Most British visitors to Boa Vista eat 21 consecutive meals inside an all-inclusive resort. The buffet is decent, the variety is adequate, the drinks are included, and by day four the idea of getting a taxi into town sounds like unnecessary effort. Resist that logic. The single biggest regret we hear from British guests on their second Boa Vista holiday is that they never left the resort on the first.
Sal Rei is ten minutes from most of the major all-inclusive strips, and for the price of a mid-range London starter you can have an extraordinary dinner in a pastel-fronted colonial building, with live music, a view of the harbour and a plate of fish that was in the ocean six hours earlier.
A Note on Cape Verdean Food
Cape Verdean cuisine is a creole fusion — Portuguese technique, West African spice, Atlantic fish, Brazilian and Mediterranean notes. The national dish is cachupa, a slow-cooked stew of white hominy corn, beans, root vegetables and either pork or fish, usually served with a fried egg on top. The sea does most of the other work: Atlantic tuna, wahoo, grouper, snapper and lobster dominate menus, grilled simply over wood or charcoal. The local spirit is grogue, a sugarcane rum; drink it mixed with lime and honey as a ponche rather than neat.
1. Sodade Casa da Cultura — The Grown-Up Classic
An old colonial two-storey town house at the edge of Sal Rei’s main square, converted into a restaurant and cultural venue. Live Cape Verdean music most evenings, including morna (the island’s blues-like signature genre) and funaná (its up-tempo cousin).
What to order: Cachupa rica is the signature. Grilled wahoo with sweet potato purée is the quieter choice. The goat cheese starter is worth ordering even if you don’t usually order goat cheese.
Price: Main courses 1,800–2,800 CVE (£13–£20). Booking: Essential in high season.
2. Morabeza Beach Club — Feet-in-Sand Lobster Nights
A wood-fronted beach club on Praia Estoril, 10 minutes’ walk from central Sal Rei. Famous island-wide for its Reggae Wednesdays — a long-standing weekly session with live reggae, grilled lobster and charcoal smoke drifting across the sand.
What to order: The whole grilled lobster — expect around 3,500 CVE (£25). Price: Mains 1,500–3,500 CVE (£11–£25). Booking: Required on Wednesday nights.
3. Bahia the Beach — Sunset and Fresh Fish
A smarter beach restaurant with an Italian chef, Cape Verdean ingredients, and the best sunset seat on the west coast of Sal Rei.
What to order: Carpaccio of fresh tuna. Grilled grouper with lemon butter and capers. A glass of Portuguese Vinho Verde. Price: Mains 2,200–3,800 CVE (£16–£28). Best for couples.
4. Blu Marlin — Italian-Seafood Fusion on the Square
A refined restaurant on Sal Rei’s main square, run by an Italian couple who have been on the island for over a decade. The menu is a seafood-forward take on Italian fundamentals — handmade pasta, seared tuna, a short wine list heavy on Vermentino.
What to order: Linguine with local lobster. Tuna tataki starter. Homemade tiramisu. Price: Mains 2,500–4,200 CVE (£18–£31). Smart-casual dress.
5. Bowlavista — The Modern, Photogenic One
A bright, plant-filled café-restaurant on the seafront, favourite with younger British travellers for its bowl menu, vegetarian options, açaí breakfasts and excellent coffee — the best in town.
What to order: The grilled fish bowl with sweet potato, quinoa, roasted veg and chimichurri. Price: Bowls 1,400–2,200 CVE (£10–£16). Great for a late lunch.
6. Restaurante Porto Antigo — Harbour Views and Proper Fish
A dependable restaurant overlooking Sal Rei’s small fishing harbour. The fish turnover is visibly high — boats arrive at dawn and the day’s catch is on the menu by lunchtime.
What to order: Grilled tuna steak with xerém (a local millet porridge). Fish moqueca, Brazilian-style. Price: Mains 1,600–2,800 CVE (£12–£20). Cape Verdean families eat here as often as tourists.
7. Restaurante Djonsinho — Cachupa Done Properly
A no-frills family kitchen on a back street of Sal Rei, much loved by locals and the few British regulars who know about it. The sort of place that does not have a website.
What to order: Cachupa refogada (fried leftover cachupa with egg) for breakfast. Feijoada if it is on. Price: Mains 900–1,600 CVE (£7–£12). Bring cash.
8. Wakan Bar — Drinks, Small Plates and Live Music
A cocktail and small-plates bar that functions as the closest thing Sal Rei has to a proper nightlife spot. Morna trio on weekends, a thoughtful rum list, tapas-format Cape Verdean dishes.
What to order: A grogue-and-lime ponche. Shared plates of grilled octopus, tuna tartare, and pastéis de bacalhau. The natural second stop after dinner at Blu Marlin or Sodade.
9. The Sunday Goat-Cheese Pilgrimage: Fundo das Figueiras
Not a single restaurant but a village. Fundo das Figueiras, 30 minutes east of Sal Rei, is where several of the island’s best goat farmers produce hand-made cheese. Family-run restaurants — notably Restaurante Florinha and O Sonho — serve long, unhurried Sunday lunches.
What to order: Cabrito with sautéed cassava. Goat cheese with papaya jam. Grogue from a bottle with no label. Price: Full lunch 1,800–2,500 CVE per person (£13–£18).
How to Get Into Town and Back Safely
- Always use the official blue and yellow taxis. Agree the fare before setting off (1100 – 3300 CVE one-way from most resort strips).
- Evening returns: ask your restaurant to call you a taxi back. Do not walk unlit stretches of road after dinner.
- Most restaurants now accept WhatsApp bookings. Your hotel concierge can book on your behalf.
- Many smaller restaurants are cash-only. Withdraw CVE at the Banco Comercial ATM in Sal Rei main square before dinner.
Health Reminders
- Drink only bottled water with meals — ask for it specifically.
- Avoid salads washed in tap water at very small family kitchens if you have a sensitive stomach.
- Pre-register your TSA (£31 per person) via ease.gov.cv before you fly.
Need help making it easy? Olavo Tours runs a “Sal Rei evening” service — return transfers, a pre-booked restaurant of our recommendation, and a local guide to walk the town with you before dinner. Get in touch and we will build one around your trip.
