Valley, a dream that a miracle made come true.
Please click here for information on how to visit Ervamoira.
To find the finest place for lunch in Lisbon, you must head toward the majestic Pantheon, a baroque limestone masterpiece that took three centuries to build. The adjacent plaza, Campo de Santa Clara, overlooks the “sea of straw,’’ the stretch of the Tagus River that reflects the golden sunlight, resembling a field of wheat.
A short walk leads you to number 128, where the understated entrance of the elegant Santa Clara 1728 hotel awaits. From Tuesdays to Saturdays, the hotel’s dining room, home to the renowned Ceia restaurant, transforms into a lunch haven called Solo.
The meal begins with the comforting aroma of warm, house-made sourdough bread served with creamy butter. It continues with a starter and main course paired with a glass of wine and ends with dessert. The menu is updated every two to three weeks to reflect what is seasonal.
The starters are a testament to culinary finesse, featuring options like delicate Hamachi kissed with ponzu and coriander, requeijão–a soft cheese from the Estrela mountain–adorned with grapes and a touch of balsamic vinegar, or duck escabeche infused with the sweetness of ripe tomatoes.
The main courses are equally enticing, including choices like tender roast beef accompanied by grilled lettuce hearts and anchovy vinaigrette, creamy orzo with pumpkin, spinach, and truffles, or line-caught fish paired with pumpkin, hazelnut, and a rich bouillabaisse.
For the sweet ending, will you choose the tropical freshness of Azorean pineapple with yuzu syrup and finger lime? Or the indulgent richness of chocolate ganache with seasonal fruits?
Sharing the experience with a friend doubles the delight. The chef can split two menus, letting you savor two different starters, main courses, and desserts.
Solo’s exceptional cuisine is rooted in its “soil to table” philosophy. Most ingredients are sourced from Herdade no Tempo, a farm in Alentejo that uses regenerative and holistic practices to nurture the soil and support biodiversity. Chef Renato Bonfim and his team transform these pristine ingredients into dishes that celebrate the gifts of nature and the joy of cooking.
From the artful presentation to the gracious service and intimate ambiance, every detail at Solo turns lunch into an experience that lingers in our memory long after the last bite.
Solo is located at Campo de Santa Clara, 128. Lisbon. Click here for the restaurant’s website.
A woman named after a flower crafts enchanting wines on a farm called Serenada, which her family has owned for over three centuries. It sounds like a fairy tale, but the wines are as real as the spell they cast.
As a young girl, Jacinta Sobral had no idea she was destined to become a winemaker. In 1961, one year after getting married, her father, António Sobral, planted a vineyard at Serenada with twelve grape varietals. He crafted his wines with little more than his hands, heart, and the wisdom gained through experience. The vineyard thrived, and in 1970, he decided to plant more vines.
As for Jacinta, she wandered down a different path. She studied the secrets of chemistry and became a microbiologist. But in 2004, as António’s health began to fade, he expressed a desire to teach Jacinta to make white wine. “Anyone can make red wine, but white wine—that is art,” he said. António showed Jacinta the delicate process of decanting free-run juice while preserving the fine lees, which enhance the wine’s texture and complexity.
When António passed away in 2006, he left various properties to his other children but bequeathed Serenada to Jacinta. She felt like a spell had been cast, binding her to the vines. Determined to honor her father, she enrolled in a Master’s program in Agricultural Engineering. There, she found that her background in microbiology was like a magic key, unlocking the mysteries of winemaking. She immersed herself in enology textbooks and crisscrossed Europe to learn from other producers.
Serenada is rich in geological diversity. There are schist soils near the ancient Grândola mountain, veins of manganese and iron, and fields of clay and sand. These nutrient-poor soils stress the grapevines, prompting them to grow deeper roots in search of water and minerals. The cooling Atlantic breeze slows grape ripening, fostering complex flavors while preserving acidity. The result is wines that are fresh, balanced, and vibrant.
Unburdened by convention and free to follow her imagination, Jacinta began exploring different vinification and aging techniques, from fermenting the must in Roman clay amphoras to aging bottles in a cave once mined for pyrite, the mineral known as fool’s gold.
The most remarkable discovery came in 2017 when Jacinta submerged wine bottles 15 meters deep into the ocean. There, the bottles slept in silence, rocked by the waves and shielded from the sun’s light. Eight months later, when Jacinta tasted the wine, she was astonished. These ocean-aged wines were unlike any she had experienced—smooth, ethereal, as if blessed by the ocean’s spirit.
Serenada has a handful of rooms where you can stay, each offering a peaceful retreat surrounded by pines and oak trees. Guests can enjoy scenic walking and cycling trails, delicious meals, picnics, and wine tastings. It’s the perfect place to savor Jacinta’s mesmerizing wines that capture the essence of land and sea.
Serenada is located near Grândola in Alentejo. Click here for their website.
Covilhetes are small meat pies cherished in Vila Real, a town near the Douro Valley. Their origins date back over two centuries when they were sold at religious fairs. By the mid-19th century, covilhetes had become a staple in restaurant and café menus, often served with oven-baked rice. Their popularity has endured ever since.
