FOOD
MOLHO NO FOGO
CONCON
FEIJÃO DA TERRA
MOREIA FRITA
This is a regional delicacy, one of the most typical dishes in Principe. You will probably have to order beforehand or on the previous day, it is usually not on the menu. It is cooked with dry and fresh fish, which are the main ingredients. It includes vegetables such as eggplant or red peppers. It is cooked in a delicious onion, pepper and tomato base, very used in the Island’s recipes, and instead of olive oil the traditional and delicious palm oil is the star of the pan.
The most cooked and appreciated fish on the Island. The concon is the most captured fish in Principe, and it is stars on plates all around. It is cooked in the grill, on a tasty marinade sauce made with lime juice, palm oil and red peppers and spices. It is served with the typical fried banana bread that gives the dish a very special and unique taste. Besides the concon, there are other fish that are also served, but this one is the favourite.
This is the name given to the typical lunch served in restaurants around town. It includes the traditional red peppers and the palm oil. Also the spices used in most of the Island’s dishes. It is served with rice on a soup bowl, so you can enjoy the tasty sauce that comes in abundance. This dish can be found in almost every restaurant that serves lunch, you will actually have trouble finding another dish at this hour.
PASTÉIS DE PEIXE
This is a delicious appetizer. You will only find them on the street, sold by women or children during the day, and also in the market. It is pastry filled with dry fish, spices and red pepper. They are cooked at around 11 a.m. and at the end of the day they should be hard to find.
The Calulu is one of the best known dishes of the Island. Cooked with meat or fish, it is a delicacy that the locals do appreciate. Besides the protein element, the fish or the meat, the other main ingredient that stars on the dish is the okra. The red peppers and the palm oil, as well as some herbs found in the forest, also figure in the recipe. It is also a festive dish, so you should order beforehand.
Delicious and simple. The fried moray eel is cut in clean cubes, covered with corn flour and egg yolks and deep-fried. It is not hard to find, but you have to go to the fishing villages by the sea. It is served with roasted bread-fruit, right on the fire, and it is sprinkled with lime juice. When, right before lunch-time, you see a fisherman coming from the sea with fish, ask him to meet up later with a serving of fried moray eel – it will be unforgettable.
WHERE TO EAT:
BELA'S FOOD-STAND - The best food-stand in town. The famous Bela, an excellent cook, cooks every dish with great passion and care – giving each one an amazing flavour. It is hard to choose the best dishes, as they are all incredible, but the specialties are the Concon, the Octopus and the Molho no Fogo. You can have lunch and dine everyday on Bela’s, except on Sundays.
Location: Behind the Mirario Pension, on the street leading from the Papagaio river bridge to the church.
PASSÓ RESTAURANT BAR - Right on the front of the Santo António bay, on this restaurant you can savour the typical dishes of the Island, but also more western dishes for the least adventurous. Its welcoming balcony offers a comfortable set to enjoy a tasty meal with a good portuguese wine or a cold beer. You usually have two choices, one meat dish and one fish dish.
Location: Right on the waterfront, close to the Papagaio River.
ROSA PÃO RESTAURANT - This place is a Cultural and Leisure Association, a place to socialize and have a drink, listen to the occasional concert and play table-football, or foosball. This place aims to let you know a little more about the culture of the Island. For both lunch and dinner you have to make a reservation. When you go make sure to ask about the Queijadinhas de Côco – a delicacy that the owner, Rosa, can make better than anyone.
Location: Right by the local radio station, the Radio Regional do Principe, behind the Government building.
CHORAMINGAS RESTAURANT - This restaurant is just outside the centre of the city. It is certainly worth the detour; the owner will receive you as if you were in her home, in a very hospitable room with table-cloths and good wine. There usually is a soup and a choice for meat or fish. A dessert is also usually on the menu.
Location: Follow the road that leaves towards Sao Joaquim, after passing the market take the road leaning to the right. Here you should ask someone, the place is to your right only 20 metres away.
JUDITINHA RESTAURANT - Here you should always order before-hand both for dinner or for lunch. You should ask for the following day’s menu and let them know you’re showing up.
Location: On the waterfront, with the bay to your left, and 20 metres after the Passô Restaurant Bar you will have a turn to your left. Take that turn, 30 metres in you will find a garage to your left, the restaurant is right next to it.
MIRARIO RESTAURANT AND GUESTHOUSE - This restaurant is on a balcony by the river. It is included in the Mirario Guesthouse and offers a choice of different dishes. You should let them know your coming the day before, or earlier in the day, and make a choice of food.
Location: In the Mirario Guesthouse, right by the Papagaio river bridge.
PALHOTA RESTAURANT AND GUESTHOUSE - The restaurant belongs to the Palhota Guesthouse, and it is the busiest at lunch-time – it is where the expatriates go for their meal. They serve lunch and dinner, but you should come in earlier in the day to let them know you’re coming.
Location: On the street leading from the port to the market, on the right in front of the church square.
It is much appreciated all over the Island. If it is not cooked properly, it has a very strong earthy taste, too strong for most westerners. It is usually braised but it is also served grilled. The giant land snail is an exotic species that today exists in large numbers. It is a plague in the forest. When you walk through the forest you will often find little piles of broken shells – the kids that hunt the snails for food leave them. You need to be careful not to eat the endemic Obo snail, somewhat similar to the exotic species.
BÚZIOS DO MATO
The braised octopus with the typical spices of the Island is a very common dish that you will not want to miss. Served with fried banana bread it comes with the octopus’ sauce that makes it surprisingly delicious. Octopus is captured regularly on the Island and it is quite abundant, so the dish is amazingly cheap. Every restaurant and food stand serves it daily, and you should definitively try it!
POLVO
A delicacy in Principe, the monkey is hunted and cooked by the locals. It is normally braised and served with rice or banana bread. The monkeys were introduced in the Island by the Portuguese and have no natural predators. Hunting is the only way the population is currently controlled. You can easily find it in restaurants across town, however you will not find it in the more touristy spots.
MACACO
This is a ceremonial dish in Principe. It takes days to prepare, not counting the time it takes to look for all the plants included in its making, that exist throughout the forest. Some cook it with more that 300 different plants, some use only 100, but nonetheless it is an intricate and hard dish to put together. It has to be ordered beforehand in one of the restaurants in Santo Antonio.
AZAGOA
The cuisine is not very diversified, as there are limited resources on the Island. There are, however, interesting influences from Africa and Portugal, and the food manages to be delicious nonetheless. Here are some suggestions on the delicacies of the Island.
CALULU DE PEIXE