Restaurante VILA VITA Biergarten — Restaurant in Lagoa

To the owners: Overall the experience in the restaurant was good. At the butcher shop not so much, first time ever in Portugal that I've been made to feel bad for exercising my right to the priority law in Portugal. For those who are unaware, it's the law in Portugal that people with children (especially babies), disabilities, elderly and now health care workers are by law to be served first at any establishment that provides service, regardless of the line up and time people have been waiting in line for their turn. This was the case that happened to us at the butcher shop, we arrived and and older German lady was waiting to be attended at the butcher shop. She assumed we were trying to skip the line (in this case only herself waiting) and proceeded to yell at us in German clearly indicating for us to get behind her which we obliged. I clearly positioned my 7 month old baby visible to the attendant in the shop in hopes she would recognize her obligation. She did not and when was free proceeded to attend the German client. I immediately intervened and enquired if they complied with the priority law in Portugal to which she irritably replied the law is to be complied with all over Portugal. As the German lady now accompanied by her husband was yelling at me to get out I asked the attendant to explain the law to her customer. She did and that ended with the German lady throwing a hissy fit, storming out and as later I discovered said she would never return. I proceeded to do my shopping after having to break the very cold ice now that had formed and was very palpable between myself and the attendant now. She seemed to have warmed up after seeing that I was actually there spending euros and not just window shopping. At the end when paying I apologized to her for any confusion that my family might have caused with the misunderstanding with the previous customer to which she replied, "ya well, they were our long time customer but we probably lost them for good now because of it". Completely unnecessary comment and attitude! In terms of the restaurant, amazing! Staff were excellent, food was delicious and not overpriced and atmosphere was friendly and accommodating. Our baby was a bit of a show with all the wait staff and customers alike, complete opposite experience from the butcher shop! Highly recommend the restaurant. We had the charcuterie board (excellent combinations and presentation), trio of sausages accompanied by bread and mustard (also delicious) and all of it washed down with a bottle of Soalheiro, a delicious vinho verde from Monção that was perfectly chilled. All in all a great food experience but more to be desired on the commercial side hence...

Where to start? This restaurant allows online bookings. So we availed of that. Went well. On their website they mention many details about the menu and even provide a download version of the full menu. Just great. So we booked. We knew what we signed up for. A delicious choice of veal Schnitzel (my wife does not eat pork and veal Schnitzel is her childhood favorite) and German potato salad and Sauerkraut (both my favorites). After a week in the Algarve and on the last evening before our flight home we wanted to enjoy this veal Schnitzel and its trimmings. We drove 50 minutes to reach the venue. Only to be told that the menu was invalidated for the evening as a BBQ was done “every Friday this summer”. I pointed out that this was neither said on their website, nor in the reservation process nor on the reservation confirmation email. And we had gone to great lengths to come for the Schnitzel. Sadly, we were not accommodated and sent back for a 50min drive to our hotel with no joy. We felt utterly let down. If this is an ongoing affair that happens “every Friday” why then fail so badly and not point it out upfront for guests using the reservation system on their own website? The Vila Vita brand self-proclaims as customer centered but this clearly did not apply to my wife and me, two bona fide guests with a valid reservation who had come from far and were refused what they signed up...

On the day of my birthday, it was for me to choose the restaurant. We had read an article about it last September in relation to the Oktoberfest and it immediately appealed to us. We would try it on our next holiday...which was on the 3rd week ofJanuary 2023. Very easy access, plenty of free parking. Doors definitely do not open before the time, we were a bit earlier and maybe we could have sat for a beer so we went to see the pottery nearby instead. The decoration is very pleasant, sadly the wood burner was not on to add that welcoming feel on a cold-windy and partially rainy day. We chose our table and ordered one couvert, a Bretzel, 2 pints of the draught Weiß Bier, one chicken Oktoberfest-style and the 3 Würste -combo. No dessert, no coffee. About 44 euros for two. The food was really good and well presented, their home-bread is amazingly good and I was delighted with my süßer Senf (the traditional sweet mustard).The service was pretty attentive but I was rather disappointed by the ambiance, having expected staff to also speak German and to hear some traditional German music. The experience I was hoping for was not complete the way I imagined it. But at least it was...