For thirty years, Cantinho has opened its doors on one of the most beautiful hillsides in Castelo Rodrigo. It was born in 1995, just as the village was joining the network of the first ten Historic Villages and living through a whirl of building work, new faces and hope for the future. It grew out of a wish by Helena Sousa’s parents, with an idea that was simple and rare for its time: to create a space ready to welcome those arriving from elsewhere, without ever ceasing to be a home for those who lived here.
In 2001, Helena and her husband, João, took the project on by themselves. They made it into far more than the village café. A house of different flavours, of craft beer when almost no one in the Interior was talking about it, of causes, of people. In 2025, after some difficult months, Helena reopened Cantinho on her own and reinvented it from top to bottom. This is the conversation we had with her.
Those Who Stay · Cantinho Café, Castelo Rodrigo
Cantinho and the village seem to have grown up together.
Our story is bound up with the recent history of the village. We began just as Castelo Rodrigo was going through a great revolution, and because new things are always so welcome in this land, curious visitors started arriving to see the place. We served petiscos that are still remembered fondly today, and out of that curiosity we built, with great care, a very happy loyalty.
So much happened here. The nights when the whole village gathered to play cards, to talk, to watch the matches and to sort out problems. Many projects and decisions were born at our tables full of people with a will to make things happen. It always mattered to choose partners who had real heart. We are a meeting point for neighbours, friends, family, and for those who visit us.
Craft beer was a chapter of its own.
The beer came at a time of international crisis and, I admit, a personal one too. We needed something to serve as an anchor. That was when this world of flavours entered our lives, one that was exploding at the time, made by people who, like us, were discovering it with surprise and wonder. On an impulse of clarity, we placed our first order with Sovina, and from there it became a crescendo of emotion.
João studied hard so that he could teach me, and so many others who arrived here hungry to know and taste more. We did, and still do, real evangelising work. We were always a school, in a land where this is still the only place with beer. João was a fundamental part of this story, and it is only right that his name stays tied to it.
A year after reopening on your own, what were you able to rediscover?
That my love for this space, for the village and for this land had not faded, and had even grown. What moves me is the fierce will to carry on this project of a lifetime, and to offer memorable experiences to everyone who walks through the door, whether they come every day or only once. For me it has been therapeutic, and it has helped me enormously to get through everything.
I had many ideas in the drawer and, despite the pain of loss, I managed to bring them to life. I even have an initiative under way, “There are happy projects in my village”, which is a way of answering all those who say there is nothing here. It is full of remarkable ideas, people and products that show that staying is possible too. Staying, or coming back, and treating the challenges of the interior as opportunities.
Where do the new ideas come from?
Ideas are part of who I am. I cannot stop thinking “what if…”. They come from observing, from listening closely to feedback, from valuing suggestions, from noticing the sparkle in the eyes of those who visit.
In this first year steering the ship alone, I made two dreams come true. The refurbishment of Cantinho, a long-held wish of ours, and our beer Rewilding Yourself. That recipe held within it, beyond the usual ingredients, love for the cause and for this land, purpose, art, sharing, a sincere tribute to João, emotion and a great deal of flavour. The Beers with Causes project came back too, carrying on the legacy of someone who believed a café can be more than serving drinks and watching the takings at the end of the day. I came out of this year with my course set and a strength I did not know I had.
The flavours you serve tell the story of the region.
This is a place of memory. Since serving food here is a logistical challenge, I set out to bring tradition and affection to the table with simple ideas. Cured meats made the old way, toasted sandwiches of chouriça d’ossos and farinheiro, the vegetarian toastie with produce from the neighbours’ vegetable gardens, or a salada de carrapatos, a dish whose name always sparks a good conversation with Portuguese and foreign visitors alike.
I seek out wonderful partners. Telma and Xavier, from Quinta Vale do Tourão, Bruno and Fernanda, from Quinta da Barranca, with an extraordinary olive oil, Manuel and Susana, from Agro Fernandes e Ribeiro, with their almonds and olive oil, and Rosário Pinto, from Borboleta Chá e Arte. They all help me shine here at Cantinho. The artisan chocolate we created with Telma is one example of the joy with which we throw ourselves into these adventures.
What does it mean to be part of the Wild Côa Network?
It is inspiring, challenging and a source of pride. I have met wonderful people, with incredible projects and a will to bring their experience together in a shared mission for this land. The motto that no one is left alone or left behind gives me a very comforting confidence. It is the culture that the success of some is the success of all, and of a greater good. I feel I am part of something extraordinary, and that Cantinho makes a difference.
Today’s Cantinho is not the one from before.
Over the past year, Cantinho and I threw fear and caution to the nettles, and let in the freedom to be, to belong, and to exist. The inside was completely renewed, with more colour, more light, more comfort, more causes and more happy partnerships. It is a joy to open the door every day and welcome everyone who comes in with good energy.
I see an incredible change in people, a greater desire to live and to make memories than to eagerly record everything that happens. And there is an enormous will, in so many people, to show visitors that this land is alive, contrary to what is so often claimed. Against the comfortable story of the poor, forgotten interior, the truth is another. This land is alive, coming back, growing, in constant challenge. Once you come face to face with this living thing, the only answer is to live intensely and be part of the solution.
On the terrace at Cantinho, the view reaches more than 100 kilometres and lets you watch nature simply being itself. It is there, over a craft beer, an already famous lemonade and the flavours of the valley’s producers, that Helena carries on welcoming everyone who arrives. Come and feel that energy.
Cantinho Café is a member of the Wild Côa Network. Interview and editing by Visit Greater Côa Valley.
