Restaurant Mãos de Horta — Restaurant in Castelo Branco

Beautiful restaurant in the old part of Castelo Branco. It has a lovely shaded courtyard out back and the day we were there they had a small arts and crafts market on.

The food is mainly vegan, organic and locally grown. There is one set menu per sitting, and we had bread and olives and a delicious vegetable soup to start. The main was a bean wrap, stir fried barley, a beetroot slaw and poached cabbage with black onion seeds - all exceptional, the flavours really complimented each other and the presentation was excellent. There was a choice of 4 desserts, bizarrely no vegan option, which is why i only gave 4 stars. There was a rice pudding which could easily have been made with plant based milk, plus maybe the option of a fruit salad?

They were having staffing issues the day we were there and the service was a bit slow. One person doing front of house and waiting tables. However, he was super professional and made it seem like he was just giving us time to chat and savour the food. We only learned later about the...

A chilly and dark night in Castelo Branco was warmed and brightened by the hearth, good food and spirits at this lovely Vegan establishment.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a meat eater, but how could one resist the full course vegetable platter their serves as the House Special.

The presentation is lovely, served with a locally sourced-ingredient soup before bringing out large plates with multiple dishes served in concert.

There is a nice fire place and the interior is decorated in the Medevial style one might expect in this Ancient Templar’s town.

Best of all, the 3-course meal for 2 was less than 20 EUR (with drinks!)

Vegan or not you’ll want to make...

Historic building beautifully restored, parking, lighting, temperature, staff all good, the food was acceptable and different to typical Portuguese fayre but there wasn't a lot of it, I had to eat something when I came home.

My big problem, and the reason I won't go again, is the volume of the background music, a saxophone accompanied by an electronic backing tape, it was just too loud, conversation was almost impossible, why do this? I have eaten dinner in Warsaw with a string quartet playing live and it wasn't this loud. Tell your cousin to go busk somewhere else and stick to the food.

Average price is going to be 21 euros PP without...