Indian Restaurant Quinta do Lago

This week, we bring the Spotlight to the Royal Indian in Quinta do Lago, a personal favourite for many of us in the office! Preet & Singh used to work in a kebab shop in Vilamoura Marina, but they wanted to open their own Indian restaurant. They searched for the perfect place, and eventually found their location opposite Quinta Shopping, and opened 6 years ago.

Their menu offers Indian cuisine inspired by all the regions of India, but their specialty is North Indian food. Preet explained to me that in the South, they often use ingredients such as coconut seeds, mustards seeds, and curry leaves, while the North offers delicacies such as Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala. Moreover, the North employs a charcoal clay oven for preparing dishes, including naan bread.

The Royal Indian has become a very successful business which is regularly fully booked, and they explained that the majority of their customers are locals who return time and time again to support the restaurant. But it wasn’t always easy, and Preet and Singh put effort and hard work in to build their business over the years. Preet explained how they supported each other when times were hard, saying “We never lose the hope. We always thought we could do the right things and everything would work out. Covid was very hard, but we survived. We never gave up”.

In 2019, they opened a second Indian restaurant in Vilamoura, called Hawvli. Currently, they are working towards opening the spacious basement of their Quinta do Lago establishment for hosting events such as birthday parties and celebrations. Previously a snooker bar, they are renovating and aiming to open for parties by next year - so keep an ear out for that!

@royalindian_quintadolago is very active on Instagram, so be sure to follow them and don’t forget to reserve a table in advance as they are often booked out!