Eating vegetarian on the Portuguese

[Ianhooper]

Hi all,

My partner and I will be walking the Portuguese in mid June from Porto to Santiago. This will be our third Camino having already walked the Primitivo and the Frances.

She is vegetarian and we were wondering if any previous vegetarian pilgrims can recommend suitable places to eat. We are aware that most of the Hospitaliers will cater for vegetarians but one can only eat so many mushroom stroganoffs or omelettes.

Any info or ideas will be gratefully received. ( Oh, she does not eat fish).

Buen Camino

 

[Jay Es]

There's always bread and cheese. If you send cater then you can buy some of the best veg in Europe in Spain and Portugal. There's always fruit and yoghurt. Rice with veg is always a quick meal. Eggs can be had . An avocado and bread topped with cheese. Followed by a banana and yoghurt makes a good lunch on the way. Unless you are strict vegan it will be no problem.

 

[mspath]

Check out the posts/links in this thread and in this re vegetarian meals on the CP.

Good luck and Bom caminho to both if you!

 

[rgutena]

I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian (no fish). I am currently on the Camino Portugues and only 16km from Santiago, having completed the section from Santarem to Coimbra and then from Tui to here (Picarana). My overall assessment is that in big towns with tourists in addition to pilgrims (namely Tomar, Coimbra, Tui), there are decent vegetarian options in many restaurants. Outside these big towns, I have been having omlettes, cheese and tomato sandwiches and salad EVERY SINGLE DAY. The reality is that the Portuguese and Spaniards don't know how to turn non-meat produces into tasty and fulsome meals, so they are completely stuck when you tell them you are vegetarian, and always come up with the same things (ie the dishes mentioned above). My culinary experiences on the Le Puy route in France were many times better. Another thing to bear in mind is that, while some of the bigger restaurants in smaller towns may also offer reasonable vego options, they are usually not open for dinner until 8pm, which may be too late if you wish to head to bed early for a 6.30-7.30 start the next day.

 

[MKalcolm M]

My daughter (Faith) and I recently walked this route, we are both vegetarians, and had no problems at all. One of the simplest options is to stay in alberges with kitchens (check there are cooking utensils). We made friends with several other walkers, and many nights would all cook up a communal meal, when the others wanted meat with their meal, we would usually divide it up into veggie and non-veggie, by making two sauces. The camaraderie around these meals are some of my favourite memories of the walk.
As suggested above, bread, cheese, a handful of olives and some fruit are easy to buy and make for a good impromptu lunch anywhere along the route. We didn't expect to generate such large appetites through walking, and Faith who is normally a very fussy eater, remarked how good things tasted after a few hours on the camino, and invariably chomped anything that wasn't nailed down!
Specific to you request for places to eat, when you get to Santiago, head for "EntrePedras", Hospitalino, 18. Its on the edge of the old city, a few minutes walk from the cathedral and a great watering hole for veggies. The meals tasted great, huge portions and a nice atmosphere. We discovered it by chance, but liked it so much we ate every evening there for the three nights we were in Santiago. Wander down the street and get an ice cream afterwards and enjoy the atmosphere in the streets, makes a great ending to the day and your camino.

 

[rgutena]

One of the simplest options is to stay in alberges with kitchens (check there are cooking utensils).

Agreed, but this solution assumes that: (1) there is a grocery / supermarket nearby; (2) it is open (and from my experience, it often isn't); (3) you don't mind doing all the shopping and cooking after a long day of walking in terrible weather (either extreme heat of 37C or rain).

Factors (1) and (2) are more likely to be met in big towns, but in those big towns, finding veg options in a restaurant is not a huge problem anyway. It is really in those small towns (including even those towns with lots of pilgrims - albeit not general tourists - passing through) where things get tricky, or boring.