Nilanj D.
Yelp
We passed through Vila Nova de Milfontes during our "Rota Vicentina" hiking trip and our hotel owner strongly suggested we visit this place. It was a good choice and I could clearly see it is popular with locals and visitors alike, and that the food is really solid. The interior is awesome and includes a fireplace with sofas!
Our appetizers were delicious: a simple salad, pimientos de padron, and local sheep's milk cheese. I didn't love my main - it was roast lamb and potatoes, but what part of lamb it was wasn't explained to me very well. It seemed like throwaway cuts of ribs and vertebrae. It was very nicely seasoned and roasted, but it wasn't choice cuts, there was much more bone than meat, and I felt it wasn't worth the premium price they put on it. My girlfriend's food (Portuguese style steak) was excellent - so good that I packed it up for lunch on the trail tomorrow!!!
The real star here was the service, which started a bit slow but was attentive and careful about my gluten issue! One thing I appreciated was that when we asked for a wine suggestion, we didn't get sold the most pricey bottles of wine on the menu. Rather, our waitress suggested one of the more inexpensive items on the list and it was really really solid! And as a post-meal snack we got a small sack of walnuts and a nutcracker!
Bottom line, I didn't love my main dish, but I saw how good everyone else's was. Overall our meal of 3 appetizers, 2 mains, and wine cost about €85, which is expensive compared to every meal I've eaten thus far in Portugal outside of Lisbon. That's cheap compared to back home in DC of course! Get ready to open your wallet but if you are used to expensive meals, this will be well worth it!