Panela de ferro — Restaurant in Oliveira do Hospital

I went to Panela de Ferro with my family and some friends to celebrate New Year's Eve. I have a few words to summarize my experience: absolutely wonderful and unforgettable experience. In all my honesty, my expectations were exceeded.

In more detail: The restaurant was very cozy and very well decorated. We started our evening in the downstairs space, where several starters were displayed. These were brilliant. I especially enjoyed a starter that had a cream made with olives. We moved upstairs for dinner. Dinner consisted of 5 courses (plus the traditional raisins and champagne at midnight). It started with a creamy seafood soup that was excellent, followed by tiger prawn with a delicious ginger and lime sauce. The first main course was sea bass with pea puree. This, in my opinion, was the star of the night. The fish was beautifully done. The second main course was veal with a nice salad and potatoes. I asked for my meat to be rare/medium-rare and it was perfect - it was delicious! Our meal ended with a light and refreshing chocolate mint mousse. During our meal we were also served with different wines that paired very well with each course.

I want to thank Claudio and Raquel (and the wonderful cooks) for this beautiful evening that will certainly remain in my memory.

I recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting or living in Oliveira...

Ambience great. Front of house experience, not so good. Not shown to a table, stood waiting for the senior waitress to show us a table. The younger waitress seemed more than caple of serving, but seemed not to to be allowed to take orders, serve wine etc. Waited 25 minutes for our wine. Português wine is great. It was disappointing not to be offered wine of the house. This does not mean inferior quality. The Angus steak was very good quality and cooked to perfection. I had shrimp salad. It was nice but bagged salad.... cherry tomatoes, and imported prawns cold. The restaurant is aiming for a high end experience but is lacking in experience to deliver sadly. The staff were friendly but need proper training. It could be great but not...

Our last night nearby, this was just the nicest find of our holiday.

The food was really exceptional - authentic, catering for pescatarian and meat eaters.

The bread, flavoured butter and olives were delicious. Excellent salads accompanied each dish.

We tried a fabulous sirloin steak, grilled squid that was perfect, and sea bass that was really perfectly cooked.

This was a delightful discovery, off the beaten track, and stylishly simple decor. The wine list was really good. But what added to the excitement was that this was priced at the local rate!

The puddings were absolutely heavenly.

This might read like a gushing review, but this really is the nicest place we have eaten in all week - from Coimbra south.

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