How many people, I wonder, take the time to visit Caldas de Monchique and never bother to cross the road to see what's on the other side?The next time you are in the area, follow the road a little further than the turn into Caldas (heading in the direction of Monchique) and just as the last house in Caldas is on your left - the horizontal striped one - look right. You've just found Rouxinol.
We've known about Rouxinol for years because our good friend Carlos, of Carlos's Restaurant in Aylesbury, was chef there many moons ago. But for some unknown reason we never visited there until last year, just before the restaurant closed for Christmas. We were pleasantly surprised that the menu was not totally Algarvean/Portuguese, but had a quite a cosmopolitan feel (or should I say taste). This, obviously due to the influence of the owners, Stefan and Lisa Ljung, who have run restaurants in the Caribbean, Morocco, West Africa and the Canaries.
The meals at Rouxinol are not the cheapest you'll find in the Algarve, but the food and service help you draw the conclusion that this is not a restaurant that you want to save for special occassions.As Stefan is proud to state "Life is uncertain - eat dessert first". And if you like raspberries, you may just want to take Stefan at his word.
