Loki Restaurant

Loki is a very small restaurant in the centre of Portimão, in the western Algarve, opened in late 2019 by chef João Marreiros. There is no written menu: guests are served a surprise tasting menu of around eleven dishes, built each day from whatever is freshest.

The chef, who grew up in the nearby Monchique hills, works almost exclusively with produce from the Algarve, from the sea and the estuary to the countryside and the mountains. He forages for wild herbs, seaweed and mushrooms, buys from small producers he knows personally, and makes staples such as bread and butter from scratch. Fermenting and ageing are used to deepen flavour and preserve ingredients, and the wines also come from the region.

In 2024 the Boa Cama Boa Mesa guide, published by the newspaper Expresso, gave Loki its Sustainability award, presented that year to ten Portuguese restaurants that stand out in defending and promoting sustainability.

Dinner is served by reservation only, and with so few places it is wise to book well ahead. The restaurant is on Rua Vasco Pires, a short walk from Portimão's riverside; the town has a railway station on the Algarve line and is easy to reach by car.