At Taberna da Adega in Nelas

In Dão lands that create good wine, wineries and restaurants go hand in hand, in a conviviality that is applauded and appreciated. Taberna da Adega is exactly what it says it is: a space for food in a winery that is visitable.   This is a space where the food is treated by masterly hands, providing some very pleasant moments before or after the visit to the space that opens to the public the knowledge of the oenologists and allows us to understand the process that creates truffled wines such as Pedra Cancela.

The Taberna da Adega is in the Lusovini cellar, right at the entrance of the county seat. This is an unpretentious but very pleasant space where the chefs of the Dux group, Rui Vieira and Luís Almeida, prepare a menu of snacks and dishes where they combine traditional and signature cuisine.

You can come here after having visited the winery or directly for a meal or a snack. If during the tasting we feel like visiting the space where the wines are growing, we can do so at the end of the meal, as the visitation only ends when the last client leaves the “Taberna da Adega”.

We were welcomed with a plate of sausages which included black pudding, farinheira sausage, chorizo, onion sausage and alheira sausage and we continued the tasting with some surprising puff pastries of mountain cheese with honey and walnut.

As a combat dish, we were served a rice of cod tongues with greens, cooked to the point and tasty as hell. We wouldn’t leave the meal, always accompanied by Pedra Cancela oenologist choice, without knowing the matured cow’s Chuleton. We could say that this was a friendship for life, because after 30 days of maturation at 2 degrees Celsius, the meat gains flavours and a truly captivating consistency.

To finish off the meal, Luís Almeida and Rui Vieira offered us a Serra cheese pudding DOP, which made our taste buds smile.

And the best thing is that the meal takes place in a clear and very pleasant space, with two walls of beech shelves displaying the Lusovini references like the works of art they are. On the wall next to the counter, we can see the names of all the Dão grape varieties and it is there that we find the room’s pièce de resistance, a fireplace in the shape of a bottle which, we are sure, is the most photographed object in the room.  

This is, without a doubt, a restaurant we recommend, just as we recommend a visit to the Lusovini winery. The visit is free and guests are welcomed with a welcome drink.