Albufeira Goes All-Night as Continente Joins Uber Eats

The late-night hunt for milk, sunscreen or a bottle of vinho verde in Albufeira just became less stressful. Continente’s flagship store on the Albufeira Terrace has quietly switched on round-the-clock delivery through Uber Eats, promising locals, digital nomads and holiday-home owners the kind of 24/7 convenience long taken for granted in London or New York.

Why a 24/7 drop-off can be a game-changer on the Algarve

Albufeira’s population roughly quadruples in summer, and the after-dark economy here is legendary. Yet until now, anyone craving fresh fruit or nappies at 03:00 had to rely on petrol-station mini-markets or hope the corner shop was still open. By keeping its virtual aisles lit all night, Continente plugs a gaping service gap for the nearly 50,000 foreigners who either reside permanently in the Algarve or descend on short-term visas each year. For expats juggling trans-Atlantic time zones, the ability to schedule a grocery top-up between Zoom calls is more than a novelty—it is a quality-of-life boost.

How the service actually works

Open the Uber Eats app, switch the filter to Mercearia, and you will see the new “Continente Modelo 24 h” tile. Tap in and browse thousands of SKUs—everything from fresh maracujá to nappies. Orders are packed at the Albufeira Terrace store and handed to Uber couriers who, according to the company, can reach most addresses within 35 minutes. The retailer says chilled items move in insulated boxes and perishables are time-stamped to comply with food-safety rules. Shoppers can also stack promos from Continente’s own Cartão Clube with Uber Eats’ occasional discount codes.

How does it stack up against other late-night options?

Uber Eats already ferries burgers and gas-station snacks at odd hours, but this is the Algarve’s first true supermarket basket available 24/7. Rival Bolt Food delivers until 02:00 in most towns, and no traditional grocer south of Lisbon offers a comparable overnight service. In practice, that means Continente holds a monopoly on dawn-hour produce—at least until Pingo Doce or Lidl decide to follow suit. For dense resort zones such as Oura or Balaia, coverage is solid; villas in the inland barrocal may see longer ETAs or outright unavailability.

What you will pay

Base delivery fees on Uber Eats hover around €2.90, but the algorithm flexes higher during high demand. A separate service charge of roughly 10% is applied to the basket total. Subscribers to Uber One dodge both fees on “eligible orders”, though eligibility can change without notice. Continente’s shelf prices match in-store tags, but promotions sometimes lag by a few hours because they must be synced to Uber’s back-end. For big weekly shops, a daytime click-and-collect at Continente Online may still be cheaper; for emergency midnight snacks, the premium is modest.

The labour question that never sleeps

While customers cheer the upgrade, couriers point to a tougher reality. Portugal’s new “Agenda do Trabalho Digno” presumes platform riders are employees if certain control criteria are met—yet enforcement remains patchy. A May 2025 Supreme Court ruling extended that presumption to couriers contracted before the law took effect, but companies continue to classify many riders as freelancers. Unions say night shifts pay as little as €0.90 per drop, forcing couriers to chase surge pricing across Albufeira’s hilly backstreets. Campaigners are pushing for a €3 floor per delivery and additional hazard pay after midnight. Uber counters that riders value flexible hours and points to accident-insurance policies it funds.

Could the model spread beyond Albufeira?

Sonae, Continente’s parent group, calls the project a “pilot for tourist regions”. Executives are analysing order volumes through the busy August stretch before deciding whether to roll out 24-hour fulfilment in Faro, Portimão or even Lisbon’s riverfront parishes. For foreigners weighing a move to Portugal’s south, the experiment is a bellwether: if a major grocer can profitably run full-assortment 24/7 delivery in a medium-size coastal town, urban areas are next. Until then, Albufeira holds the crown as the only Portuguese city where you can have gala apples and a pack of pastéis de nata dropped at your door any time you like—sunrise included.