Gastronomy

To Live the Area

Fundamental to this region is the sea, and so it is natural that the most popular dishes and those in which hotels and restaurants take the most pride are, the delicacies based on fish and on seafood. The fish is frequently caught with the rod or bought from the daily catch at Cascais or Ericeira, and the seafood is meticulously bred in hatcheries along the rocky coast. To the north of the "Serra of Sintra", meat dishes are also much appreciated, and it is worth giving a special mention, for example, to the now famous "leitão de Negrais" (Negrais suckling pig). As far as desserts are concerned, no visit to Sintra is complete without a taste of the memorable "queijadas" (a kind of cake with pastry and a cheese cream) or the always hot "travesseiros" (a kind of cake with pastry and egg and almond cream).

The region's winemaking tradition goes back to the time of the Romans. Given the combination of favourable factors - exposure to the sun, the quality of the soil - ecological microsystems have developed which in Carcavelos make it possible to produce a full-bodied wine that rivals the traditional Port and in Colares to produce a table wine from the Ramisco varietal. In Carcavelos less is produced than before, but in Colares and in Almoçageme, thanks to the temperate influenced by the sea and the mountain, a wine tasting session at the Adega Regional (Regional Wine Cellar) is a tasty moment not to be missed!