Avenida Restaurante — Restaurant in Lagos

5 stars experience! I came here a few days ago with my boyfriend to treat ourselves to a fancy and innovative dinner. At the restaurant entrance, we met a very kind and gorgeous woman that introduced us to the lunch/dinner room. The atmosphere was very sophisticated, with soft natural light filtered through the windows. Once seated, we were guided through our food journey by waitpersons and wine experts that could wisely advise us. To begin with, we had 2 delicious signature cocktails: the Sea Beast (Rum, lemon juice, and maple syrup) and the Arràbida (Tequila, Whiskey, Moscatel- a Portuguese sweet wine variety- smoked cinnamon and orange syrup). We happily enjoyed the atmosphere while treated with the couvert dish: 2 quenelle of butter (or was it mascarpone?) with truffles or paprika served on a rock and olive oil from the Alentejo region. As starters, we had: reduction of red peppers, mushrooms served on a crunchy crouton with amberjack sashimi and smoked eel on the bottom. The dish was finished at the table with mushroom water. This dish was very complex and had many flavors in it, and I absolutely loved it a nest of beetroot escabeche, burrata, and a crunchy crouton made of dates and sesame seeds. To freshen the dish up, a reduction of passion fruit was added at the bottom. My boyfriend was delighted as well. He reported the same complexity and balance I mentioned before. Then as main dishes, we had: the octopus and scarlet prawn dish. These two ingredients were placed together in a circular shape; in the very center of the plate, I discovered a nest made of fennel and peas. As decoration, I found mushrooms and baby asparagus (I guess, but not sure). The dish had a very exquisite sauce on top, and I am still trying to figure out what it was, but I guess there was lemongrass. -veal tenderloin served with beetroot, potato’s purée, and asparagus. I didn’t personally try this dish, but my boyfriend was enthusiastic about it. The two main courses were paired with excellent wines (2021 Primitivo from Portugal for me and 2019 Reserva for my boyfriend). We finished then with the desserts: passion fruit “ice cream” with merengue coconut and mango fluffy lemon mousse with white chocolate and basil infusion oil Every dessert can be paired with a cocktail or a dessert wine, and we chose the dessert wines. It is a long review, I know, but if you are really into high cuisine and up for an excellent and pleasing experience, I strongly recommend this place. Thanks for...

Update... another amazing night in this great restaurant. This time I went with a friend and we had a lot more to drink. Excellent wine selection, great cocktails, and happy to learn about local gin (yummy). A big bow to the very good and professional staff of that night. In the end, I ate a bit of meat for the first time in many years... and it was delicious. But apart from that, I stuck to my fish and vegetarian dishes. Delicious mackerel but the burrata was my highlight. My friend will be back for more foie grass, next time probably as starter, main, and dessert. What a delicious experience... beauty, creativity, super tasty quality ingredients, and just perfect hospitality. It was time to celebrate my birthday, so I chose this (recommended) restaurant... and it delivered all the way. I'd like to give 6 stars if I could. We'll definitely be back here soon... and so should you... I also highly recommend!

With dietary restrictions for both my girlfriend and myself, the chef's menu was not an option for us. The catch of the day would have been, but I wanted to really try the menu and enjoy all the creativity and taste. So, we ordered five dishes. Later, I ordered two more, and we both had a dessert (which I usually don't do).

Now, my only criticism would be, that the dishes varied in size a lot. Because I normally don't take dessert, and don't eat the meat (which I ordered for my girlfriend), it was difficult to judge how it would all work out for both of us. So, I ordered the extra dishes, but they were much bigger than the ones we started with. It was a complicated "what can she eat and what can he eat" puzzle, but we made it into a party anyway.

The oysters to start with were really great. Such a lovely combination of flavours working together, but still leaving the oyster itself as the star of the show. The sardine tomato dashi was taste wise probably the highlight for me, but I also loved the cauliflower and the perfectly cooked octopus. We were the last ones in the restaurant, but I'm happy we could still go for dessert. Sorrell and fennell in a desert just screams...

Well, what can I say. I saw chef Roeland Klein and spoke with him… Seemed a bit unusual but not unkind, slightly arrogant and kept scratching his head whilst preparing fish (without washing his hands). Ok, the fish gets cooked but not the impression you want to give to guests in an open kitchen.

I also commented to chef Roeland about membrane being left on some squid. Of course, he didn’t like that and threatened to stop our courses coming out. I thought he seemed reasonable at first and I guess cooking is very personal and not for the emotionally fragile. The German host, meanwhile, had designs on us and kept brushing past our table and knocking things over. This only occurred after she had spoken with chef Roeland so I assume they clubbed together to hurt the English. I am ever more sensitive about this as I voted Remain, however, they implied a number of times that ‘this is what you wanted’ - even though I made it clear when I checked in that I loved the Germans (in reference to the owner’s wife who monitored our stay with timely precision).

Personally, I am surprised the Michelin guide awarded this a Bib Gourmand. Generally, when you eat out, you want to eat something better than you yourself could make. For me, this was a crude imitation of menus in Northern Europe. Fortunately for Avenida, the local European populace are generally not knowledgeable about food and are happy to eat overcooked detritus, especially in Portugal when a key national dish is the Francesinha.

For anyone familiar with UK gastronomy, or the lack thereof, I would rather eat at a Wetherspoons over Avenida. At least the chef don’t stare at you and...