21/9/24 – 26/9/24
Where We Stayed:
Muthu Clube Praia da Oura, Albufeira
Rua Oliveira Martins Praia da Oura, Albufeira 8200-619 Portugal
MGM Muthu Clube Praia da Oura is a very short walk from Praia da Oura, a beautiful beach on the Algarve. The hotel complex is huge, with self-catering apartments and rooms. We stayed in a self-catering apartment, which had an open plan dining and living area, separate kitchen and upstairs there was a bathroom and double bedroom. Outside there was a terrace area with picnic table.
We had the bed and breakfast option, though all-inclusive is available. The breakfast buffet was good, with bread, potato, hash browns, baked beans, fresh fruit and mushrooms available. There was also soya milk (leite da soia) available. We spotted vegan Philadelphia in a local supermarket so also bought that to have with our toast.
Rua 1°Dezembro Porta 27A, Albufeira, Portugal
Veggie Momi is a fully Vegan restaurant in Albufeira town. There was so many aspects of this restaurant that made it my favourite – it’s fully vegan and the menu includes both Portuguese dishes and others, the beautiful logo on the window, it’s small but plenty of tables and the decor highlights animal rights. There are also gluten free and soy free options that are highlighted on the menu.
We had the Traditional Portuguese soya chourico to start with lovely fresh bread. It was delicious. For main I had the Portguese Alheira, a sausage with inedible skin and soya meat with olives and peppers. Ollie had the Special Soya Curry. Both dishes were really tasty and the portions were huge. We somehow managed to fit in dessert, we had to after we found out the option was vegan pastel de nata. It was incredible, and I’m so happy I got to have a vegan version of this iconic Portuguese dessert. The pastry was en pointe, the filling delicious and the twist on the top with the vegan cream with cinnamon was delightful. Our only regret was we only came here once and it was the last day of our holiday. If our accommodation had been closer, we would have made our way through the whole menu, this place is really special.
N.B This restaurant is cash only, though there is a cash machine a short walk away.
R. Latino Coelho 42, 8200-123 Albufeira, Portugal
Sugar Rabbit Kaffe is a small vegetarian cafe in old town Albufeira. Most options on the menu are vegan but there are a number that are not, this cafe is noted on Google as vegan, so I wanted to stress this is incorrect. Oliver enjoyed the Sugar Rabbit burger – beyond meat burger with vegan cheese, vegan mayo, side salad and sweet potato chips. Tasty.
I had a lovely ice coffee and we had great vegan desserts – vegan nutella cupcake and vegan chocolate banana bread. It’s a great little spot, I would definitely return if I had the opportunity.
Avenida Sa Carneiro No 1 («The Strip»), 8200-340 Albufeira, Portugal
Above the obnoxious hubbub of The Strip in Oura, there is a little sanctuary in the form of The Market Restaurant and wine bar. An upmarket restaurant with an emphasis on using local produce, The Market also has a separate vegan menu with fantastic options.
We started off with fresh bread with vegan butter, the selection included lemon bread, olive bread, and plain but still tasty bread. Ollie went for the grilled tofu with chips and I had the pumpkin and seitan raviolacci. Whilst the portions are not over the top, it’s great food and thoughtfully prepared. Another evening, I returned for dessert whilst Ollie was watching a football match in bar. I had the Vegan Chocolate Cake with Sauteed pear and prickly pear sorbet, it was well worth the return visit, it was like three desserts in one, the sorbet had that distinct prickly pear flavour, which perfectly complemented the chocolate cake and pear. All dishes were presented beautifully, including the dessert with edible flowers.
Our first visit we were seated inside, and couldn’t hear the thumping music of The Strip, on my dessert visit, I was seated outside and was pleasantly surprised that it was hardly audible hear too, despite the loud bar on the other side of the road. The staff were great and clearly had a knowledge of veganism, as when offering the cocktail menu, our waiter noted that some cocktails were made with egg white.
Av. Dr. Francisco Sá Carneiro, nº 18, Páteo da Aldeia Building, Sands of São João, Oura,
8200-240 Albufeira, Portugal
Just off the main strip (as in, noisy street with lots of bars), is Senhor Frog’s, a pizza and pasta place with lovely staff and vegan cheese offered for a little extra price. We went twice, first having vegetable calzone with vegan cheese, they were stuffed full with veggies, and it was tasty.
The second time we had a regular vegetable pizza with vegan cheese, I added pineapple, this was also very good, and the base was really good, doughy but not too soft and the perfect depth.
Oura – Rua de Dunfermline, Albufeira 8200-391 Portugal
Albufeira Marina – Alameda da Orada, 8200-394 Albufeira Marina, Portugal
Fat Cat’s has two branches, one in Oura and one overlooking Albufeira Marina. It is a British style pub, the type of place I’d usually avoid on holiday. However! This one has a difference, a little vegan menu, with tasty home-made options.
We went to the Oura branch and shared some nachos with home-made vegan chilli and after a boat trip, we visited the branch on the Marina. I had a home-made bean burger and Ollie had the spaghetti. Staff were lovely and helpful too.
Albufeira Sushi/Inazuma Sushi, Oura
40A, Estr. de Santa Eulália, 8200-269 Albufeira, Portugal
This little ‘all you can eat’ – really eat 6 dishes per person for a set price was a nice choice, and a bargain. We picked out 12 dishes and shared everything between us. We got miso, edamame, various nigiri and unusual but delectable mango and avocado sushi, fried pumpkin, Japanese samosa and spring rolls. Dishes are not labelled vegan and some dishes labelled as vegetarian contain non vegetarian ingredients, I would take the approach of either asking staff to double check if dishes were vegan.
La Boca, Oura
Av. Sá Carneiro, 8200-184 Albufeira, Portugal
We stopped by this little fast-food place on the strip in Oura as we were looking for a quick bite to eat and they were advertising a vegan burger. It did the job, was good value for money with a generous side portion of chips included. The burger was vegetable and spinach based.
Supermarkets and shops
Av. Sá Carneiro 35, 8200-340 Albufeira, Portugal
Amongst other tempting treasures, this shop sells vegan shoes from the brand Natural World. I have a hard time finding shoes – I want them to fit, be ethically made and vegan. Sometimes this means ordering online, but with shoe sizes often inconsistent and with one foot slightly bigger than the other, this makes it risky and frustrating, so it was awesome to be able to try shoes on. The owner Martin was really helpful and I treated myself to a pair of new sandals and some canvas shoes too. They are super comfy and just what I was looking for but putting off buying online.
We popped into some supermarkets to see what they had on offer and as well as nice looking fresh fruit and veggies (including fresh prickly pears!), there were various vegan labelled items such as cheeses, bread and butter. We also found vegan biscuits in a Spar shop on the Marina and an independent supermarket near the top of the Strip in Oura.
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