Tasca Jota Lagos

We enjoyed dinner here. We order the special appetizer, which was shredded beef (stew like), this was one of the best beef dishes I have eaten. The fried squid was good, the squash salad with goat cheese was a work of art, so delicate, so enjoyable. The chicken curry with rice, catch of the day and the pork belly were great dishes as well. Prices match the quality of the food. The bar tender was very friendly, he made good drinks and was attentive with us.

Among my most favourite restaurants in Lagos! We accidentally found it and made sure to book a table for dinner. The restaurant is more on the expensive side, but for a good reason. The top quality food with a nice twist and bouquet of flavours! Excellent team work, attentive staff and delightful atmosphere. I had a catch of the day, a mouthwatering sea-bream with vegetables and my partner had seafood linguini. Absolutely delicious!

I had the lunch menu. It had some very good butter, bread and oliven. I then had my first stuffed squid/octopus (can't remember). The wine was good and suitable for the food. And the desert was also very good. The service was pretty good, and they made a mistake, which got me a free mocktail.

Tapas come in so many shapes sizes and styles it’s hard to differentiate one restaurant from the next. Do yourself a favor and walk a bit off the main tourist drag to Tasca Jota. Elevating tapas to next level, the food is plated professionally, the quality is well above your average tapa and service is friendly and fast.

Having a hard time choosing, we went with four tapas and a main. I should point out that only a few times out of 17 nights in Portugal were the mains as good or better than the tapas or charcuterie plates. This was an exception.

We started out with a house pate which was tuna. Small but excellent. The first tapa we had was crunchy squid sticks with harissa mayo. Better than most calamari in North America the portion is big and the squid is excellent. Harissa is flavorful and there’s plenty of it for dipping.

Next we had burratta over truffled black olives, tomatoes and grapes. Looking like a Michelin star dish, the sweetness of the cheese matches all the delicious goat and sheep cheese we’ve enjoyed in Portugal. Excellent choice.

The menu lists the salad as butternut squash with cottage cheese, pesto, seeds and almonds but they called it pumpkin. Either way, it would be $25 or more back home but here it’s less than ten euro and worth it. One of the best salads we’ve had anywhere actually.

We asked if we should choose chicken wings or shrimp and they suggested the prawns in sautéed in ginger, chili peppers and garlic. We’ve had shrimp about ten times in Portugal. Many times it’s over cooked and not flavorful. Not this time. A large portion of 8 or 9 deliciously perfect shrimp is easily shareable.

Finally, we chose penne with spiced chorizo from Monchique. Not having visited that area, I wanted to have one last chorizo before going back to the spicy Mexican version we get at home. The pasta was perfectly al dente, the chorizo was amazing, portion size is bigger than the tapas, sauce is flavorful. We had no room for dessert and actually, you’d be full with three tapas and a main or four tapas and no main

Asking if the chef has experience in Spain, they told us they’re from all over including Argentina, Spain and other parts of Europe. Whoever they are, this was our best meal in the Algarve. Prices are a bit higher than most tapas but the elevation of the food makes it well worth it. Five stars all around and nothing negative whatsoever to critique. We only had two experiences where mains and tapas were both five star. (The other one was Aneto & Table in Paso De Regua). Hats off to the owners.

Had a gorgeous dinner at this restaurant. Service impeccable, food utterly delicious. The presentation of the food and taste was top notch. Slightly off the beaten track, but food experience made it well worth it. As a coeliac, I found them great. First time on my trip where someone has said, no it’s not gluten free but let me see if they can make it gluten free for you. Which they did!

We had a fantastic dinner here! I made the reservation from Sintra, so I had no idea where the restaurant was located.
We walked from our hotel and the area that the restaurant is located in is not the most picturesque area of Logos so we almost passed it by, but I’m very glad we didn’t! The food is fabulous. We started out with the pate and bread. The bread is a rye based sour dough and the pate is delicious and not overly livery tasting. We also had the beef carpaccio for a starter (don’t judge us!) which was delicious. For the entree I had the fish of the day (durada), amazing! My wife had the pork belly. Best pork belly I have ever tasted… I’m usually not a fan bc it’s usually mostly fat. This had lots of meat and a crispy skin served on a sweet potato purée.
The wine we had was perfect with both meals (see pics). Raphael was our server and he did an excellent job. I would highly recommend eating here!

Absolutely wonderful food, service, and relaxed atmosphere. Portuguese style, made using new methods/techniques. Visited for my wife's birthday based on a local recommendation. The food was incrediblely well presented, and packed full of flavour. We had a tapas each and a main, followed by a digestif, all delicious! The crab truffles with romanesco sauce in particular were mind blowing good! Highly recommended!

The Service is Perfect, The Ambiente is Awesome , and the Food is delicious.
seriously one of the best restsurants in lagos. i will come back for sure

What’s an amazing restaurant. Our family enjoyed every moment. We order the tapas with dinners and desserts and everything was fresh and delicious. Highly recommend this restaurant if you want amazing food.

Would highly recommend this place - service was brilliant and the food was amazing. I had the cod and my mum had the catch of the day (golden bream) and both were absolutely delicious.

Top Portugese Restaurant in Lagos with creativity and a great and original taste. We liked everything, the taste that has surprised us, the restaurant facilities and the friendly service. Certainly a recommendation for a nice dinner!

The food was fantastic. Had a series of tapas dishes and could not been any better. Every plate was superb, fresh and quite tasty. The service was prompt and friendly. This restaurant was definitely a great surprise!

Awesome food . Great service

We had good diner, food was fantastic, staff friendly, Really enjoy

Amazing place. Business lunch or menu "a la carte" both surprisingly great. Highly recommended.

They know the impact, they know the influence and they know the vibes... And the girlie love the vibes and that's just what it's about.

Food and service were both incredible! Wouldn’t be my go-to sea food spot, but me and my family enjoyed the flavours they brought together in every dish. We got the crab cakes, bruschetta and John Dory and would recommend all three :)

A place for an incredible lunch and it is extremely good value for money. The good service of the staff should not be forgotten. Even the restaurant felt very homely for their location just out the city centre.

Superb food and service

Food was superb. Starting with, snack food: bread and the house selection: doritos-like crunchy bread and warm bread bun. The mixed cheese with cured meat and the mayo were very good to keep us entertained while waiting.
Crispy squid, ibérico pork loin strips and chicken wings.
The squid was very good, texture and the dipping sauce was great. The pork loin was tender and fresh, with herbs, white wine, lemon and apple sauce, to keep it fresh and light on your palate. The wings were very flavourful, a bit on the dry side (maybe) but very nice taste, can't really fault them.
After that we had the mackerel and steak tartar, both finger-licking good!!! The mackerel melts in your mouth, accompanied by slow fried onion and peppers in white wine and lemon sauce. The waiter mixed the steak tartar with the egg yolk and mustard in front of us.
Everyone was very, very, very nice. They all spoke English. In fact, one of them speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese. The other one speaks English, German (he spoke to the table next to us) and Portuguese, obviously.
At the end of the meal the Chef came to see us, and he spoke Spanish, Portuguese and greeted us in English too.
Totally recommend this place!! See you tomorrow!

Edit: went there again next day, dinner again. Everything good, everything correct, as before. Good vibes, good interaction waiters - customers. Overall a good experience, not only food.
Good for couples, dating or families.

We've had a wonderful evening. The service was impeccable, and the three waiters absolutely had a good vibe going on within the three of them. The pork belly was probably the best I've ever had.