Let’s—Chá Chá Chá

Hidden behind the door of this backstreet, central-cubist located restaurant in Olhão lies the slightly kitsch, slightly eccentric interiors of Kevin Gould’s (regular food and travel contributor for the Guardian) restaurant, Cha Cha Cha. We stumbled across it one Saturday evening, when we noticed Kevin standing outside looking up at the sky with earnest. He let us know that he was taking a 5 minute break to enjoy the smell of spring-time orange blossom in the air.

It’s as if Kevin has brought all his favourite things together into the one space. The lighting is neither too dim, nor to bright. The details are thorough—from the hand-tied straw holding the knives, forks and serviettes together, the teeny pillowcases containing home-baked sourdough—to the daffy-duck etched stone keeping the bill firmly in place when presented at the end of the meal.

The neon sign adorning the mirrored wall looks like it has been restored from a reclamation yard, elegantly brought back to life and complimented by the soft sound of 70s disco playing in the background.

There is one main dining room and a smaller pantry room where the mouth-watering dessert cakes are on display—many of which are deceptively vegan. It was in this room where we dined this evening. Telling us we were VIPs, Kevin showed us through, opening the side door to the street, where more tables had been set up underneath cream-white sails and lit with soft candle lighting.

I get a Yotam Ottolenghi vibe from the menu. The restaurant opens only on market days, so the produce is always fresh. We started with a deliciously tasty, perfectly flavour-balanced fish soup. Followed by a selection of fresh market-fish, clams accompanied by samphire, succulent prawns gently dressed with garlic oil, and a fresh raw Ottolenghi-style salad and tahini dressing. We chose a natural, unfiltered sparkling wine to wash it down with.

As Kevin serves the courses, I’m aware of gentle singing under his breath—his joy of the place he has created is clearly apparent.

For dessert we chose the deceptively vegan lemon and chocolate tarts, lemon meringue pie and a raspberry cheese cake baked on a base of chocolate brownie. Kevin brings us a sample of home-made rose and tahini ice-cream—quite delicious.

A hidden gem.

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