Valentine’s Dinner at Willie’s

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Since many years Willie’s in Vilamoura is well known among the top gastronomic spots in the Algarve. Nevertheless until today we never managed to dine there – the only “white spot” on our Algarve map of restaurants awarded with stars by Guide Michelin. When we tried to go there a long time ago, we could not find it , because neither Google Maps nor smart phones with GPS did exist at that point in time. And this year in January when we wanted to celebrate my birthday there, Willie’s was closed like most other top restaurants around. The more expectantly we went there today for Valentine’s dinner.

The restaurant is situated in a nice older residential area in the heart of Vilamoura near the hotel Hilton As Cascatas and the Pinhal golf course. We immediately felt welcome entering the tasteful ambience of the dining room with only ten tables. A special 5 course Valentine’s menu was on offer for less than 100 € including a corresponding selection of wines, but we decided to eat à la Carte to experience a variety of dishes – as starters we had Crab meat with avocado and grapefruit, scallops on a beetroot Carpaccio and a Bouillabaisse, as main course Coquilles Saint Jacques on truffled rice and a Tournedos with Rösti, finally Crêpes Romanoff with strawberries and cinnamon ice cream. The menu was accompanied by a Rosé wine from the Douro region, Quinta do Vale Dona Maria.

After the excellent dinner we had the opportunity to say hello to Chief Willie Wurger in his kitchen and to congratulate him on the quality of his cuisine and the very personal service by his maître Carlos. The evening measured up to our high expectations, and we will return on special occasions.