Casa da Velha Fonte

This was one of the best meals of my life. The food is Michelin-starred quality. Every single ingredient is local, organic, and delicious. The chef Maria is an exceptional talent. Her skill as a chef combined with her knowledge of food history and culture makes for an unforgettable experience. We cannot wait for Maria's restaurant to open.

What a wonderful gastronomic experience!
Not only did we try the most delicious food made with such care by Maria, as it was back in Roman times, but it we did it in an environment filled with stories and history told by our kind and warm hosts. It was all truly a delight.

My husband and I enjoyed a creative and delicious meal at Chef Maria's when we were travelling through Monsanto Portugal (a very interesting town) in late September. We were first served a huge variety of appetizers, including delicious fruit compotes, cheeses and other items we'd never before tasted. This was followed by a cod dish, and then a medley of delicious fall vegetables and duck. We felt bad only because there was more food than we could do justice to. This was certainly the most incredible meal of our 2 week trip to Portugal and Spain.

A Fantastic, unique meal...

Wonderful meal, totally different to anything I've ever had before.

All of the ingredients are either sourced/made by Maria the chef, or are from local suppliers.

The meal itstelf was based upon ancient Roman historical cooking. Maria is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic on this topic...

Both a fantastic feast and a history lesson in one!

There is no menu choice - you get what is locally in season.

Highly recomended. Much more veggie heavy than my expectations but that's a compliment to the chef for someone like me who is used to many more meat dishes.

The venue isn't currently in Monsanto but an intmate "chef's table" in a private house in Idanha-A-Nova which is about a 30m drive away.

If you're interested in great food, history, company and good times then I cannot recommend enough...thanks Maria!

Yet another unforgettable culinary experience! We visited in August 2021 and we experienced the same high standards today as we did a year ago.
The food was excellent and each dish was introduced to us. A
special " thank you" to the marvellous couple who run the restaurant. Their attention to every detail and rapport with customers is commendable!

Most important thing... we were very well received.
The plates are well presentes and the raw food is good and well prepared.
The price is a bit high, but in conjoint with all thenother aspects- its is ok.
Chaming city and lokation.

THANK YOU TO @CASA_DA_VELHA_FONTE FOR OVER 5 PLENTIFUL HOURS OF WONDERFUL FOOD, A JOURNEY THROUGH HISTORY, AND A LAVISH CULTURAL EXPERIENCE. WHAT WE DO IN LIFE, ECHOES IN ETERNITY, AND YOUR HOME AND KINDNESS WILL BE HELD DEARLY IN OUR MEMORY ❤

Authentic restaurant in a lovely ancient village. Food looks lovely and is just delicious. The best we had in Portugal. We really recommend a visit. And both owners are charming and make you feel welcome.

My wife and I were in the area April 20, 2021 with no plans to eat here. We enjoyed the village so much we stayed for lunch. My expectations were low. We ordered the cabrito. It was enough for two people as stated by the Chef. We were simply blown away by the quality and taste of the food. The meat was extremely tender and very flavorful. The complexity of the flavors were out of this world. I could see pieces of ginger, pink pepper, flower petals, it blew me away. The chef explained her dishes are inspired and are influenced by Roman traditions. I would have expected this quality from a michelin star restaurant in any large city. Not in Idanha a. Velha. Please stop by and enjoy this place before the Chef is stolen away by a large Lisbon restaurant.

Very good restaurant with limited seating so make sure to reserve your spot. Lovely setting under a tree. In my opinion the best cuisine in the whole region!

We were lucky in that when we reached out to Maria via WhatsApp, we were able to book a once in a life time experience with Chef Maria and her husband, Rui, for a mid-afternoon meal. Note: This review is from May 17, 2023. This chef, Maria Caldeira de Sousa, is in the midst of relocating her restaurant to a new location, so you will not find any restaurant where Google Maps shows the location. The Casa da Velha Fonte unip lda website shows the correct address, but PLEASE DO NOT JUST SHOW UP. At this time, she is only doing chefs table meals in her personal home. They have begun the work on a new restaurant, but it will not be ready a few months. We were treated to a fantastic four course meal that was prepared just for us and served at her dining room table. We are more than confident that once Maria is able to re-open her restaurant it will be a huge success in the Monsanto area.

