Your stay in Quinta do Lago cannot all be about playing golf and lying in the beautiful beaches; you will also have to eat! Unless, you are living in one of those self-serving holiday apartments of Quinta do Lago, you will look forward to eating out in this beautiful resort town. From simple pizzeria to sushi bars, this town will offer every gastronomical fare you can think of. Among all of them, seafood obviously holds a special place given the fact that this a coastal place after all. So to make your stay in Quinta do Lago all the more better, here are some of the top restaurants and popular eateries of the resort town:

deBarra Irish Bar And Grill

A hugely popular eating place for both residents as well as visitors of Quinta do Lago, it is located in the main shopping center of the town. This bar and grill brings an international and cosmopolitan feature to this immensely popular resort town. Being a 100% Irish owned Bar, you can expect the famed “Irish hospitability” in this establishment. The bar is situated beside the North Course, one of the most popular of Quinta do Lago golf courses and in summer, an outside deck is added that overlooks the 13th hole of the North Course. So after a round of golf, come and cool here and try their selection of tapas, salads and of course great Irish beef stake. The Bar and Grill is open from the morning; their Irish breakfast is something worth trying before you start your day in the sun. Is the outside too hot for you? Then relax in front of the several screens present throughout the bar showing one sport event after another.

Casa Velha Restaurant

If you are holidaying in Quinta do Lago with your significant other and want a romantic dinner, then this is the place to be. The restaurant has timeless charm, comfort and elegance. Situated in one of the best points of Quinta do Lago, you can see the whole resort, the golf courses as well as the lake from the restaurant. The restaurant has its own history; this was the place from where Andre Jordon, he man who started Quinta do Lago envisioned the resort and the golf courses from its vantage hill top position. This was the place from where he planned the whole resort, made the place the first club house as the golf courses started and then its first restaurant. In fact, Casa Velha, which means “Old House” in Portuguese, was the first restaurant of its type in whole of Algarve!
The great thing about this restaurant is that, they source all their food items from local sellers. That is why the menu changes with the season as only the freshest and locally grown food items are incorporated in the menu. Their meat dishes especially beef and lamb are the best choices and the cuisine is basically classic French with modern twists. The place also has a wide wine collection and knowledgeable sommeliers who are eager to help you in your selection.

Gigi’s Beach Restaurant

Sometime good food may come without the frills and ambiance of a five star restaurant or hotel; and this beach restaurant of Quinta do Lago is the perfect example of it. Located in the Quinta do Lago beach, this restaurant is an all-time favorite with residents of the resort town. You will find locals rubbing shoulder with stars of Formula 1, royalty and pop stars during the busy tourist season. Be sure to book early for a dinner that will be unforgettable to say the least. This is of course a seafood restaurant and the reason why people line to eat here is because the owner, Gigi makes sure that he is the one the fishermen see first as they return with the day’s first catch! Menus are decided only after he selects the best succulent fishes from the day’s catch. This popular restaurant also has a wide selection of wine.

Quinta do Lago golf courses were built around 1972 and was one of the reasons why Algarve region became so popular with tourists. It boosted the economy and prestige of the region and even today, it is considered to be one of the premier golf resorts of not only Algarve but of Europe as well. There are three golf courses within the resort town ofQuinta do Lago and each of them offers something challenging to the golfer, whether he is pro or an amateur. If you love to play golf, then make sure you visit Quinta do Lago golf courses at least once.

The three golf courses will offer you a great chance to play the most challenging round of golf every day. Each of the golf courses is designed to offer something new to the golfers and they have to adjust their game accordingly. For your benefit, here is a short introduction to what kinds of challenges you might face in two of the Quinta do Lago golf courses:

The North Course

Designed by two architects, this golf course is adjacent to Ria Formosa and is a par 72 golf course. Spread over an area of 6,000 meters, it was co designed by William Mitchell and Joseph Lee. Golfers who play for the first time here are often fooled by the gentle looking downhill tee shot which marks the beginning of their round. The course has four fine par 5 holes and you have to be very accurate when you are off the tee at the many dog-legs. One of the most outstanding challenging holes of the North Course is the downhill par 3 14th hole. There are bunkers on the both side of this green hole which will challenge even the most jaded golf player. While playing at the fantastic 480 meter par 5 finishing hole and to set up the ideal second shot, you have to drive over a lake and between fairway bunkers. The approach to this hole is a steep rise to the green. There are long walks between some of the green and tees; so hiring a buggy available in the club house is a good idea. The handicap allowed here for men is 28 and for women it is 36.
The South Course

