Museu do Arroz | The Comporta Factory Turned Restaurant

Enjoy Comporta cuisine at Museu do Arroz, an original place bursting with history

Museu do Arroz restaurant is located in Herdade da Comporta in a building that has once served as a rice mill factory. The building was restored in 2006 to be used as a tourist attraction. The restaurant is also known as Isabelinha’s, referring to the owner, Isabel Carvalho. Because it combines good food with a relaxed atmosphere, it became one of the trendiest places in the region.

The restaurant was born after the idea of transforming the old factory into a museum dedicated to the office of processing rice was abandoned. It started as a petiscos (Portuguese finger food) house but it was rapidly converted into a restaurant. After the 2006 restoration, the old terrace and the overall rustic look gave way to a modern space, with a mezzanine at the back where the Sushi Lounge is located.

Just as the name suggests, the Museu do Arroz specialty is, indeed, rice, served malandrinho and out-of-the-stove-hot in a clay pot. Rice is everywhere on the menu, and the starters list is no exception, where the soy sauce rice cakes are pride of place.

There are also several “rice pots”, like the Sea, the Lobster, the Codfish, the Duck and the chicken Cabidela ones.

Besides the rice-based dishes, the menu at Museu do Arroz has much more to offer. We recommend starting the meal with a cocktail - try the blueberry caipirinha, the mojitos, or the margaritas. Then, you can move onto the dogfish soup, the scrambled eggs with flour sausage or the squid a la algarvia. Now the main dishes - there’s fish cataplana, chipped cod, Iberian black pig secretos, and lamb chops.

As a complement, ask for one of the wines from the long list in which the Herdade da Comporta and the Dona Maria stand out. For the grand finale, try one of the region’s traditional sweets. There’s the traditional rice pudding, crème brûlée, stewed nuts, egg-soaked bread, and the blueberry pie.

Address: Estrada Nacional 261 Km 0, 7580-612 Comporta

Telephone: (+351) 265 497 555

Opening and closing times: 12:30 to 4 pm - 7:30 to 11 pm

Website: http://www.herdadedacomporta.pt/pt/restaurantes/museu-do-arroz/

Photo credit: Boa Cama Boa Mesa