Casa de Terena

Eating

A snug breakfast room is nicely social and the window frames views of the hills. A buffet is laid out for you to help yourselves. Expect a few treats: a jug of freshly squeezed juice that comes from village oranges, homemade muffins and banana bread, freshly-baked bread from the village bakery, plates of freshly cut fruit (pineapple and papaya, melon and peaches), local honey and jams, strong coffee anyway you like it and a selection of teas. There’s ham and cheese too.

Gourmet picnics can be arranged: wine, bread, smoked local ham, cheese straight from the maker, Stella’s homemade pâtés (see also Activities for details of excursions that include packed lunches).

A four-course dinner is available by arrangement. You eat in the dining room at a 200-year-old Cape-pine table (Stella and Jeremy are both from South Africa). Stella cooks up a feast. You start with pesticos – nibbles – perhaps sweet potatoes roasted with cinnamon and honey, local salami and cheese, a bowl of olives; move on to spinach and lentil soup served with fromage frais and a slither of grilled ham; dig into leg of local lamb infused with herbs, then polish it all off with lime and vodka sorbet. If you want, you can eat down by the lake, out in the olive groves or up on the castle ramparts.

The food in the area is exceptional. Try São Rosas in Estremoz for the best grub in the area or head 30 minutes south for Redondo and into the Serra de Ossa and stop in the country at O Chana. In Redondo itself you’ll find O Barro; the food here was excellent. There’s a tascas (simple restaurant) in the village, which serves good pork and lamb. A Maria and O Chaminè are both in Alandroal (10km up the road) and both are well-respected.