Where to eat in the Algarve, Portugal

Restaurante O Henrique  in Lagos

Set on Rua 25 de Abril, in the heart of Lagos, this small, very modern restaurant, could easily be overlooked as it sits quietly on the corner of a side road leading down to a more well known (and much larger) restaurant.

The restaurant makes no attempt at Portuguese rustic charm, but instead concentrates on a modern approach with lots of glass and chrome with the kitchen on show and an interesting chrome “thingy” behind a plate glass screen that I, at first sight, thought was modern art, but instead turned out to be the wash basin for the gentlemen's conveniencies.

Real napkins on the table, with crystal glass ware, give some clue as to the care the attentive staff take in making sure the visit is as enjoyable as possible.

For this visit we chose the usual couverts. The carrots marinaded in vinaigrette were truly superb with just a hint of crunch.  The “small” artesanal cheese was anything but small and an excellent flavour - olives and sardine paste completed a well presented package that easily sufficed as a starter.

For main courses, we chose Tunasteak Fisherman style served in a tomato, onion and garlic sauce and complemented with roast peppers and potatoes and Duck breast in a Port wine sauce served with broccoli and fluffy rice with almonds and raisins.  Presentation and flavour of both meals was amazing and “tastes” of each were passed over the table to make sure we didn't miss out on anything.

On a neighbouring table, again the duck breast had found favour and the comment on the other meal, ( Monkfish medallions in a creamy shrimp sauce with potatoes and broccolli ) was that it was bigger than expected but so good that it was going to be finished even if she stayed there all day.

The sweet menu is more like an English sweet menu, instead of the usual Portuguese sticky, spongy sweets and we were able to choose a huge banana split (with 2 spoons) which was a fine way to complete the meal.

With examples from the wine list such as Monte Velho at €13.50, and house wines at €9.50, the wine selection is varied and not over priced, as usually happens in more modern restaurants.

It was our first visit to O Henrique's, and it certainly won't be the last.  What really stands out is the fact that our waiter remembered us and later on when we saw him in Lagos, he was quick to greet us and wish us well.

If you have not tried it, this restaurant is well worth a visit.                                Jackie & Tony 2006

If you would like to know more about Portuguese Food and Drink, why don't you dip into our Restaurants in the Algarve section and our series of articles on Portuguese Wines and Ports.  We also feature some Traditional Portuguese Recipes and a glossary of useful Portuguese food & drink words and phrases

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