Our morning at the Lagos Avenida starts slowly. The town’s big market, Mercado de Levante de
Lagos is right outside our window but won’t be open today so there’s no need to
rush. We take a leisurely wander to the
lobby restaurant and are greeted with excellent coffee, a fine buffet and
lovely al la carte menu, all of which we indulge in generously.
Today is a relaxed day to explore Lagos. Walking out the front door, we turn right and
head to the historic center of town. The
Centro Historico is the original settlement here, nestled into the steep
mountainside overlooking the Oceano Atlantico.
Today it’s the hub of shops, bars and restaurants showcasing both the
tradition and modern evolution of Portuguese crafts, art, fashion and cuisine. We wile away a few happy hours navigating the
narrow streets.
We continue south to explore the town’s famous beaches,
starting at Praia de Batata which confoundingly translates to Potato Beach. The terrain here is the attraction, the rock
formations, cliffs, natural bridges and golden sand conspiring to form plenty
of secluded little places for you to find quiet respite next to the calm water.
Always in search of the local-most spots to eat, when we parked, we both noticed a tiny, basic cafĂ© with absolutely no views tucked into a nondescript building near the beach. Mandy mentioned the place first when we got hungry, and I respond by telling her that every single day she reminds me why I love her. It’s a bit cool so we pick a seat inside where the dozen or so tiny two-tops are placed less then a foot apart. Mandy, no surprise, picks the fresh sardines and I go off script for a big fat fried fish sandwich. The food is legit delish and the selections are perfect for a beach lunch as is a full carafe of local white wine. But there, a few tables over, we see a big clamshell shaped copper pot being served with great fanfare. Steam billows as the lid is lifted and the room is filled with the scents of fish, seafood and spices which will become my obsession for the next 36 hours.
After lunch we continue south down the beach road to Praia
do Pinhao. We park at a lot and wind our
way down the long flights of wooden stairs to the sand. There we explore the dramatic rock formations
that define this part of the shoreline. At
the northern end, we climb onto a natural jetty where we sit, take in the colored
bands in the rocks, the cool water, the people and generally just watch the
world go by. There are dozens of rock monoliths
jutting out of the ocean, 10 to 50 feet high, lined up like soldiers protecting
their castle if you see them from just the right angle. At the southern end we scale a 15 foot wall
to look down into a massive natural pool.
We’ve gotten plenty of steps and flights in today, so we
reward ourselves with a long soak in the warm rooftop pool at our hotel. From our skyperch, we watch the comings and
goings of the Lagos Marina just across the beach road. The party cruises, dive boats and sailboats
crisscross under the pedestrian drawbridge as they enter the marina from the
manmade access inlet. They all look like
fun, but today we’re more than content to be spectating from our cheap seats.
Back in the room, I start my quest to score us some Capaplana,
that fragrant fish stew we saw at lunch.
It’s the shoulder season so I figure it shouldn’t be that hard to find a
good place for the region’s signature dish.
Like most of my thermodynamics exams in college, I have figured wrong. The best Capaplana restaurants book out far
in advance all year long, but I do manage to score a reservation on a last
minute cancellation… but it’s not until tomorrow night. I switch my Google to “best local seafood
dinner” and we book Restaurante A Barrigada for 7:30.
When we pull off the road into the dirt parking lot, Mandy
asks me, with no small measure of distrust, if we are in the right place. From the outside, the building looks like an
abandoned hardware store, and we are the only car in the dusty lot. I halfheartedly reassure her, trying to sound
convincing while simultaneously trying to convince myself. We park and walk to the door passing an
inexplicable YMCA looking swimming pool surrounded by very unwelcoming steel
fence. Between the first and second door
we see the space, more high school cafeteria vibes then fine dining, and there
is literally nobody seated. We hem and
haw a bit before reluctantly venturing in, but only after I promise her that we
can leave after 5 minutes if it gets any weirder. Weirder it does not get. In fact, just the opposite. As we are seated we realize that one father
and son couple are already there and a few other tables are full in the back
dining room. Our very friendly waiter
sat us and brought the traditional cheese and bread starters. Seemingly within minutes the cavernous space
filled with large groups of locals and we realized that we were the only non-Portuguese
speaking people here. (See, I told
you this was gonna be good!) We’re
ushered to the fish case where we pick stout 3kg red snapper. The volume and energy steadily increases, in
no small measure from the entire adult men’s futbol team sitting at the table
behind us gulping tall beers and gallons of red wine. We go with the local white – we just can’t
get enough – and, once again, it’s the best 5€ we’ve ever spent. We split a bowl of of scrumptious fish soup, served
piping hot, tinted red by a bit of tomatoes and paprika. It’s the size of the pool out our window, but
much more inviting. Next course is a
large platter of tomato and goat cheese salad with EVOO, so simple in it’s
construction but so delicious due to the quality and freshness of the three components. We are trying to save room for the fish but
can’t stop munching. Our snapper is roasted
with some potatoes and veggies and is clearly the star of the show, no small
feat considering the meal so far. The
meal is a testament to the methods of the best restaurants in the world… take
fine ingredients, don’t over complicate it, and practice, practice, practice
until your method is perfected.