In 2015, a guild was established to safeguard the authenticity and quality of covilhetes. The unique taste of these pies reflects the premium ingredients used, such as fine flour, Maronesa veal (from a breed native to the Marão mountains), and local sausages.
Though recipes for covilhetes exist, mastering the art of crafting their delicate, flaky pastry and intricate oval crust resembling planetary orbits is challenging. Fortunately, pastry shops in Vila Real’s historic district, such as Pastelaria Gomes, Casa Lapão, and Loja do Covilhete, produce daily batches of these heavenly pies, fresh from the oven, ready to delight our palates.
As we arrived at Vale da Capucha, a wine estate in Torres Vedras near Lisbon, a small, cute dog ran up to greet us. “His name is Arinto,” Manuel Marques said as he walked towards us, “all of our dogs are named after grape varieties.”
For the Marques family, producing great wine was never a choice–it was their destiny. Manuel’s great-grandfather was a winemaker, and his grandfather acquired Vale da Capucha to expand the family’s wine production. The estate was famous because it belonged to António Batalha Reis, the first director of the Torres Vedras School of Viticulture. This school taught local farmers how to graft vines onto American rootstock, protecting them from phylloxera, the disease that devastated European vineyards in the late 19th century.
Manuel’s grandfather raised his family on this farm. When he passed away, Teresa, Manuel’s mother, inherited the house and some of the land. She and Afonso, her husband, had busy lives in Lisbon, so they were unsure what to do with the property. But in 2005, the couple came for a weekend and fell in love with country life. They never returned to Lisbon, embracing their new chapter in rural Portugal.
Pedro, Manuel’s brother, had studied enology and saw immense potential in the farm’s terroir for producing high-quality white wines with significant aging potential. The estate’s proximity to the ocean fosters a cool climate, which preserves the acidity in the grapes. At the same time, the limestone-rich soil, packed with 400-million-year-old fossils, lends minerality and complexity to the wines. Manuel joined the venture as the commercial director, and a new era for Vale da Capucha began.
In 2006, the family replanted the vineyards with carefully selected white grape varieties: Fernão Pires, widely grown in the Lisbon region, and Arinto from nearby Bucelas. They also introduced Antão Vaz from Alentejo, as well as Gouveio and Viosinho from the Douro Valley. At Vale da Capucha, these grape varieties developed a distinctive profile, gaining salinity and freshness.
The family made their first wine in 2009 and released it in 2011. Another significant milestone came in 2012, when they embraced biological agriculture to fully express the land’s natural character. Today, Vale da Capucha produces around 60,000 bottles annually. They rely exclusively on wild yeast for fermentation, handpick all their grapes, and practice minimal enological intervention, allowing the wine to reveal the essence of the terroir and tell the story of each vintage.
As we walked through the farm, we saw many animals. The farm raises Alcobaça-spotted pigs, turkeys, and Bresse chickens—Paul Bocuse’s favorite breed–to supply the kitchen with wonderful organic meats.
Manuel invited us to the wine cellar to taste some wines surrounded by old barrels that testify to the estate’s rich history. We started with a 2018 blend of Arinto and Fernão Pires, which impressed us with its stunning color, freshness, and vibrant character. Then, we sampled the 2019 Arinto made from a blend of three different parcels. It has elegant citrus notes, intense minerality, and salinity. These are wines that will age gracefully, becoming more complex and refined with time.
Next, we tasted an interesting Alvarão, a playful twist on Alvarinho, a grape from the Vinho Verde region. A 2019 Fossil “palhete” followed. This wine, made with 80 percent white grapes (Arinto) and 20 percent red grapes (mostly Castelão), is what people used to drink in this region one century ago. Despite its red hue, the wine drank like a white, bursting with freshness. To finish, we sampled a 2014 Syrah—light, earthy, and with only 13 degrees of alcohol–a singular expression of this variety.
The influence of the Atlantic Ocean, with its waves crashing just eight kilometers from the vineyards, gives these wines a distinct character. No wonder they captured the attention of sommeliers and wine enthusiasts searching for something exceptional.
Lunch with Manuel, Afonso, and Teresa in the dining room of the manor house was a gastronomic feast. We were treated to delicious vegetables served with local cheese and country bread, followed by a magnificent roasted lamb and rice made from the animal’s giblets. The 2019 Arinto was the perfect lunch companion, its bright acidity enhancing the flavors of the food.
It was an unforgettable visit to Vale da Capucha, a place where winemaking traditions, organic farming, and a refined understanding of winemaking come together to produce outstanding wines.
Once a month, Vale da Capucha hosts a lunch featuring cozido, a traditional Portuguese stew, paired with their wines. It’s a word-of-mouth event eagerly awaited by those in the know. Occasionally, they announce it on their Instagram page. If you see the posting, don’t miss the opportunity to meet this remarkable family and taste wines that are bringing international acclaim to the Torres Vedras region.
Salt of Portugal 