At the heart of Faro, a bountiful wine cellar is paired with daring fusion dishes in a sassy setting.

The place and the name may have remained the same, but Epicur‘s new owners have given its concept and decoration a complete facelift. Located on a cobbled street in downtown Faro, the once-a-upon-a-time traditional wine bar has been revamped by hospitality duo Jorge Santos and Pedro Rodrigo, who together ambitioned to “demystify the classic image of wine bars and create something irreverent and young”.

Both originally from Faro, they travelled and worked around the world before returning to their home town with caseloads of crazy ideas for new projects, to which they added “Rebellion, irreverence and quality” as their pillars.

Epicur was the creative duo’s first of three spaces to open in the Algarvean capital. The second was COM, an exclusive raw-food dining concept hidden behind a secret door inside Epicur. And, last summer, came Zebra, a wacky Italian canteen serving an array of signature cocktails.

Featuring a new sophisticated and rather provocative décor, they reopened Epicur in March 2022 and have since turned it into a social hub where good wine and food are served from the end of the afternoon until late into the evening. Inside the renewed restaurant, modern high tables, a long communal table, and quirky art on the walls offer the perfect setting for an entertaining evening with friends.

Inspired by Jorge and Pedro’s adventurous travels across five continents, the menu presents unusual and daring flavours. Designed to be shared, dishes include prawn Pani Puri with truffle and mango (€7), pork belly with green apple and onion pico de gallo in purple corn tacos (€12), octopus with sweet potato and black pudding (€19), slivers of salted cod with black olive tapenade and spinach (€18) and the traditional (60g) “Prego” sirloin steak sandwich (€8), all of which come with a pairing suggestion.

For dessert, they suggest a crunchy “canollis”  with powdered sugar and cinnamon (€6) or a small “chocolate bombe” with dates and salted caramel (€7) paired with dry Madeira wine (€8).

There are also cheese and charcuterie boards to be enjoyed with a couple of glasses of wine or a bottle. As for choosing the perfect pairing for each dish, customers are left spoilt for choice. Luckily, Pedro comes to the rescue with suggestions to please every customer’s palate, choosing from an overwhelming selection of over 400 Portuguese references and several top international ones, which can be ordered by the glass (starting from €5).

With this project, Jorge Santos and Pedro Rodrigo affirmed their desire to stand out as restauranteurs of reference in the region, “offering quality and affordability for those who enjoy eating and drinking good wine”.

Pedro believes “Faro really needed a space like [Epicur], where wine and gastronomy merge perfectly”, to which he and Jorge added their “rebellious and creative touch”.

Epicur

Rua Alexandre Herculano 22A. 8000-204 Faro.

Open from Tuesday to Saturday between 18h00 and 02h00. Closed on Sunday and Monday.

Average price: €30 per person