Restaurante Chico Zé

Anyone driving to Lagos on the EN 125 finds it on the left-hand side of the road, not long after Odiáxere. It’s one of those places that doesn’t simply guard secrets from the past, it gives them value and a new lease of life.

In every corner there are antiquities and unusual objects, full of stories. The main dining room has a rustic feel, with stone walls and large wooden tables. There are wine barrels, too and next to some of the tables, we can see old bottles of wine resting on stands.

Over the last 20 years, the owning family here has constructed a veritable garden around the restaurant. There are also stables, a paddock and a selection of animals – the whole feel is that of an old rural Algarvian farm.

Outside also, antiquities abound – tractors, ploughs, carts, even an old-fashioned winery. Families with children certainly have an alternative in this place to the shopping malls of the area. But let’s get back to the table…

The menu is written in chalk on a large blackboard at the door. Anyone who doesn’t speak Portuguese has no need to worry, because right at the entrance, in a friendly, completely spontaneous way, Chico Zé, 36, the current owner (who works at the grill), shows the fresh fish and meat of the day. At least, it happened this way with us.

To start, we’d recommend some rissoles made from house-style suckling pig (€1.10). They arrived with a large mixed salad (€2) and black olives (€0.75), followed by our choice: a mixture of meats, with ribs (€5.50) and pork chops (€5.50), washed down with the house red wine (€1.50).

To finish up, after coffee, we felt like staying a while to talk, and wonder why there aren’t more places like this one?

Specialities: Grilled fish; meat grilled over the BBQ; mixed kebab; t-bone steak; ribs; Hours: Lunchtimes only (with possibility of party bookings at night), closed Sundays; Drinks: excellent stock of Portuguese wines; Parking and disabled access: has its own car park and just a few obstacles; Bill: €19.15 for 2 people without dessert; NIF 205 298 273.