Earth Shop & Café — Restaurant in Lagoa

My wife and I did our scouting of places to check out before we came for few weeks to Carvoeiro. We had shortlisted Earth Shop and Cafe, but it felt a bit to hipster from photos...but we were WRONG.

The food is filling, good value, and tasty. We had the breakfast burrito which is massive and filled with chorizo, red beans, tomato sauce, cheese, and eggs. We also had the chicken soup with wild rice which was a winner with a side of well buttered bread. Basically from what we can see, everything on the menu is good.

Service is outstanding, and everyone is kind especially Andre though that's only because he's first person I met. Everyone else (whose name I will learn) seem welcoming and funny. We walked in first time, and we mentioned we wanted English and Portuguese menu to Andre, who gave us both. Then he was kind enough to practice Portuguese with us while taking our order despite our terrible accents and vocabulary. Just warm person.

Price. We initially thought food was expensive BUT then we compared prices at Earth Cafe to everywhere else on strip and realized, it was a steal of a price. Food ranges from EUR8-13 with some lower and few a bit higher.

LAstly, the view is stunning with lots of sun and the whole cafe is welcoming, open, and full of cool products. The layout makes you want to just sit and enjoy the day. Also seems super popular as it was only place that full that we have seen as of yet.

Fair warning, they close on Tuesdays and do not serve dinner, so it's...

Earth Shop & Cafe has great potential. The menu is well thought-out, the branding is unmistakable and the food was delicious. However, they need to work on training the staff better. I had ordered a red Porto and the waitress got me a normal red wine. No problem, everyone makes mistakes. She admitted her error and then offered to get some red Porto. I had to drive and so I said I'd only like to have a tiny sip (because I wanted to sample the famed red Porto!). She then backtracked and said they've ran out of the red stuff. Weird. They then charged me for the red wine rather than graciously giving it for free (after all, I hadn't ordered it). That was off-putting. When we'd ordered our food, my wife was browsing some of the things they were selling off the shelves. She asked if she could sample some of the pomegranate vinaigrette. An establishment interested in selling their goods would usually be receptive to such a request. The folks at Earth Shop & Cafe instead told her they'll send it with the food. Whilst the salad that I had ordered did come with some vinaigrette-like sauce, it didn't really taste of pomegranate and they didn't offer any helpful advice either. Things like these disappointed me, but there's no denying that the food...

Short version: THE BEST coffee & service in the Algarve!

Long version: Having lived in several countries where you find good coffee everywhere, I am picky with my coffee, and hoped I'd get the same while visiting the Algarve with my sister. All coffees we had in Portugal before discovering Earth Cafe were horrible. So when we stepped into Earth Cafe we were kind of ready to be deceived. To the contrary! We ordered espresso macchiato that was made to perfection. After that we ordered croissants & orange juice. Also super good & fresh.

As this cafe was very close to our airbnb, we opted to go there every day for our coffee. Right on the 2nd day, the staff remembered what coffee we liked. Being my sister and I creatures of habit, by the 3rd day they knew what we would have for breakfast. They also kept our table clean and free for us, without we asking for it.

Not less important, dogs are welcome at this lovely cafe (they even have a jar with doggie treats! and a small wall of fame with their fav doggies).

If you happen to be in Carvoeiro and want good coffee, great service, fresh food, go...