A Ria — Restaurant in Lagoa

WOW! This restaurant is one if the best restaurants we've ever eaten at. We visited Ferragudo for the day, staying in Portimão. We decided to stay in Ferragudo for dinner after seeing the fishermen bringing in their catch. We fell upon A Ria, a hidden away, discreet gem. We were greeted, sat and served like you would be at a Michelin star restaurant, this was clearly their standard way whilst being extremely friendly. Pedro displayed their catch for the day, clearly explaining pricing and Diogo recommended the delicious wine with what we chose. We decided on the tiger prawns as a starter for two and then the golden bream / 'dourada' for main. The fish was deboned for us at the table and served with a choice of fresh veg or salad. I'm a pescatarian and this was the best fish I've ever had! We couldn't find space for a pudding! Jessica, Pedro & Diogo were so attentive, topping up our wine, being there when we needed them but falling into the background when we didn't. We had a small bottle of Vinho Verde (375ml) tiger prawn starter for 2, golden bream for 2 with fresh vegetables, a bottle of local white (750ml - you can visit the vineyard 10mins away) and 2x espressos for less than €80 ! We have booked to return on Sunday for my husbands birthday! A massive thank you to the team at A Ria, the chefs, waiting staff, management - a meal...

This. restaurant. is. incredible. This was the first dinner we had in Portugal, & we never stopped talking about the food we ate here, that’s how amazing it is.

We walked up to the restaurant with a group of 3, but no reservation and the fit us in. The staff was kind and helpful (they even provided some tips about speaking Portuguese). We started with the bread with appertifs which was delightful.

We ordered the cod fish, monk fish, & steak with a prawn. This monk fish was the best fish I have ever had in my entire life (& I live on the coast in the US- I have had a lot of fresh fish). The whole table agreed that this fish was simply spectacular- it was flavorful but simple. The cod fish and steak were amazing as well.

The restaurant has the option to get fish where you actually get to choose the fish you want & then they debone the fish table side, so cool to see!

For dessert, we got the banofee pie & strawberries with cream. This banofee pie changed my life- I was in heaven. I’ll never be the same.

I will dream about this meal for years to come.

The wine was also quite incredible.

This small little village is peaceful & totally worth it to visit. I wish we would’ve gone back more. Do yourself a favor and visit this village & restaurant, you won’t be...

Dissapointed about their sea food. Their fish soup tasted hot water poured over some white fish, with no character or taste at all. Same goes for their garlic prawns starter.

We ordered various fish and sea food by the kilo or from a la carte dishes. The fish arrived dry, over cooked/grilled and with some potatoes and carrots. White fish doesn't taste a lot to start with, so one would perhaps expect some marinade/seasoning or fish sauce to go with it, but no. It's very basic, put a fish on the grill, serve with a few potatoes...

The staff was very friendly and I liked the place, and their fish was freshly displayed. But the food had no soul! They could lower the music a notch, it made it hard to keep a conversation.

We have enjoyed a lot of good sea food in Portugal over the years. No one in our party had a good food experience here, and we don't understand the high rating! (Which is why we chose this place in the...