Dining hours in Portugal are more or less timed, as in India to the rising and setting of the sun ... Between one and three and eight and ten, they sit down to have a meal, usually with the whole family. We had a fairly good experience with restaurants in Portugal, the simplest of them were spotlessly clean and bright. The fancier 'dressed-up' restaurants, possessed a superior air about them, but turned out meals that were quite forgettable. It was in the smaller unknown eating places that we had our finest meals. The bonus here was also having warm and friendly wait staff, who very often turned out to be owners of the restaurants. Invariably, their food & wine  recommendations were the best, and we often left the restaurant with the feeling that we may have just lunched at a friend's home.

One of the first soups on every menu was the pale green 'caldo verde', made from thinly shredded kale (collards), potatoes, onion and garlic, fortified with slices of 'linguiça'. There was always some bread (sliced bread or rolls), fresh cheese and butter on every table, which constituted the 'cover' and for which you were charged for if you chose to partake of it.

We enjoyed the cheese in Portugal and were surprised by the varieties of cheese available. We particularly enjoyed the 'queijos frescos' a soft, white, uncured cheese, more delicate than cottage cheese. It is eaten with bread, or sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar in place of sweets. Then there was the ripe 'queijo da Serra", and the 'serpa' from the town of Serpa in the Alentejo region.