Lab by Sergi Arola

The Penha Longa Resort is an exclusive complex, both due to its location in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park and its luxurious facilities… boasting views of a golf course! The experience at Lab by Sergi Arola, featuring a cocktail bar and an impressive glass-walled wine cellar, begins with a variety of appetisers or tapas laid out on a large table shaped like Portugal, taking us on a tour of the country’s flavours (Algarve prawns, Bairrada suckling pig, Serra da Estrela cheese, Trás-os-Montes alheira sausage...). In its modern dining room, boasting an incredible view over the greens, celebrated Spanish chef Sergi Arola presents, via his menus (Pela Serra Dentro (“Deep in the Mountains”), Pela Serra For a (“Away from the Mountains”), and a vegetarian option called Horta do Chef (“The Chef’s Garden”), highly flavoursome and meticulous signature dishes, often strongly Mediterranean in inspiration, made with top-quality local products and some Cape Verdean touches contributed by the resident chef, Vladimir Veiga.

• The opening tapas course is staged on a Portugal-shaped table, a playful geographic prologue to the menus.
• The room comes with a cocktail bar and a glass-walled wine cellar, set inside a resort with golf-course views.
• Arola’s Spanish three-star pedigree meets local Portuguese produce, with Cape Verdean accents brought by resident chef Vladimir Veiga.

• A first act built around a Portugal-flavoured appetiser spread, small bites designed to map the country’s pantry.
• Mediterranean-leaning cooking, structured as meticulous signature dishes rather than à la carte.
• Cape Verdean touches in the kitchen via resident chef Vladimir Veiga, layered into otherwise local, high-quality Portuguese products.

A tasting-menu restaurant at Penha Longa Resort, in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. The meal opens with a spread of appetisers and tapas on a large table shaped like Portugal, designed as a tour of regional flavours. Menus include In Memory, Heritage and a vegetarian option called The Garden.