A Lareira - Caldas da Rainha

This is my favourite restaurant in the area it is a proper restaurant where you can sit on comfortable chairs and enjoy an evening with friends and family. It is friendly and attentive without being fawning the staff are lovely. There is a great menu with a very good selection of dishes all of which are cooked beautifully. The daily lunch menu is very good value and is cooked as beautifully as the evening selections. They have a very good wine menu and a selection of delicious desserts. Large parking lot so no searching for somewhere to put the car.

I came to this restaurant for dinner and had the “Tornedó Very Hot”. It was nice and spicy just how I like it. I asked for my meat well done and it came undercooked but the staff was quick to fix that. They happily took it back to cook further. I also had the white house wine and it was pretty good. The service was great with the wait staff always asking how things are and if you need anything. The restaurant itself is classy and has an old charm to it. Good for date nights or special nights out.

Although the venue has a nice old-fashioned appearance, the 4 poor waiters were bound to lose the fight. I have seen people leave their table after waiting to be server for over half an hour. Others waived during their entire meal to catch their attention. I had checked the menu of the day (daily refreshed on their website) before we went, but unfortunately they only serve the take-away version in the restaurant. After some trouble I was able to order the tournedos that I wanted. My companion took only the main course from the all included take away menu and should therefore pay the reduced price that is on their online menu. After I told the waiter that he had to adjust the bill, I didn’t want to make more fuzz than what I had done already. Later at home I discovered they added 1 euro to the price of the tournedos, they asked 6 euro for 4 slices of cheese and ham and 1,50 for take away, since I could finish my tournedos. They might not be able to help the fact they are understaffed, but they definitely don’t have to cheat on their guests.

Good menu for reasonable price and friendly staff.

What a hidden gem! This place is by far one of the top best restaurants in the area! Excellent dishes and generous portions. Reservations are required! We can’t wait to go back!