O Lagar

Each visit in Elvas we try a new restaurant. Friday 2nd September was time to try O Lagar. The staff are pleasant, helpful and welcoming. Behind those wide doors is a large refectory room with plenty of space between tables, a bar on one side and a view of the busy kitchen at the back. It's all very tidy and clean and the place got full pretty quickly, for good reasons. The service is very efficient, though you have to wait a little for your meal but we find it always a good sign: it's cooking as it should be, with pride and quality. The usual couvert of little plastic containers of paté, cream cheese and butter never impress us and I would say this should not be presented in this establishment where the rest of the food is home-made cooking. However, we love bread and we definitely tried their delicious buns while waiting for a Lombo de Porco com Batadas Padeiro (Slices of pork loin with roasted potato wedges, rice and gravy) and a Bife de Vitela à Lagar (Beef steak "O Lagar" style, rice and chips) served with a generous salad side dish of crunchy lettuce, tomatoes and sliced onions. Both main dishes were well prepared and very tasty. The beef really stole the limelight. Served medium rare to perfection, the O Lagar style revealed itself to be 2 steak slices between which there was melted cheese and bacon, yummy! The sauce, equally tasty, was probably madeira wine and mushroom based but we never enquired, there was no need. These main dishes are definitely of good proportion and a starter should not be necessary unless you intend to take left- overs with you. We took a litre jar of their red house wine at room temperature which was perfectly enjoyable for 6.50 euros for the price. One of us gave in to a desert of Cericaia (traditional Alentejan cake usually served with the local confit plum in its sirup and called Ameixa d'Elvas). The waiter brought 2 sets of cutlery and I could not resist trying it. We live in Alentejo and have tried many versions of this pudding, the one at O Lagar has to be one of the best we've had so far. As a result I had to order my own portion! It all went down a treat. Ended up with 2 expressos, as you do and the bill came to a reasonable 39.80 euros. A place worth returning to, to impress visitors with some good Portuguese regional cooking. Thank you.

Pleasantly surprised with this place. Be sure to book a table as is was full on a Monday night. Huge portions, one plate between two is enough. Fantastic gastronomic experience. Highly recommended

Beautiful place. Great food, great staff. Good for families, but also for more private meal 'a deux'. Recommended!

Typical Portuguese food.
Don't miss it if you go to Elves.
The portions are enough for two persons.
Very good place and very friendly staff.
You should try the "migas"

I did not know what to expect at this restaurant, but it was great. The food was very good, we all had grilled (charcoal) meat dishes. The flavor was amazing! There was so much food we could have shared the dishes. Highly recommend.

Very good restaurant, good food quality and excellent customer service 😊

The food there is excellent. The restaurant is air conditioned and the prices are good. The portions are enourmous. The staff could be more enjoyed.

Wow! This place is AWESOME!! The food is delicious with HUGE portions. ALSO, the waiters are friendly and ON TOP OF THEIR STUFF!! They work the room with skill when it gets busy, doing six different things at the same time and keeping up with it all. Their friendliness is palpable. What a delicious and feel good experience - like going over to a long time friend's house for dinner. <3

Very good food!. Very nice atmosphere!
I should probably mention that it took over an hour for food to come out of the kitchen. Fortunately I was with good company so it was worth the wait. I'm still giving 5 stars because I think the wait was probably an anomaly.

Fantastic food, very resonable prices, warm-hearted and friendly staff. Had dinner there several times over the last two years - always more than satisfied by the quality of the food and the servie. Be aware the portuons are really big - if you're not very hungry better share one main course. And don't miss the fantastic desserts.

Family run restaurant type. Great food, no bull.

Very delicious food, reasonable price, very friendly and helpful waiter, nice environment, typical Portuguese cuisine, we really enjoyed our dinner! Thank you!

Very good food . Typical portuguese. Recommended for meat lovers .

Very delicious food and a very Gold Service.
If we stay in Elvas we come back.

Excellent restaurant with very good service and tasty food (huge portions, good for three!). Moderately priced, stays open until late, unlike many restaurants in Elvas which close at 7 pm!!

Food. Customer service. Wine. Sensational. The only downside was the Sporting Lisbon clock, forca Benfica!

Food is awesome, very well served.
The service was very good and the place has some history.

Amazing food and excellent value for money.

Great Portuguese food. Huge portions... You are warned

If you're searching for traditional food from Alentejo region in Elvas, this is your place...