An unexpectedly wonderful experience, in a totally unexpected place.
The food that Maria cooked and Rui presented was a delight to the taste and the mind.
We had a pre-set menu reflecting the history of Idanha-a-Velha inspired from Roman times and emerging through the centuries.
At the time of our visit the creators were hosted in Geo Hotel Escola and we had to call and book with them in advance.
Albeit, we were excited to hear about their plans for a new, super promising restaurant project.
Not only worth a visit when you find yourself in the area, but even a trip from another side of the country or even continent!

A gem of a place, a gastronomic delight. Very different meals to the usual Portuguese fayre. These meals are a feast for the stomach and eyes. Portions aren't huge, the menu is very limited and it is quite costly considering usual meal prices in this central region, but I believe you get what you pay for here as it is stupendous. No menu was given and no price quoted, so it was a little worrying until we got the bill and luckily we could pay by card. We will return

The food is amazing! Owned by a family. They were extremely friendly and hospitable. We tried to find something to eat in Monsanto, but that was impossible. Everything closes from 3 to 7 pm. And that was the only open place around. The owner cooked a soup for our little baby who has an allergy. We were treated by home baked “Roman style” bread with pumpkin jam, goat and sheep cheese and a pear marinated in red wine! These were the appetizers). And of course a perfect red wine. As a main course we had a duck with pasta. Highly recommended place! Hope to comeback again someday

One of the best meals I have EVER eaten!! The food is based on ancient recipes and the dedicated knowledge, skill and research of the owners. The food is organic locally sourced and very rich in exceptional flavour and depth, also made possible by the amazing knowledge of herbs and history of the chefs.

Nice coffee with lovely people. This place has a restaurant but they have a limited and today there was a choice of cod fish with vegetables and wild boar with egg mushroom and bread, usually they have also lamb chops but today they had run out.
This cafe/restaurant is a non smoking establishment thankfully.
They also sell ice-cream and a selection of cakes and pastries and you can get toasties and a cheese board.
There is a cigarette machine just inside the door although we saw no-one smoking outside but perhaps it is permitted outside.
We noted that this place is nice and clean here and it has a relaxing atmosphere and has air conditioning.

We found this little gem after visiting Monsanto village. We arrived as they were about to close their restaurant, the owners were kind enough to let us in even though it was quite late in the afternoon. They prepared us a seafood paella which we enjoyed immensely. We highly recommend this restaurant. Obrigado!

An amazing surprise at one of the most ancient villages of Portugal! This lunch as representative about what a food experience should be. Maria and Rui are fantastic people and very visionary! If you are planning to visit Beira-Baixa region this is a mandatory place where you should stop, relax and enjoy a great meal! 5* experience! Thanks for creating this amazing place :)

The dinner was splendid as we all enjoyed our meal. The service was also excellent. l must confess that l am a regular visitor to this restaurant when l am staying at Idanha a velha.

If you are tired of what you know or if you really want to discover some unknown tastes or dishes you should definitely go to this place. I am traveling since half a year thru Portugal and i would say that this was one of the most surprising and best experiences. Why? Because they cook in a way, i haven’t tasted before and which really impressed me. Probably the owners would call there style “roman” or “ancient roman inspired”, so they relate to the old history of this village and creat dishes influenced by very old recipes and ideas of cooking. One night, i had lamb chops with sweet potatoes, pumpkin, a kind of cabbage (if forget to ask what it was) and grapefruit. Everything was presented in one pan and was just amazing. I don’t know what all kinds of herbs were used, but a lot and different ones. This way or that way, a great mixture and a taste, i had never before. The same i can tell about the duck i ate the next day. Slow roasted in the oven for six hours. My god. So tender and juicy. The best i ever had. The dish was with wholewheat pasta in a kind of sauce infused with camomile. Wow. Never would have expected camomiles to taste so great. Could write more: about the cheese, the desserts and so on.
Just one amazing information on top: they basically just use products (meat, cheese, fruits vegetables) from this region and yes, you can taste it. The bread they have is baked in the village.
So, what else to tell. Just go for it and thanks to the wonderful owners of this place. Great kitchen art.