Winemakers always seem to know the best places to eat. So, when Afonso and Teresa Marques, from the wonderful Vale da Capucha winery, recommended Tasca da Ti’ Augusta, a rustic restaurant perched on the sand at Porto Dinheiro beach, we added it to our list.

The tasca dates to the 1940s, when Augusta began serving food to the fishermen of Porto Dinheiro before they went to sea and buying their freshly caught fish when they returned.

Her cooking gradually turned the modest beachside tavern into a local institution. After her death, the restaurant passed to her children, Alice and Fausto, who took turns running it during the summers, and later to another Maria Augusta, a talented cook who had long helped Alice. Today, the restaurant is run by her daughter Alexandra Fanha and the extended family. It opens only from June to September.

When we called to reserve a table, we were asked to choose in advance between the two main dishes: monkfish rice (arroz de tamboril) and fish stew (caldeirada). Naturally, we ordered both.

The restaurant is only a few meters from the ocean, wedged between two massive sandstone rocks dating from the late Jurassic period. The space between them has been enclosed with bits of brickwork, canvas and fishing nets. An old wooden door bears the scars of countless winters, when the sea washes over the place. The floor is made of cement, and a corrugated roof provides protection from sun and rain. The decoration consists mostly of nets, buoys and other remnants of fishing life.

There is something wonderfully improvised about the angular architecture. It reminded us, perhaps absurdly, of Frank Gehry’s house in Santa Monica. We wondered what Gehry would make of Ti’ Augusta.

We visited on one of those rare days with almost no wind, when the Atlantic turns a deep, saturated blue. The small beach beside the restaurant accumulates banks of seaweed, and the smell of algae, salt and iodine hangs in the air, whetting our appetite.

At the entrance, a few fishermen were drinking glasses of wine. They looked as though they had wandered out of a Marcel Pagnol film and been shipwrecked on the Portuguese coast.

Inside, the restaurant was packed with locals. Long tables held families and groups of friends, all talking loudly at once. For a moment, we wondered whether authenticity might be slightly overrated. Then huge pots were carried to the tables. The noise subsided. Suddenly everyone was enjoying the food.

The service at Ti’ Augusta is friendly but assertive. When a customer asked for salt, the waitress placed a one-kilogram bag on the table and informed him that the rice was already properly seasoned. Suitably chastened, he proceeded to eat it as served.

We watched the fishing boats coming and going from the little harbor—Porto Dinheiro, literally “Money Port,” remains a working fishing port.

An enormous serving spoon sat on our table, waiting to be used. First came the fish rice. The rice was seriously addictive, and the monkfish was perfectly cooked, swimming in an intensely flavorful tomato-and-fish broth.

The caldeirada was a revelation. The traditional version of this Portuguese fishermen’s stew is deceptively difficult to cook well. Clams are placed at the bottom of the pot, followed by layers of potatoes, onions, tomatoes, peppers and different fish. Everything cooks together. The romance of the method is undeniable; unfortunately, so is the tendency for the potatoes, shellfish and at least some of the fish to be overcooked.

Not here. Everything arrived at precisely the right point: the large shrimp, the clams, the potatoes and three different fish: conger eel (safio), monkfish, and skate. We suspect that the different components were cooked separately and brought together at the end.

The sauce, made only with tomato, onion, and red pepper, had a glorious golden-red color. We appreciated the absence of green pepper, which so often gives the sauce an unappetizing grey cast. Alongside came a large plate piled with slices of fried bread, ready to absorb every last drop of the sauce.

The portions at Ti’ Augusta are monumental, and regulars arrive with containers for the inevitable leftovers. Seeing that we were novices, the restaurant supplied one. The next day, our leftovers became a magnificent fish soup.

The temperature by the sea was so pleasant that nobody seemed in any hurry to leave. Around us, people lingered over slices of melon, small pots of chocolate mousse, and plates of egg pudding scented with lemon.

The only stars at Tasca da Ti’ Augusta are the ones in the night sky over Porto Dinheiro beach. But the food shines.

Tasca da Ti’ Augusta is located in the Porto Dinheiro beach. You can call 919200397 to make reservations.