In a side street in Faro, a small bakery is proving that a single, perfectly executed product can put a city on the food map. Bakie, at Rua General Teófilo da Trindade 10, has just picked up a "Solete" award from the Repsol Guide, the respected food and travel guide covering Portugal and Spain — a notable nod for a shop that sells, essentially, one thing: cookies.
The story behind it is a reinvention tale. Owner Andreia Santos, 40, spent years running an online clothing business and then working in high-end property management before a health event four years ago forced her to slow down. During recovery at home, she started thinking about what came next, and cookies kept coming up. "The project was born out of difficulties," she says. There was nothing like it in the area, so she leaned in — despite never having trained as a baker.
She didn't start from zero, though. Her mother Marisa was an accomplished baker and encouraged the venture, and Andreia took an online baking course. For months the two of them tested and refined recipes daily before opening the shop three years ago.
Andreia grew up in the interior of São Paulo state in Brazil and has lived in Portugal for 22 years, and that background shapes the flavour profile. Brazilian baked goods, she notes, lean very sweet — so she set out to balance sweetness with a more wholesome, buttery character. The result is the soft, gooey texture regulars rave about.
The menu stays deliberately tight: quality over quantity. Alongside the classic chocolate chip you'll find lime and red berry, triple chocolate, pistachio, Nutella, Lotus biscuit, orange and chocolate, churros, a croissant-cookie hybrid, a brownie combo, and the "Frookie" — a cookie sandwich stuffed with ice cream and coated in chocolate. Cookies come packaged in a signature bag with an inner pocket that keeps each one intact, which matters when the whole appeal is that soft first bite.
Why should a traveller care? Faro is mostly a transit point for the Algarve's beaches, and most visitors pass through the old town without lingering over its food scene. Bakie is the kind of small, owner-run spot that makes a stop in the city itself worthwhile — grab a cookie, wander the old town, and you've turned an airport run into an afternoon. If the Repsol Guide's attention is anything to go by, go before the queues form.
You can find Bakie on social media or call 924 063 808 to check opening times before you go.
