Nestled on top of a hill with beautiful palm trees surrounding the building, you take a short walk over a water feature and into an outdoor seating area that is perfect for a sit down meal in the warm summer evening, or perhaps also for just a few drinks while enjoying the stunning views on offer.

Upon entering we were greeted by the extremely gracious host who showed us through the stylish dining room, with a lavish bar stocked with everything one might need for an evening of fine steak and sushi.

She brought us a wonderful covert of freshly baked bread, some toasted croutons with caramelised onions, some feta and some delicious quail eggs served with Thousand Island dressing. It was easy to enjoy the creative additions to the usual bread, butter and olives and left us excited for what was to come.

The first course was a slow cooked pork ball with cheese in the centre and wrapped in golden breadcrumbs, served with a mustard dressing on the side. The meat melted in your mouth, the crunch of the breadcrumb and the creamy melted cheese were a really excellent combination of flavours and textures that set the tone for the rest of the dinner.

A wonderful beef tartar was served with toasted croutons, leafy greens and crunchy tobacco onions. The tartar was wonderfully creamy topped with a little bit of parmesan cheese, the beef was very high quality, perfectly seasoned and the portion was more than generous. Although we knew that we should not fill up on only this dish, as more food was on its way to our table, it was rather difficult to put down the crispy bits of bread that so easily scooped up the delicious and beautifully arranged beef in the centre of the plate.

As we were trying (and quite frankly failing) to control our hands enough not to give in to our taste buds demand of more tartar, our host arrived with a big long wooden bowl, filled with ice cubes, on which they had neatly put three different plates of sushi. The pieces looked like little pieces of art that were almost too beautiful to eat. But only almost, and so we picked up our chopsticks and dug in. I must say that the flavours lived up to the impressive look of dish.

The main course was probably the best steak I’ve tried in the Algarve, served and finished with a blowtorch at the table by the chef. There is just something about watching your food being prepared right in front of your eyes by an obviously very skilled chef. The meat was seasoned and cooked to perfection and was served along with an accompaniment of cheese, thin sliced ham, and vegetables. A mushroom risotto was paired alongside the main course, wonderfully cheesy and exceptionally prepared.

We struggled to eat what we had in front of us, but determined to finish every last bit of the steak, we kept going. And it was hard to put down the fork when the aftertaste of this very high quality cut of meat that had just melted on your tongue was still lingering.

When we had victoriously defeated this monstrous steak, we both had those smiles on our faces that you get when you have definitely eaten more than you should have but know that you did the right thing, because the food was just so outstandingly great.

Now it was time for dessert, and although our bellies begged us not to stretch them any further, it is just so hard to say no when you are being offered fondants by a charming lady. We ordered one caramel and one chocolate fondant served with vanilla ice cream and crumbed biscuit. The soft and warm fondants paired perfectly with the cold and creamy ice cream and the biscuit added a nice crunch.

We left the restaurant with full bellies and big smiles, already thinking about what else we should try from the incredibly extensive menu. If you like high quality meat and fresh sushi prepared by an excellent chef, Nannus will have something for you to sink your teeth into.

For further information or to make a reservation at Nannus, located in Albufeira, please call
913 315 845.
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