Restaurant Ocean is the gastronomic flagship restaurant of the 5-star resort Vila Vita Parc located in the Algarve region in Portugal. For more information about this beautiful Vila Vita Parc Resort,please consult our hotel section. The restaurant is located on a premium location within the hotel premises, boasting breath-taking views on the Atlantic Ocean from the dining room.

Concept & Interior

Restaurant Ocean opened in 2007 and was rocketed to the culinary top in no time. The restaurant consists out of one dining room that is fully orientated to the sea. A floor to ceiling glass wall borders one side of the restaurant and the frontal view on the ocean must be one of the best restaurant views in the world. Elegance and minimalism is key in the interior of the restaurant. The modern, round lamps are the eye-catchers without distracting the view on the ocean. The interior decoration refers to the sea and is combined with blue and light colors. Big round tables and luxurious chairs offer enough space and comfort to enjoy the culinary ride.

The restaurant seats up to 35 diners and from everywhere in the restaurant you can enjoy the magnificent view on the sea. Every year, Vila Vita Parc and Ocean restaurant organize ‘VILA VITA Fine Wines & Food Fair’, a gastronomy event that gathers some of the world’s most influential chefs, wine makers and gourmet producers. A great and unique event and a perfect getaway for those that want to combine gastronomy and a luxurious beach holiday.

The Chef

Executive Chef Hans Neuner is in charge of the kitchen of Restaurant Ocean. Hans originally hails from Austria and began cooking at the age of 14. He gained experience at the famous Adlon Hotel in Berlin, at Tristan in Spain, and at Seven Seas in Hamburg. At Ocean, the chef quickly established his own style and gained fame for his light, modern reinterpretation of Portuguese cuisine. He reinvents Portuguese dishes, in which ingredients from the sea are the star besides other exclusively Portuguese ingredients. The chef was named Portugal’s Chef of Year in 2009 and 2012 and Ocean currently holds two Michelin stars. In 2019, the restaurant got even got a 4th place in the list “La Liste Top 1000 Restaurants in the World”. Hans is assisted by his Head Chef Florian Rühlman and a team of 15 chefs in the kitchen. Just like Hans, Florian is culinary wizard, and a perfectionist with a keen eye for details.

Gastronomy

Hans Neuner offers a creative “Discovering Portugal” tasting menu to explore his cuisine. This menu is indeed a great way to discover the best Portuguese products. His team works with locally grown fruit and vegetables, locally caught fish and organic meat from the Vila Vita Parc country estate ‘ Herdade dos Grous ’. Of course, the sea is never far away – inside and outside your plate. Like in the signature dish with Portuguese Carabinero (Scarlet prawn), where he creates a tagliatelle from the prawns and combines this with squid and “Toucinho”. The presentation (and taste) of the starter with oysters from “Moinho dos Ilhéus” is seriously impressive. The oysters are combined with imperial caviar, Samphire from Ria Formosa and are covered with an edible oyster shell. At the table, the dish is finished with a hot oyster and champagne sauce. In most of the menus, there is a vegetarian dish as well, and sometimes there is a full vegetarian menu on offer. During our latest visit, we were served Jerusalem artichoke in salt crust, finished with fig leaf oil and coconut. It was one of the best vegetarian dishes we ever tasted. Other great examples of Hans Neuner’s cooking include the appetizer with shells from coco butter and shellfish; the starter with line caught seabass, codfish sauce, mushroom, morels, green wild asparagus, smoked egg, and codfish sauce; or the wild Turbot with Vila Real mushrooms, Algarve lemon and fermented banana.

Service And Wine

Sommelier and restaurant manager Nelson Marreiros was born in the Algarve region and knows the land and its fine wines as no other. He manages on of the largest wine collections in Portugal and selects stunning wines to complement the chefs’ dishes.

Cave de Vinhos, the wine cellar of Vila Vita Parc, has more than 24,000 bottles. The very best Portuguese wines are often paired to the dishes of Chef Hans Neuner at Ocean. The service at the restaurant is discreet and professional, directing the attention to the wonderful food and the stunning view.

Why Go?

Ocean truly is an exceptional restaurant in the Algarve region in Portugal. The breathtaking surroundings, combined with Executive Chef Hans Neuner’s refined, creative Portuguese dishes and the splendid wine selection, offer an elegant and memorable dining experience. A restaurant to cherish. Book ahead, as there is a waiting list up to three months during the busiest times of the year.

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