The gastronomic Repsol Guide has awarded “Soletes” to 285 notable establishments, including cafés, pastry shops, fast-food outlets, ice cream parlours, snack bars, kiosks, restaurants, bars, and wine bars. The awards ceremony, held in Lisbon on November 24, showcased the most popular and respected establishments in Portugal, which now collectively form a kind of sentimental map of the country, highlighting places that are part of our daily lives.
This is the first time this category has been awarded in Portugal, following its recognition in Spain. The award is meant to be an enduring honour and is accompanied by a clear commitment to updating the list two to three times annually as communities, neighbourhoods, and cities evolve. The Guide aims to keep pace with these changes while preserving its sense of closeness.
The main goal is simple yet ambitious: to showcase what is authentic – what lies at the heart of the routines of thousands of people – and to reinforce what the Repsol Guide states as its mission: to celebrate gastronomic diversity and the cultural heritage that accompanies it.
An important point is that the Soletes are awarded by local experts who understand the terrain, the region’s rhythms, and the authenticity of the spaces. These are not recognitions imposed from outside, but acknowledgements that come from within.
Vera Vicente, Director of the Mobility Unit at Repsol in Portugal, stressed that “at Repsol we want to be in the daily lives of our customers,” whether “at a good dinner with friends or on a family trip. More than being an energy company, we want to create an emotional connection.”
Apart from the brand’s usual corporate tone, these Soletes feel informal and genuine. They capture a real slice of the country: the corner café, the cheese platter that never arrives incomplete, or the ice cream parlour that understands nobody needs a ten-minute explanation about the origins of pistachios to enjoy good ice cream.
Looking at the list, it’s clear that the idea of a “gastronomic ecosystem,” as Vicente refers to it, isn’t a cliché; many of these establishments thrive on collaboration with local producers, small artisans, and those who persevere to uphold traditions.
While Lisbon and Porto account for a significant share of the award winners, the Repsol Guide was careful not to turn these nominations into a purely urban list. There are Soletes in nearly every district and island (Beja, Évora, Faro, Castelo Branco, Viseu, Bragança, Vila Real, Azores, Madeira, Porto Santo). In the Algarve, Soletes were awarded to 32 establishments, from A Tasquinha dos Borralhos in Aljezur to Casa da Igreja in Cacela Velha.
The complete list is available here.
