The best restaurants São Vicente

As the name aptly suggests, it's all about seafood! Right across from the harbor, you can savor typical cuisine. Shrimp, lobster, fried or grilled catch of the day and steaming caldeirada are cooked to perfection, but there are also snacks, tapas and grilled meats to satisfy every craving. Live music concerts are held almost every day. You can check out the monthly program on their website, but nothing beats the surprise of a Cape Verdean artist.

Étienne and his wife run an excellent restaurant appreciated by Cape Verdeans and foreigners alike. With the help of his team, Étienne has perfected dishes inspired by Cape Verde and the Mediterranean, with a touch of Africa in reference to Burkina Faso, the chef's country of origin. The result is a delicious cuisine based on local products such as octopus, always tender, and carefully selected shellfish. We also love the flower-filled terrace under the pergola, the rustic setting and the location just a stone's throw from the sandy beach.

Right in the historic center, housed in one of the island's oldest colonial houses, Metalo, with its La Scène M space, offers an authentic culinary and musical experience in the heart of Mindelo. You can discover the very essence of Cape Verdean culture in the grogues bar. The cuisine features 100% local produce for tasty, unique dishes. With live music performances every day, you can enjoy an immersive experience in the heart of São Vicente, combining tasting and discovery.

Elvis Gomes and Zoé run a crêperie-bar on the beach, a kind of cabanon that enjoys a perfect oceanfront location. The place is ideal for kitesurfers and hikers looking for a break after the joys of sport. Generous and attentive, Elvis concocts tasty snacks such as chocolate banana pancakes, as well as more substantial dishes (grilled fish, octopus, moray eel...), all at very reasonable prices. You'll appreciate this moment of peace overlooking the sea, with your toes fanning out in the sand.

Loutcha is an institution in Mindelo, everyone knows it. It serves traditional Cape Verdean cuisine and the barley cachupa is delicious and among the best in Mindelo. The menu offers a very wide choice of dishes at competitive prices. We recommend the cabri stew or the red mullet soup, which are very good. For dessert, try the coconut pudding, the house specialty. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays evenings, a music band animates the evening and you are invited to shake it up, the atmosphere is festive.

Close to the Belém Tower, this restaurant on the top floor of a waterfront building is one of Mindelo's liveliest, with its straw hut-style decor. Go there to enjoy the exotic setting of palm trees and bamboo surrounding the dance floor. As for the menu, it offers pure Cape Verdean cuisine of the highest quality (organic produce, seafood, cod, etc.). The dishes are tasty and hearty, and Maria's team is highly experienced. You can also enjoy a drink in the evening, listening to the music while admiring the sunset.

The setting? Magnificent! In front of the pool, with a panoramic view of Mindelo Bay. The concept? Environmental! Here, we pride ourselves on sourcing products as closely as possible, using as few fossil fuels as possible and focusing on organic produce. As for the dishes, chef Lala offers a wide range of options (meat, fish, vegetarian) and brilliantly invents her own compositions. For a convivial dinner with friends, for example, original tapas are the perfect accompaniment to aperitifs. Whatever you choose, the magic happens.

Close to Laginha beach, the U Sabor restaurant offers cuisine with American, Cape Verdean and, above all, Italian influences. Pasta and bruschetta à la carte, of course, but also the best pizzas in town, topped with fresh produce straight from the oven. And for those with a sweet tooth, their "little cake" dessert is a poem! The setting is idyllic, overlooking the bay, and the atmosphere festive. It's also a great place to come and watch a match on their giant screen while sipping a drink. We love U Sabor!

A view of the sea while eating, a beautiful sunset while sipping um caipé (caipirinha), is tempting? If so, head to Nanda's Place, where the atmosphere is so good-natured that it almost feels like family. On the menu, you'll find a wide choice of dishes, from sharing platters to pizzas for all tastes, as well as meat and fish dishes such as maracuja pork and seafood rice, to name but a few.

On the coastal avenue, Casa Café Mindelo is an old Portuguese building nicely restored with a large lounge with red wooden floor. It is known for its excellent cachupa, but especially for its cultural events and live music played almost every night. The place has become a must-see tourist spot in Mindelo, but locals still frequent it and the food and atmosphere live up to its reputation. A selection of tapas, including chouriço and caldo, can satisfy a small hunger at any time.

Frequented by the locals, the atmosphere is typically portuguese. Small terrace overlooking the rue Lisboa.

In a landscape made of rocks and dirt, a little in the middle of nowhere, stands the Hamburg, a small traditional restaurant, with kitsch decoration, which offers good fish. After a walking tour of the volcano, it is nice to have a drink to relax in this blue house. However, take your time because the wait is often long, but the copious dishes (a tasty moray eel for example) come to compensate for what is seen as an inconvenience for some, normality for others. Good value for money.

Didier welcomes you for breakfast and lunch, or simply for a drink, in a shady patio next to the French Alliance. A pleasant place to take a break. You can also consult the cultural activities and festivities program.

A kind of local canteen where regulars and curious visitors mix, this restaurant is above all famous for its beautiful atmosphere and its very coveted live concerts. As for the cuisine, it offers a rather good Cape Verdean and Italian menu with pizzas galore. The plates are large, the portions generous and a buffet is sometimes set up at lunchtime, satisfying all appetites. Try it, if only to drink a honeyed grogue or a homemade caipirinha while listening to music. After all, it's called the Cocktail...

Close to the municipal market, the Gaudi restaurant serves Cape Verdean and Portuguese dishes, as well as African and European specialities in a family atmosphere. Fish and seafood, meat dishes and local cheese are all on the menu. The Gaudi is also a brasserie and prepares sandwiches, salads and pastries throughout the day. There are no bad surprises here, and you get away with a rather honest bill. And as everywhere in Mindelo, live concerts are scheduled at the end of the week.

For a change from Cape Verdean cuisine, why not opt for the Italian cuisine that is in the spotlight here: in addition to pasta and pizza, one of the specialities is bruschetta, which you can compose yourself and choose the length. Or you can confidently choose the other dish that is a huge success, namely the tuna and citrus fruit puff pastry. For dessert, we finish with the curious chocolate salami. The terrace is pleasant, with comfortable armchairs, and a guitarist is brought in at night to make sure you have a good time.

It's no coincidence that Italians, specialists in ice cream, are frequent visitors to this artisanal gelateria. It has to be said, too, that the owners are experts in the field. The range of flavors on offer is extensive (morango sorbet, coffee, tropical fruit and tutti quanti), available individually in cones or in the form of blended cups with a variety of homemade toppings. But you can also find other sweets (cocada, pastel de nata) to enjoy at any time of day with a cup of coffee.

If you're short of inspiration on a Sunday, when almost everything is closed, head to Calhau for the Chez Loutcha buffet. This is a familiar meeting place for lovers of local cuisine, in a festive atmosphere, with live music and the sea as a backdrop. Cape Verdeans and tourists alike are always keen to take part in the experience, eat well and, above all, dance to African rhythms. To reach the place, it's very easy: a shuttle is available free of charge, like a Sunday excursion.

Run by Marcia, Cusinha D'Terra is a typical gargote, as we like them, with musicians who come and play non-stop on Friday nights. The menu is very basic: salted fritters, soups, fish, chicken, flambéed bananas... perfect for a no-frills lunch. If you don't want to eat there, it's also an accessible space to have a caipirinha or a drink at the counter, surrounded by friendly regulars. Or why not have a breakfast of cachupa and traditional goat cheese, just like at home.