Grand House Hotel’s new café will serve visitors signature handmade pastries and delicate treats in the oldest building in town 

The 5-star Relais & Châteaux Boutique Hotel Grand House in the East Algarve has opened the Grand Café, nestled within the original historic customs house known as “Alfândega” (Vila Real de Santo António’s oldest building).

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Grand Café is the revival of an icon, just 50 meters down the avenue. The new café is not only a place for delicious snacks, delicate treats, and signature homemade pastries, but it also invites you to connect with the local community, as well as fellow Grand guests from the hotel, all whilst basking in the ambiance of the waterfront promenade.

With the yacht harbour as a perpetual backdrop, the café’s prime location offers a perfect blend of liveliness and serenity.

There is a special approach to the menu at the Grand Café. Offering dishes made with tinned fish and seafood from the Ramirez brand is one of the ways the Grand Café pays tribute to the Portuguese sea and the town’s canning legacy.

In addition to freshly baked cakes and pastries, the menu also offers “Grand Delights”, such as Ramirez marinated squid or mussels with garlic, Ramirez pâté, cured ham, crisp bread, smoked salmon croissants with avocado, lemon cream cheese, salads, bruschetta, gaspacho with marinated tuna loin, “Berth” Burget with truffled sardine.

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The history behind Café Grand

In 1853, when Sebastian Ramirez established the country’s first factory for producing jute and tinned fish, he catapulted Vila Real de Santo António into prominence as the Portuguese hub of the canning industry. Ramirez not only laid the groundwork for the Portuguese canned food sector but also made a significant mark on the country’s hotel business with the creation of one of its most cherished treasures—the Hotel Guadiana.

Unveiled in 1926, it marked the initiation of tourism in the Algarve. Nearly a century later, the hotel, now known as Grand House, welcomes its guests with renewed glamour.

The Alfândega building was the first structure completed during the construction of Vila Real de Santo António. Its primary purpose was to facilitate the taxation of transactions with Spain and to deter smuggling. Flanked by 12 fishing societies, it effectively bisected the town into two symmetrical halves. The Customs House was strategically positioned to establish a definitive border between the two realms of Portugal and Spain. Essentially, it marked a clear boundary between the territories of the two nations.

Grand Café is open between 3pm and 10pm, situated at Avenida da República, in Vila Real de Santo António.

Follow Grand Café.

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