Solar Das Fontes - Barcelos

Uma ótima surpresa, uma excelente opção na hora do almoço.

On the last night staying with friends in Barcelos, we asked our host where we should go for our final dinner locally. His answer was: Herdade Das Águas. We looked this up on Google and discovered that this was a farm. But the pictures of the location definitely looked like there as a beautiful old stone building and a parking lot by the road, so taking it on local faith and knowledge, we jumped into the car and made our way. When we got there we realized that they were right: On the edge of the farm was the beautiful Restaurante Solar das Fontes. As we entered we were greeted warmly and asked to wait for a moment. Then a young and professional English speaking waiter came over and took control, and led us to a beautiful table in the middle of the dining room full of locals. Then we started the order. He simply asked what we wanted. We said seafood...and salad . He said I have just the thing , and moments later he returned from restaurant to show us a beautiful fresh sea bass perfect for us four diners. He suggested grilling it, and suggested delicious sides potatoes, garlic greens, fresh salad and then he asked about the wine. Vinho verde we said. He said he knew exactly what would go with the fish, their house vinho verde. We agreed. He whisked the fish away, and then we sat back and watched it all happen. And it all unfolded exactly as our waiter promised: the fish was perfect, moist, flaky, the sides were delicious, crisp, fresh and flavourful, and the vinho verde was the best one we had on the whole trip with the right balance of dryness and fruit. We could see beautiful desserts in a window, but we were too full to try them. Other waiters helped serve as well, and they were all just as friendly and courteous as our main waiter even despite slight language barriers, making a special effort to say good bye to us when we left. As we drove back to our host 's home, there was a satisfied silence in the car, the stars were shining, and we knew that we had had the perfect close to our vacation. Would I go again? Definitely! If you are anywhere nearby, GO!!!

Beautiful and big building, quiet, big parking place. Bread and mussels for starters, veal for the main course, a bottle of white wine. The mussels were cold and bland, the food average, the wine a good choice. My mother visited the WC and said it was *very* dirty. I did not like the fishes on display, did not seem fresh. The desserts looked very good to the eye. The high point of the meal was the attention of the waiter, he went out of the way to be nice with us and my mother. Pretty well impressed. Recommended for wine lovers, they have a fairly good collection of wines.

Cozido á Portuguesa excelente!!! Vale mesmo a pena a visita!!!

Muito bom, qualidade, quantidade. staff super simpático. A repetir sempre que possível.