This was the first of the three Quinta do Lago golf courses. Spread over an area of 6,448 meter, this par 72 championship course was designed by William Mitchell. He designed the golf course in such a way that it could challenge a scratch golfer to do his/her best while providing an enjoyable game to a handicap golfer. If you are a long hitter, this course is designed perfectly for you; though with long hits you will also need to place the shots accurately to win your game in golf course. The main challenges of this favorite of all Quinta do Lago golf courses are the contoured greens, water hazards that crop up occasionally and the strategically placed bunkers. The best and the signature hole of the South Course is the par 3 15th hole. To play it, you will have to hit a long carry of nearly 190 meters over a quite a large lake and then place it in a well-guarded green that is set among pine trees. If you are a low handicap player, you will specially love to play the 18th, 10th and the 8th par 4 holes. While playing this course, you will have to select your golf clubs very accurately so as to play the long and wide greens perfectly.  The handicaps allowed in this Quinta do Lago golf course is maximum 28 for men and 36 for women.

One of the greatest attractions of Quinta do Lago is its golf courses. In fact, this resort town was created around the Quinta do Lago golf courses and today it is one of the most premier golf resorts not only in Portugal but also in whole of Europe.

Important tournaments are held here and the place offers a chance for playing golf all year through thanks to the pleasant weather of the place in summer as well as winter. If all this has spurred the interest of playing a round of golf in Quinta do Lago, here are some more details that will be useful for you:

• Spread over an area of 550 hectars, there are three golf courses within Quinta do Lago. In each course, golfers can experience lush, generous fairways that are sporadically with clusters of heather, pine, wild flowers and broom. The greens are carefully tended making the golf courses some of the best Portugal has to offer. The courses offer enough challenge to golfers in form a natural water bodies as well as bunkers that break the landscape now and then. As for the three golf courses, each offers in them a challenge that is unique to it only.

• The North Course was designed by two architects and is one of the first golf courses built in Quinta do Lago. Holes 1 to 5 was designed by William Mitchell in 1974 along with hole 15 to 18. As for holes 6 to 14, they were co-designed by Rocky Rocquermore and Joseph Lee. Both of the designers are from USA and this part of the golf course was opened in 1989. There is quite a difference between the designs of these two architects; William Mitchell designed a terrain that was typical for Quinta do Lago. The area is sandy and strewn around with trees like heather, gorse, pine and wild flowers. The later two designed a more superb terrain, sandy but littered with umbrella pines. The North Course specially looks great in spring when wild flowers cover the rough. Penn Bent Grass was used for creating the greens which made it possible to play high quality golf all year through. As for the tees and fairways, Bermuda 419 hybrid was used to produce swards that are top quality and playable all throughout the year.

• The South Course is the oldest of the golf courses of Quinta do Lago, and totally designed by William Mitchell of USA. It was opened in 1974 and since then has hosted “Portuguese Open championship” more than eight times. For tour players, this is the favorite golf course of Quinta do Lago and it is par 72 course with 6,500 meter with a beautiful natural setting. In its backdrop is the natural reserve of Ria Formosa while lakes, wild vegetation and umbrella pines surround the holes in the South Course. In each hole, golfers get a generous landing areas off the tees and the woodland pines’ setting provide a perfect routing.

• The last and the newest golf course in Quinta do Lago is Laranjal. Built in 2009, this course was designed by Jorge Santana da Silva. It was originally an orange grove which has now been turned into a challenging golf course. It is spread over an area of 6,480 with five par 3s, eight par 4s, and five par 5s amongst cork oaks, umbrella pines and orange trees. The course also has natural water bodies and 5 really spectacular lakes. To guarantee good putting all year through, Penn A4 grass has been used on the greens and Bermuda on the fairways.

The whole Algarve region, in which Quinta do Lago is situated is known for its golf courses. The great thing about golf courses in Quinta do Lago is that, they were the ones that put the region in the maps of golf enthusiasts.