Emblematic Commercial Spaces in Caldas da Rainha

Since its inception, this beautiful Portuguese Silver Coast city has lived on commerce and services. The aquistas and the great masters who were born here, passed and lived gave rise to a culture of conviviality and constant gatherings that gave the opportunity to appear all these emblematic commercial spaces.

Cafes such as Central, Bocage or Machado patisserie are two of the cases with the most impact and which today still have their open spaces and are tourist spots of great relevance in the city.

Restaurants such as Marathon, Capristanos and Antero are sure that your stomach will be as well treated as possible.

There is also the unmissable Mercearia Pena with its wide range of exclusive products.

Come with us to discover these unique and mandatory places.

Located in Praça da Fruta is one of the oldest and most emblematic cafés in the city, Café Central.

They say it started serving the population in the XVIII century.

What is certain is that it has become a point of reference and one of the most popular spaces in the city.

Today it is Dona Luísa, the owner, who with her friendliness has given dynamism to this space since 1995, maintaining the designation.

In addition to a charming space, well located and with a terrace that allows you to contemplate and feel the day-to-day life of the daily market at Praça da Fruta, Café Central is also a reference for the quality of the products that we can find there, with highlight to homemade ice cream.

If you don't pay attention to the hours, when you arrive at the central you will come across tables full of people.

On Rua de Camões is Pastelaria Machado, one of the oldest and most recognized in the city for its quality in making the most delicious typical delicacies of the city: cavacas and trouxas-de-ovo.

If you are a candy fanatic, Pastelaria Machado is your place to stop.

From the most traditional sweets such as cavacas or beijinhos to the most contemporary, be sure to try them all.

This pastry full of history owes its designation to its first owner Joaquim Machado, at the beginning of the 20th century, maintaining the designation until today.

There is also the curiosity of its facade to be filled with tiles by Manuel Gustavo Bordalo Pinheiro, son of the great master Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, and which are a work of art that you should keep in mind.

It should also be noted that this pastry shop is located near Parque D. Carlos I and the Museum of Cycling, in one of the most emblematic streets of our city.

It is therefore the ideal place to rest and recover after a walk in Parque D. Carlos and is also the ideal place for the most ambitious and lovers of the best that the local pastry has to offer.

In Caldas, history and the palate always go hand in hand and are able to please all tastes.

At the top of Praça da Fruta is another commercial space with history and stories to tell.

The Cafeteria Bocage is another of the old meeting places of the inhabitants of Caldas and another one that has arrived in our days in operation and with the same designation.

For posterity, it has the moment of glory to make an appearance, albeit brief, in a 1943 film, about the fairs that took place in Caldas da Rainha.

In this video it is possible to see the façade and its interior full of customers, which reveals a constant bustle with the entrance and exit of people.

Currently, it is possible to see a bust of Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage, the great poet of the 18th century, born in Setúbal.

Nowadays it is another place where pastry art invites us to try all the examples shown in the windows.

Due to its location it is also a privileged place since in the morning, every day of the week, the daily market takes place, where you also have to be present.

In 2009, the Maratona underwent a remodeling in its presentation but remains one of the favorite sociability spaces of the inhabitants of Caldas.

Today Maratona is not just a cafe, it also has a restaurant / lounge, adapting to the ambitions, trends and demands of the public. The games room does not accompany this new stage of Maratona life.

What most distinguishes the Marathon offer, whether in the cafe or in the restaurant, are the constant search for new concepts, new services for each moment.

The restaurant offers a remarkable variety of starters, vegetarian dishes, meat and fish dishes and unique desserts.

At the Café, the offer is no less varied and delicious, with emphasis on natural juices, salads, sandwiches, pies and toast, but also pancakes, crepes, waffles, wraps and tortillas, not forgetting hamburgers.

An experience not to be missed and that you can follow here.

Since 1949, with Capristanos it has been part of the daily life of the inhabitants of Caldas, since the “most luxurious bus station in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the best in Europe” was installed there, as the adjective Jornal Público.

The station building is a highlight in itself, in a work by architect Ernesto Korrodi and the opening of the space was courtesy of Arthur Capristano.

When the station opened, a café and a restaurant, among other attractions, were integrated there.

Since then, Café Capristanos has been a stopover and stopping place for countless people, gaining importance and prestige.

In 2016 Capristanos was remodeled and became a Café, Restaurant and Waiting Room, modernizing its image and concept.

In partnership with Mercearia Pena, Café Capristanos seeks to continue to be a reference place adapting to new concepts.

It also stands out for having a tile panel in honor of Queen D. Leonor.

Follow the Capristanos every day.

Casa Antero started its activities in 1957, the time designated as Taberna (Tavern) Antero.

It was an initiative of Antero and Olímpia Feliciano and became a reference space for snacks and wine by the glass and a mandatory stopping place for the Caldense society over the years.

In the 80's, the children took over the space, changing its name to Casa Antero.

The atmosphere of Casa Antero is that of an “old-fashioned tavern, typical of national customs, where you could drink a glass of wine and snack” but adapted to the new concepts.

There are snacks that come from behind, like the folded with white beans that dates back to the early years of the establishment and which is one of the brand images of Casa Antero.

To this delicacy of the gods, other delicacies are added, such as cod and corn lasagna, duck rice, stone soup, among others, or a wide range of snacks that those who have tasted have not been without returning to repeat.

To all of this are added the very particular characteristics of the space, which maintains the outline and its rustic appearance.

Daily accompanies Casa Antero.

Since 1909, Mercearia Pena has been synonymous with quality and specificity in the products that we can find there and a reference in the preferred trade of Caldenses, the traditional trade.

Entering the Mercearia Pena is an experience not to be missed, since contact with the different aromas of different products makes us travel to other times.

In addition, the most emblematic products of the house, such as Café d’Avó, Lagartos, Bacalhau or Queijo Pena are the certainty of the quality of what we can find there. To eat and cry for more.

In addition to these, there is also a wide range of coffees, dry cakes, teas, vegetables and dried fruits of cheeses and sausages that make us salivate just by seeing them.

Mercearia Pena was renovated in the twentieth century but maintains its scenic setting of the same quality in the products sold there.

Coming to Caldas is also to visit these emblematic spaces and taste those products that can only be purchased there ... and take a few to eat later.

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