LAB by Sergi Arola — Restaurant in Sintra

Very friendly staff and a beautiful location.

If you like a cooking show or something theatrical this is your place to go and your money is well spent here.

However, if you are really into food, I highly recommend you try the Midori instead - just a 2min walk on the same property. The menu costs exactly the same there. And value for money is definitely way better over there.

As my wife and I are much more into food and taste than into show, we were a bit disappointed.

Unfortunately, this is an example what happens with a lot of these "TV celebrity chefs", who open their 10+ outlet. I do not know whether Sergi Arola really cooks well or not (I honestly never heard of him before), but here you will never be able to find out as he is almost never there. Not even his placeholder, the so called resident chef was there according to staff.

The menu was decent but overall too tasteless, several times undercooked and the composition lacked the finesse of what I expect from a Michelin stared place. As an example: There was a pigeon royal served as main course: It was just undercooked. I had a very good comparison - just one week before we ate pigeon royal at another Michelin stared place. It was day and night.

The staff was very friendly, passionate and did an amazing job. But after asking some questions it was clear that they simply lacked the training (concerning cooking in general or ingredients in fine dinig etc.) and that they did not have enough experience in fine dining themselves. This is not their fault of course and I would not hold that against any of them. Yet, it is the same issue again: Being "yet another outlet" of some celebrity chef, who is never there and who is simply not capable of ensuring that the staff is educated up to the standard the place wants to suggest it is.

Let me finally lose a couple of words about the wine menu. They have a very well curated and really broad selection of wine. However the prices are ludicrous. Having quickly calculated myself... they sell their wines at around 4 to 5 times of what they buy them for. That is of course their right to do, but it will keep the people from buying wine at all. God only knows how much I love good wine, but if I can nearly buy an entire case for the price of one bottle in the restaurant... well, we ordered water as we had some amazing local wine the night before and most likely the...

If you are into show, storytelling and stunning location: This is your place.

If you are into amazing food and a regular Michelin-star visitor, this is definitely not your place (go to Midori at the same property instead).

First of all: The staff is very friendly and does everything they are trained for. Very welcoming, warm and open.

Second of all: if you have never been in a true fine dining restaurant, it’s a good experience - starting with a a trip across typical tapas in Portugal freshly prepared for you, before going into the dining area. And also the menu has a lot of good stories around it (also see the pictures).

However: First, I am a true foodie and the quality and/or composition of dishes did not meet what I am used to for restaurants with a Michelin-star (e.g., burned parts of a dessert). Second, while the staff told great stories, they couldn’t talk about ingredients beyond the obvious (e.g., we asked for the kind of caviar and we didn’t get beyond ‘sturgeon’) and didn’t have the training to be successful (e.g., keeping single piece of bread on the table till dessert without offering a refill; never asking whether we are ready for the next dish but rather serving everything without a break; being completely overwhelmed when we said that a dish wasn’t well-balanced). Third, while the wine list is very nice, the prices are high - they have a margin of 4-5x, which is not acceptable (for me as an absolute wine lover).

So, all in all: nice for tourists, but value for money...

Bold, delicious food served with an intense sense of place. Staff that clearly love to share the joy of their food culture and creations. All in an idyllic setting. Worth flying for.

Menus are seasonal, and we chose the maritime tasting menu. The dishes feature locally harvested (and foraged) ingredients in brilliantly executed combinations of sour, savory, sweet and even bitter flavors that accentuate key ingredients without overpowering them. Expert combinations of colors and textures add to the experience visually, while many dishes have a story that ties directly into the land or the sea within walking distance (or a short drive) of the resort. To add to the experience, stay on the property or at least arrive early and walk some of the trails cut into the property to see where some of the ingredients are found before your meal.

Don't miss the pairing. Portuguese wine is its own universe and this is one of the best ways you could be introduced to it. Unless you've lived in Portugal a long time, expect quite a few new flavors, new grapes and new pairings -- even for a Michelin star regular. Some pairings feel like long-perfected classics while others are well-calculated risks that, at least for me, created unique combinations of flavors that I'm still thinking about.

Our thanks to the staff and chefs on a Michelin star...