Mar a Vista seafood restaurant; approximately 1 hours drive from Lisbon
About an hours drive from Lisbon or 45 minutes by Uber from Cascais is this quaint fishing village called Ericeira. It has the pure white walled cottages and small houses so reminiscent of Santorini but not as crowded or congested. We took the scenic route on 10th December from Cascais and first did the Praio de Guincho, which is a wonderful empty (its winter) beach with beautiful surf and roaring waves. A dream place for the surfers during summer.
So, after visiting the Praio de Guincho and the Boca do Roca, the most Western point of Western Europe, we gleefully headed for Ericiera for lunch to try out what the Portuguese themselves call one of the Best Seafood Restaurants in Portugal (no kidding !).
A 'wefie' before tucking in
The Mar a Vista is a small restaurant in the centre of this fishing town. You need to book it in advance and it being winter, I guess we were lucky that there was a table reserved for us even though the hotel helped us book it that very day. I have to give the shout out to my good friend Filipe Cunha who is Portuguese and recommended us to try the once in a lifetime seafood which is really out of this world.
This restaurant does not serve any fish only shellfish (Note !)
We made the reservations for the 10th Dec (Tuesday). Oh what a treat it was !
Seafood Pot
First off we had the seafood pot which was heavenly. There were plenty of shrimp, clams, and remnants of lobster thrown into the stew with rice and garnished with some herbs. Only 1 word for it ; superb.
Grilled Prawns with a Hint of Lemon
The grilled prawns - mind you they were at least 6 inches long and 2 inches thick. It was the "best prawn we had tasted " and we have eaten plenty of prawns in our lifetime ! The doneness of the grill was just nice, the flavour was so fresh and sweet full of the genuine prawn taste. The texture was a little chewy but because of the size of the prawns, it was made up by the simple fresh sweet flavour of a freshly caught prawn (probably that morning itself). My rating : Best Prawns we have Eaten
Boiled Clams
The clam dish was always going to be an anti-climax. But my son gleefully ate up most of his and our portions. I took this picture but having eaten quite a lot of seafood in Portugal I must say this dish did not stand out as being exceptional. However in the overall quality of the food, this will rate in the 'above average category'.
My ratings for Mar a Vista (Ericiera) :
Food : 5.0 out of 5.0 (first time I have ever given a perfect score)
Really the best and freshest seafood so tasty and simple that there could be no better way to serve fresh caught seafood.
Ambience : 3.8 out of 5.0
it has a very homey feel to it, and all the patrons are local, so I guess the need for a top notch interior does not figure highly into their plans
Service : 3.8 out of 5.0
Nothing exceptional, and the Maitre' D or the guy who was recommending us the dishes to eat had a very laid back and rather sanguine attitude to serving us. Which is a bit of a shame.
Price : for the 3 of us food and 1 Sauvignon Blanc the bill came to a rather steep EUR 120.
No rating given for this.
Overall Score : 4.2 out of 5 Excellent food
To go if ever again I am in Portugal : YES
MAR A VISTA
Rue de Santo Antonio
16,2655-360 Ericeira
Portugal
Tel : 261 862 928
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