43 Main Street (Formerly The Fife Arms Hotel)

General information

Our passion is great food and great service. We believe that each and every guest deserves only the best from the moment that they arrive: a warm welcome from our staff; a pre-supper cocktail – using the best ingredients and perfectly-mixed; the finest cuts of meat and seasonal produce cooked to perfection; attentive, yet discreet, service; and rustic surroundings from which to watch the world pass by.

Our menus are eclectic. We source our ingredients from farmers and merchants – all of whom are local to the area – and marry them with the finest imported cheeses, meats and spices to create dishes that are both contemporary and traditional. Our dishes embody the very best of Iberian cuisine.

- Specialities

Our specialities share one thing in common – our love of Iberia.

Iberian cuisine is, typically, rather simple and unpretentious. It is the combination of fresh ingredients – from the farm, from the fields and hedgerows, and from the sea – balanced by the subtle flavours of herbs and spices such as basil, cumin and tamarind which make Portuguese and Spanish cuisine so very special.

- Pata Negra

One of our signature dishes is Pata Negra or the Black Pig. An ancient breed – indigenous to the Iberian peninsula – the Black Pig is reared in the dehesa, a protected ecosystem of grassland within the southwest that is studded with Mediterranean encinas (oaks). The acorns of these giants, the bellota, are gorged upon by the Black Pig and their minerals and natural protein enrich the meat.

Dark in colour and marbled with fat, the meat of the Black Pig is succulent and tender, its flavour distinctive yet nuanced. The legs of the Iberian Black Pig, the Jamon Iberico Bellota, can be found in most bars and restaurants throughout Iberia – these cuts hang from above and continue to mature in the dry air. A platter of Jamon, balanced by cheese, olives and vine-ripened tomatoes, is simply divine.

- Piri-Piri

Another speciality is Piri-Piri chicken. Piri-piri is a variety of Capsicum (pepper) and is often called the Bird’s Eye chilli. The heat and intensity of the chilli made it a natural seasoning and spice to complement the rich flavours of Portuguese cuisine. Got all that? There will be a test…

Within Portugal piri-piri has become synonymous with poultry and seafood. Marinated in a blend of piri-piri and other seasonings, the meat is infused with a flavour that is both fiery and nuanced. Although recipes vary in each region, they combine ingredients such as basil, bay leaves, citrus peel, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, salt and tarragon to create a flavour that is unique to Portuguese and southern African cuisine.

- Wines

The perfect dish requires the perfect wine. Our wines are sourced from the finest independent vineyards and wineries and each wine adds to the occasion – be it one of our delicious, yet inexpensive, house wines or one of our more extravagant and refined vintages.

Each dish is matched by a wine of comparable character, depth and flavour. The clean and elegant, yet slightly sweet, palate of our Gewurtztraminer is ideal for spicy Asian dishes while the Galician Albarino offsets the rich flavours of our seafood.

Whatever your culinary tastes, you'll find something to enjoy at 43 Main Street. We look forward to welcoming you.