Meet the Family

Retiro do Camponês tells the story of a family of farmers who are all passionate about both food and people. That’s all Teresa and João needed to start their venture – running a café out of the stables at their farmhouse, which quickly grew into a restaurant. The creative, entrepreneurial couple would then spend two decades shaping their space, innovating and adding, but always keeping the restaurant’s rural vibe, maintaining a traditional restaurant with a kitchen full of high quality, local products from the Algarve.

21 years later, their 5 children tell the story of a couple who were completely in love with making good food and taking people in. The tradition that unites the family, rooting them in their values, is carried forwards by João, Zé and Catarina, who continue to invest in the family legacy, continually falling in love with this way of life.

Each table is filled with the spirit of both the countryside and the Algarve, through the flavours, smells and textures that take us on a journey back to the roots of generations of grandparents past. Although traditional, each dish is finished with a touch of refinement and detail, provided by Teresa's signature recipes.

Teresa

the cook, the mother, the roots

A passion for cooking; for keeping traditions alive; for flavours and refining the palates of dishes; and for spending time with people are what keep her going.

"Knowledge about life comes from the stories that are given and received". It is within this exchange that Teresa finds the tools to add to and perfect the alchemy of the dishes she cooks with love and care, to comfort stomachs, stimulate senses with delicious sensations and leave a smile on the face of anyone who tastes them.

João

THE INTERMEDIARY BETWEEN THE KITCHEN AND THE DINING ROOM, THE OLDER BROTHER, THE CORE

It’s a privilege to take part in every step, from choosing and buying the products and making them into a dish – cutting and seasoning them, and watching as they are transformed, to managing how they are served, right up until they’re placed on your table. That is what it means to be truly present. Knowing the products, how to choose them, how to prepare them, tasting them, serving them and meeting people.

Zé

COORDINATION AND INNOVATION, THE MIDDLE BROTHER 

Knowing how to welcome people is like learning the steps to a complex dance that takes place as the customer is served – you have to keep in time with the different rhythms that will guide the steps between pauses and advances; between dialogues and silence. This is what makes you feel at home – it puts you at ease in the perfect environment. Serving tables and a love for cooking is what helps us to coordinate, plan and predict the next steps.

Catarina

HELPS TO SERVE TABLES IN HER FREE TIME, THE YOUNGEST SISTER

"This is where the family comes together, it’s a perfect meeting point between work and family, where work is satisfaction." That’s where they sweat, they run, they are united, they communicate, they cooperate.

The detail and the professional methodology put in place to ensure that the restaurant improves continuously are the two factors that best characterise it. It is the fuel that drives and motivates the brothers to want to give the best they have to offer.