A lower floor with food in pots and cans, an upper one where there will be no menu (but changing “experiences”), and even a terrace with a stage. The «Faina», which opens in April, will be the restaurant of the Portimão Museum and intends to combine two aspects: gastronomy and cultural programming.
The Rio Arade will be the backdrop for a place that was never really in operation, but which now also wants to be, in part, an extension of the Museum.
In fact, the location of the space, right next to the Arade, was preponderant for Emídio Freire, the future Head, bet on this restaurant. “It is a place with a lot of potential. We want to invigorate this area, with the restaurant serving as an anchor to secure people. Anyone who goes to the Museum can come here, have lunch, for example. It will be positive for both," he tells the Sul Informação.
The first sample of what the «Faina» will be has already been given: the Head Emídio made two dishes, served at lunch last Saturday, March 4, as part of the “Fazer Render o Peixe” initiative, which is part of the 365 Algarve, and in which contemporary art and gastronomy intersect around the sea and the Algarve's culture.
A sweet potato cream and roasted peppers opened up the hostilities, followed by an octopus tempura with sprouts bras. All with the “hand” of Emidio. In the glasses: Algarvian rosé Malacca wine. For dessert, the proposal was from Head Francisco Siopa, with a pavlova stuffed with lemon mousse.
There was no lack of honey and almonds, which later, almost at dinner time (18:30 pm), were the "king" and "queen" of a recipe statement by the Head Siopa.
Returning to the work: the canning past of the area that now houses the award-winning Museum of Portimão will not be forgotten in the restaurant. “We're not just going to have canned food on the menu, but we're also going to stop by,” reveals Emídio, laughing.
The restaurant's name itself refers to activities linked to that past and was not chosen at random. “I wanted a name that was associated with working together at sea. The word “faina” stays in the ear: people can memorize and even pick up the name to include it in conversations», explains Emídio. Thus, people from Portimo, from the Algarve (and beyond), will be able to, imagine, “go to work”, without leaving their chair.
This tribute will also be noted when serving meals, such as lunches, in cans or lunch boxes. “The idea is to have a place for the worker to come and take a break. We want to give soul to the place and create a concept for people to come here and relax», he adds.
All this, in addition to the «small lunches with a special menu», is reserved for the lower floor, which will be open all day, just like the terrace.
On the second floor, the idea is to create a different space for “maximum 25 people” to enjoy experiences that will be changed “every week or every 15 days”. “Everything will be closely related to local, seasonal products and linked to the Mediterranean diet,” says Emídio. The ingredients will be joined by a twist do Head and is “ready to serve”.
For José Gameiro, scientific director of the Museu de Portimão, the goal is for the restaurant to be a kind of «gastronomic room in the museum». Even because the idea of Head Emídio is "to reach all kinds of audiences". Here is included the cultural program that will exist on the weekend, for example with music.
As for the equipment of the future «Faina», space that has been idle since the opening of the museum, «some modifications» were needed, since the technical aspect of this future kitchen will be «more elaborate».
For now, the only Head it will really be Emídio Freire, but in the future “I won't be able to be alone here”, a smiling perspective. «When you have a Chef, it's just his idea. I want to have more people and work as a team», he explains. As with the toil. The restaurant, in Emídio's expectations, will create “six or seven jobs”.
Saturday lunch turned out to be not just the first one made by the future Head No. his «Faina», served with the sun reflecting off the placid waters of the Arade, to make “the fish yield” in Portimão.
On the same day, as part of that initiative, the exhibitions “Bivalvia” by Beatriz Lobo, “Uma casa Portuguesa” by Miki Leal and “Na Mesa” by Bela Silva were also inaugurated at the Museu de Portimão.
The works now occupy the entrance hall of the Museum and have not forgotten the Algarve. For example: for Beatriz Lobo's tile mural, the landscapes of bivalve nurseries on the Ria de Alvor contributed a lot.
Miki Leal, on the other hand, explores, in his pieces, which make a full service of crockery, the shapes of the pita fig, which has a strong expression in the Eastern Algarve, while the small sculptures of “Na Mesa” are inspired by regional sweets algarvia and its forms.
The day before - Friday, the 3rd - was the reputed Head Galician Fernando Agrasar del Rio, Michelin star since 2010, and co-founder of the “As Garzas” restaurant, in charge of the kitchen. The menu included an entrée of truffled potato foam and octopus slices, followed by a fish and seafood soup.
For main dishes there was no lack of scallops, with parmentier mushrooms and black truffles, and hake with tear peas in crab sauce. an apple in gin tonic and an unlikely dessert of spaghetti carbonara closed the letter.
And so “Render o Peixe” was made… already thinking about going to “Faina”.
See more photos of this lunch and the future restaurant:
Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação
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