Regional Gastronomy
Apart from a very high quality international cuisine that stems from the expanding tourism industry, this region also offers delicious regional dishes. Seafood soups, oregano snails, pork meat and "cataplana" clams, roasted dried octopus on the grill (Lagos style), grilled squid and cuttlefish.
Special attention should be given to the fig pastries, to the marzipan pastries, shaped like little animals or fruits, to the famous "D. Rodrigo" and "Morgado" from Lagos, to the puff pastry from Olhão, and to the egg yolk, almond paste and caramel pastries from Tavira. You should taste the Lagoa wines, internationally famous, as well as those from Lagos and from Tavira and the various regional liquors.
Food Festivals
Restaurants
We thought it would be helpful to potential guests to suggest some restaurants that we or other guests have enjoyed. To make this simple, each venue is given a rating of Bronze, Silver or Gold, based on our overall assessment of the food, service, ambience and value. You will of course appreciate that these are only personal opinions and that we cannot accept any responsibility for any meal you do not enjoy!
Restaurante Atlantico, Luz - Silver
We really like this restaurant.
Located in a row of several restaurants to the right of the Church in Luz, Atlantico is a family owned and run business.
There is a good menu offering a range of Portuguese and other Southern
European dishes, including the traditional Cataplana, Bacalhau, Grilled
Swordfish stuffed with a Goat-cheese and tomato tapenade, Grilled Sea Bass, and
a Rack of Lamb which is the amongst the best I have tasted anywhere.
The wine list though not exhaustive is more than sufficient, and sensibly priced. It is well worth exploring some of the Portuguese wines. We particularly favour the mid priced Alentejano regional wines.
The service and ambiance is friendly and humorous, with great local waiters.
The combination of good food and great service makes this one of our favourite restaurants, and has the added advantage of being only five minutes walk from the apartment.
We suggest that you pop in a day in advance and book a table, just to be sure. The reputation of this restaurant appears to be growing quickly.
Restaurante Don Sebastiao , Lagos - Gold
If
you really want to treat yourself, you must have a meal at Don Sebastiao in the
centre of Lagos. This is an excellent restaurant, particularly for fish and
seafood lovers. Whilst not cheap, a similar restaurant in any major UK city
centre would be at least twice the price, but would be highly unlikely to share
the same atmosphere.
We found both the food and the service of a very high standard, without being either pretentious or fussy. There are tables both inside and out. We chose to sit inside to enjoy the ambiance.
The menu is extensive and includes most of the local fish varieties, as well as most other popular traditional Portuguese dishes. Being fish lovers I had the Grilled Red Mullet, which was first rate, whilst Chris had a superb fresh crab. (They have a large tank of Crustacea inside the restaurant). The fish, Lobsters and Crabs are charged for by the uncooked weight and brought to you for inspection prior to cooking.
The wine list is very impressive, and will suit most budgets. For wine
connoisseurs, the Port list is exceptional. I thoroughly
enjoyed a glass of 1985 Vintage. If you ask the waiter, they will be also
delighted to give you a tour of their wonderful wine and port cellar.
We hope you enjoy Don Sebastiao as much as we do. We suggest that it is essential that you book in advance to avoid disappointment.
From Luz you can catch a taxi from the square near the church, which will cost between 6 and 12 euros depending on the time of night. All the taxi drivers will be able to direct you to the restaurant, which is in a pedestrianised street two minutes walk from the taxi ranks.
Dolphin Restaurant, Luz - Silver
Situated on the lower road between the apartment and the Church, the Dolphin Restaurant is under 5 minutes walk from the apartment.
The restaurant enjoys an excellent reputation and is very well managed by the
owners, a South African Family with a keen sense of what good service means.
The menu is an interesting blend of South African and Portuguese dishes, from Ostrich Steaks to fabulous King Prawns. The food is both delicious and well presented, and served in a very professional, friendly manner. The wine list includes both Portuguese and South African Wines, most reasonably priced.
We would certainly recommend that if you are staying for a week or more, you should book to eat here at least once. You may need to book a few days in advance as the restaurant is fairly compact and gets booked up quickly.