5/5 Gwyneth L. 4 years ago on Google
Probably
the
best
coffee
shop
in
the
Greater
Lisbon
Area
—
and
that's
not
just
a
bold
claim,
I
have
certainly
been
in
many
of
them,
but
few
come
close
to
the
quality
of
the
pastry
&
bread
offered
by
Espiga
Dourada.
This
is
actually
one
of
the
five
shops
they
own
in
the
Odivelas
centre
—
the
quality
is
the
same
on
every
one
(there
is
very
likely
a
main
kitchen
serving
the
shops)
and
it
surpasses
anything
I've
tasted
in
the
region.
You
won't
be
disappointed
and
you
will
certainly
be
spoilt
for
choice;
my
personal
favourites
are
the
local
speciality
'Freirinhas'
(a
pastry
made
of
beans
and
lots
of
eggs)
and
the
'Fofos'
(lit.
'softies'),
but
everything
else
is
pretty
much
at
the
same
level
of
quality.
They
also
have
artisanal
ice
cream
—
with
20
years
of
experience
in
the
area
—
and
while
these
are
wonderfully
presented
and
a
delight
to
the
eyes,
they're
not
'the
best'
ice
cream
in
Portugal,
although
I'd
easily
put
them
in
the
'top
twenty'.
Servings
are
very
generous,
though!
It's
worth
mentioning
two
additional
things:
first,
the
prices.
These
are
about
a
third
of
what
you
usually
will
pay
in
Lisbon
or
the
Cascais
area
—
not
to
mention
the
difference
in
quality.
It's
not
a
case
of
'you
get
what
you
pay
for'
—
in
the
case
of
Espiga
Dourada,
you
get
way
more
than
what
you
pay
for!!
And
secondly,
the
staff.
They're
generally
very
nice
and
friendly,
as
expected;
but
what
is
interesting
is
that
they
have
been
working
at
the
shop
for
several
years
(in
fact,
one
of
the
employees
boasted
to
me
of
having
been
working
there
for
over
20
years);
there
is
almost
zero
rotativity
(no
employee
has
left
in
the
past
year,
for
example)
which
is
usually
a
sign
that
they
pay
well
to
the
employees
and
keep
them
happy
(the
owner,
BTW,
is
very
agreeable
and
quite
open
to
talk
to
patrons
whenever
he's
visiting
each
of
his
shops;
each
shop,
however,
has
their
own
manager,
but
in
spite
of
the
differences
in
size
and
layout
of
each
shop,
as
said,
they
all
offer
the
same
products).
And,
of
course,
they
have
a
master
pastry
chef
who
must
be
paid
his
weight
in
gold
—
he's
far
too
good
for
a
'local'
coffee
shop.
This
leads
to
the
question
of
how
they
make
money
(they
keep
expanding
their
network
of
shops),
if
they
pay
their
staff
so
well
and
keep
prices
so
unbelievingly
low!
:-)
It
will
not
surprise
you
that
Espiga
Dourada
consistently
wins
all
sorts
of
prizes
and
awards
for
outstanding
service
and
quality,
at
least
at
the
local
level.
A
nice
touch
is
that
they
have
some
sort
of
agreement
with
the
town
hall
and
print
the
cultural
agenda
of
the
city
on
the
paper
bags
for
the
bread;
it's
a
wonderful
initiative
to
keep
the
public
informed
about
what
is
happening
in
Odivelas!
If
you're
curious
enough
to
try
them
out
just
to
see
if
I'm
not
exaggerating,
just
take
the
subway
and
exit
at
the
end
of
the
yellow
line
(Odivelas);
the
nearest
Espiga
Dourada
is
right
in
front
of
the
upper
exit
of
the
subway
station;
you
cannot
miss
it.
It
boasts
an
esplanade
which
is
a
plus
(and
AFAIK
they
do
not
charge
extra
for
the
service).
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