The Best Restaurants for Vegetarians in Ericeira
The Best 5 Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Ericeira
Traveling around Portugal as a vegetarian or vegan can be a real challenge. The Portuguese cuisine is heavily focused around meat and fish. Even their traditional vegetable soup Caldo Verde often comes with two slices of chouriçao (sausages).
And Portuguese people generally speaking just love their traditional Portuguese food. Thus there are an abundance of restaurants serving Portuguese food, most of them without any real vegetarian and vegan option. If you don’t count French fries and boiled vegetables. So if you are a vegetarian traveling around Portugal, you should be prepared to have difficulties finding restaurants offering vegetarian and vegan food.
At the same time there are a rich variety of different vegetables that are produced in Portugal, and they are all insanely flavorful. Just eating an avocado here is a real treat. Hence there is a good foundation for amazing vegetarian and vegan dining.
Since Ericeira attracts a lot of hip digital nomads and surf bums together with the more normal tourist crew, this small town comes with more Vegetarian and Vegan options than many other places around Portugal. Although we still don’t have any 100 percent vegan or vegetarian restaurants in Ericeira, there are plenty of options.
Let’s dig in!
GiG – Green is good - The No1 Vegetarian Restaurant in Ericeira
GiG certainly has the right ambition level and an endearing concept. They seek to serve innovative food, striking up the balance between the healthy and the tasty, between the old and the contemporary.
The menu consists of both vegetarian and vegan dishes, as well as some meat dishes. Everything is clearly marked, so you don’t have to hesitate or ask when ordering.
GiG is located close to the beach and in the center of Ericeira. We recommend stopping by for a healthy juice on your stroll around town, the Heart Beet being an insider favorite. The restaurant is located in an old grocery store, from which they kept some of the original details and furniture. It’s a cool place, with lots of fun details to observe for anyone with an interest in interior design.
The restaurant is small, with a few tables outside. We especially recommend getting one of those tables and sitting outside to enjoy the Ericeira vibe while eating veggie curry with banana. Their menu consists of two parts, one is called “All day” and serves up everything you need for breakfast and brunch. The other one is a set menu with starter, desserts and main. You chose two dishes for 13.95 or three dishes for 16.95.
GIG is usually busy, so be prepared to wait for a table in the peak season. The restaurant is a good place to go for breakfast or lunch. Yogurt bowls, avocado crostini, pancakes, scrambled eggs. Everything is freshly made and presented in a way that makes you want to take a photo before its time to start eating.
Among the Ericeira insiders GIG is famous for their big brunch platters. So that’s something we recommend trying.
On the flip side, the portions are a bit small and the menu is not extensive. Especially for dinner those two things can work against GiG. And since its always busy the chefs sometimes struggle to keep up with the orders and the flavors of the dishes are not always spot on.
But you should definitely give it a go. Dishes like sweet potatoes gnocchi with vegan cheese deserves a try. If you need more convincing, they also serve wine and three different vegan desserts!
Avó restaurante - The Upscale Alternative
Avó restaurante is thoughtfully decorated and the food is yummy, Avó is the obvious choice if you are looking for refined vegetarian food.
The restaurant is located overlooking a small plaza, a short walk away from the main square. The outside tables are particularly cozy when the evenings are warm. Perfect for romantic al-fresco dinning.
The ambition is to serve traditional Portuguese dishes with a modern twist. Avó has a small and eclectic menu, with vegetarian options for both starters and main course. As a vegan you can ask the cook to make the dish vegan-friendly. The plating is exquisite and the food is seriously tasty.
The restaurant is on the more expensive side by Ericeira standard. That’s the only downside we can think off. However, this can work to your advantage since it’s often easier to get a table at Avó then in many of the other restaurants around town.
Another reason to go to Avó is their wine list, they always seem to have the best wine.
Pepe Vere - When you are in the mood for pizza
Pepe Verde is located close to the library, in the heart of Ericeira. Their outdoor sitting area is hugely sought-after. The inside is equally nice, with funky decor and cozy lighting.
Fresh ingredients and punchy flavors makes this restaurant one of Ericeiras most popular. The dough is chewy and crispy just as you would expect from real Italian pizza.
Among the vegetarian options we especially appreciates the Milano and Genova. They also have a dedicated vegan pizza, a must try for all the plant-eaters out there.
Have a glass of red wine and enjoy the upbeat vacation vibe of the restaurant.
The public library is one of Ericeiras most beautiful buildings. They often have art exhibitions connected to Ericeira and the surf culture, so make sure you pay a visit when you are finished with the meal.
Red Chilli - Our Indian Favorite
If you want Vegetarian and Vegan food, you can always trust an Indian restaurant to deliver. After all, India have the largest population of vegetarians in the whole world. When you need something spicy and savory where the vegetables are the focal point, you just have to find the right Indian restaurant.
This holds true in Ericeira as well.
Full disclosure, this is the restaurant we most often go to. Maybe because it’s easier to get a table at Red Chilli than in most other restaurants in Ericeira.
Red Chilli is particularly great when you are hungry since the portions are a good size, together with garlic naan and rice you are sure to get full no matter how much you have been surfing. Red Chilli also has a good price level. Panner pakora is the best way to start the meal if you ask us. The naans taste a bit of pizza, no mystery there since Red Chilli also offers pizza. Its not only an Indian restaurant but also an Italian restaurant.
Their palak panner is great and strongly recommended. And if you want something with a bit of sting, look no further than the vegetable jalfezi and ask them to make it spicy.
On the flip side our dad (also a fan of Indian food) had an uninspired vegetable curry here one time. We hope it was just a bad day for the chef. The Dahl Makahni, this parade dish of Indian vegetarian food, was not as flavorful as we had hoped for. Usually all the dishes are on the salty and oily side and the design of the place is not cozy, rather standard and uninspired. Luckily the flavor in the food outweighs the blandness of the decor.
Cucina 37 - The Italian Option
Ericeira’s Italian restaurant is another great option for vegetarian and vegans. The location is perfect for people watching, being close to the main square of Ericeira. The food is classic Italian cuisine; pasta, gnocchi and risotto. Everything done with fresh ingredients and a lot of love.
The menu change a bit according to the season but their vegetarian lasagna is always on the menu. We also recommend their vegetarian main dish, grilled portabello mushroom with chèvre and cherry tomatoes. All vegetarian dishes are marked with a v, so the menu is easy to navigate. You can ask the chef for a vegan version of the different vegetarian dishes.
The small restaurant is bright and cozy, the tables outside are perfect for an early evening Negroni.
More Recommendations for best Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Ericeira
On top of the restaurants mentioned above here are some other great option for Vegetarian and Vegan food, depending on what you are in the mood for:
Sunset Bamboo Bar has plenty of vegetarian options on the menu which can all be turned vegan. It’s a cozy place with decoration in line with the name. They also do acai smoothie bowls and pancakes, and you can get your coffee with non-dairy milk. Sunset Bamboo bar is a good place for breakfast or lunch. But for dinner, the food might not be substantial enough.
Dear Rose Café is a popular hangout for Ericieras digital nomads. According to the rumor, here is where you get Ericieras best coffee and yes, they do have plant-milk. If you are a vegan their lunch is a must try. There is also vegan pastries and bowls.
If you want even more pizza head to Pizza Mobile, located with a view of Praia São Lourenço, this a busy place with a great post-surf vibe. They have several vegetarian pizzas. If you don’t want to have the Vegetariana, try the Do Chef or the Rucula. And if you are vegan you can just get those options without the cheese.
If you want sushi rest assure that all the sushi restaurants in Ericeira offer vegetarian and vegan sushi. Check out the Combi Vegi, 18 pieces for 19.90 euro at Uni sushi or the all you can eat buffet for 14.90 at Hayaci since they have a lot of vegetarian options. We also heard good things about the Vegan sushi options at Miyabi Sushi by Rodrigo Mattos. If you want more information about Ericeira’s sushi, you can read our guide to the best sushi restaurants in Ericeira.
So there you go, best Vegetarian and Vegan restaurants in town. Now go out and explore the Ericeira dining-scene and enjoy all those fresh flavorful vegetables.