Restaurants in The North
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Nakité
This pleasant vegetarian restaurant has satisfying daily specials featuring tofu, seitan and tempeh paired nicely with goat cheese, shiitake mushrooms and other fresh ingredients. Nakité also has fresh juices and good desserts. Dine inside (amid piped-in New Age tunes) or on the back patio next to a gurgling fountain.
reviewed
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Confeitaria Do Bolhão
This cheerful belle-époque cafe, popular with everyone but especially ladies of a certain age, serves good food at great prices, including a daily lunch special of soup, main course and freshly squeezed juice for €5. The front counter serves an irresistible array of local sweets to go.
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O Escondidinho
Amid azulejos, dark wood furnishings and starched white place settings, O Escondidinho serves excellent traditional cuisine. Chefs here combine fresh ingredients and a wood-burning oven to create classic bacalhau dishes and flavourful baked octopus, while grilled seafood dishes are equally impressive.
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Cozinha da Sé
Contemporary artwork hangs from the exposed stone walls at this handsome Braga newcomer. Sé serves traditional, high-quality dishes (including one vegetarian selection), with flavourful standouts liked baked bacalhau (dried salt-cod) and açorda de marisco (seafood stew in bread bowl).
reviewed
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O Caçula
Tucked down a narrow lane, O Caçula serves healthy-tasting lighter fare in a trim, contemporary, bi-level space. In addition to a few vegetarian dishes (vegie lasagne, ratatouille), there are grilled items (chicken breast with Roquefort cheese), steak, and fresh juices and smoothies.
reviewed
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O Comercial
Hidden at the back of the stock-exchange building, this one-of-a-kind restaurant boasts towering arches, old-world service and a stylish, fireside lounge. At dinner, the food has been known to disappoint, but the three-course lunch menu is great value.
reviewed
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Leitaria Quinta Do Paço
Dine alfresco at tables on the tiny plaza, or inside the sleekly designed cafe. Neither will break the bank, with excellent lunch specials (chicken cordon bleu, grilled beef and the like) and a tempting dessert counter.
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Boa Nova Casa-Chá
Designed by famed Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira and completed in 1963, this cliffside tea house and restaurant is set alluringly above a crashing sea. Massive boulders frame the white, low-rise building, while inside the Zenlike design continues as light floods the wood and stone interior. The restaurant is 20 minutes north of Porto along the coast. It’s best reached by car or taxi.
reviewed
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Rota Do Chá
This proudly bohemian cafe has a verdant but rustic back garden where students and the gallery crowd sit around low tables sampling from an enormous tea menu. Teas are divided by region and include addictive concoctions like iced matcha (green tea) latte and yerba mate. Tasty snacks include broccoli and cheese crêpes and vegie empanadas.
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Praia da Luz
Beautifully set along the rocky beach of the same name, Praia da Luz is a worthwhile stop when out exploring Porto’s coastline. Sit outside on the wooden deck (but bring a sweater), and enjoy grilled seafood or meat dishes, snacks, salads, and of course a cocktail. It’s about 500m north of the Castelo de São João.
reviewed
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Taberna Do Valentim
Hidden among the humble abodes of the old fishermen’s neighbourhood you’ll find this fantastic seafood restaurant. Fresh grilled fish is available by the kilo, while the equally well-loved dishes are the rich seafood stews – arroz de tamboril (monkfish rice) and magnificent caldeirada (fish stew).
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Don Tonho
Built into ancient riverside ramparts, this elegant restaurant serves traditional Portuguese fare prepared with a contemporary twist. Opened by Rui Velosa, crown prince of Portuguese pop, it serves up superb seafood, including fine bacalhau (dried salt-cod), and also boasts one of Porto’s most extensive wine lists.
reviewed
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Sabor de Minas
Specialising in the hearty dishes from Minas Gerais (Brazil), this small, inviting place offers decent value for its all-you-can-eat buffet. While the selection isn’t huge, the dishes are nicely prepared, with salads, desserts and a few side dishes on offer. Friday night is dedicated to churrasco (grilled meat).
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Tromba Rija
Porto’s branch of Leiria’s famous eatery offers a huge, soup-to-nuts buffet of classic, well-prepared Portuguese dishes – plus all the wine, port and homemade liqueur you can drink. Tromba Rija is a great introduction to Portuguese cuisine – and always festive thanks to all that free booze.
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Mariazinha
This snug but rustically elegant eatery, run by an enthusiastic husband-and-wife team, serves creative haute cuisine based on market-fresh ingredients. You must order from the prix-fixe menu. In fact, each course comes as a surprise, along with a different Portuguese wine. Reservations recommended.
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Café Astória
Set beneath a grand old portico, with tables on the plaza, Café Astória has a diverse menu of salads, pastas, grilled meats and seafood. Daily lunch specials (€8) are better value than the mains. The upstairs bar and dining room (with veranda seating) opens from 7pm to 2am.
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Margarida da Praça
Bringing a bit of bohemian chic to the scene, this intimate restaurant has a small selection of tasty, lovingly made dishes. Pasta with monkfish and seafood, vegetable goulash and shrimp with guacamole are among recent selections. There’s always a good vegetarian option or two.
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Taperia Palatu
A Spanish/Portuguese couple serves up delectable Spanish tapas and classic Portuguese dishes in a pleasantly minimalist dining room or the airy courtyard in front. Top picks include gambas ao olho (grilled shrimp), secretos de porco preto (wild boar) and grilled calamari.
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Adega Lusitana
This new restaurant has a traditionally decorated dining room, a wine bar and a lush outdoor patio. Tapas, trusty bacalhau dishes and wild boar are among the varied offerings. Saturday nights feature live fado (reservations recommended), with DJs spinning some other nights.
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Guernica
Guernica brings a self-conscious dash of style to Porto, with excellent international cooking in a slim Manhattan-style bistro. Recent favourites include lasagne with mushrooms and brie, codfish with sausage, wild boar and seafood pasta. For once, you can order wines by the glass.
reviewed
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O Alexandre
A handsomely appointed dining room sets the stage for the top-notch cuisine at one of Braga’s best Portuguese restaurants. Grilled meats, bacalhau com nata (baked codfish) and an excellent cabrito assado (roasted kid) are particularly recommended.
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Anjo Verde
Braga’s best vegetarian restaurant serves up generous, elegantly presented plates in a lovely, airy dining room with ancient stone walls splashed with colour. Vegetarian lasagne, soy burgers and vegetable tarts are among the tasty selections.
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Pedro Dos Frangos
Frango no espeto (spit-roasted chicken) is the name of the game at this extremely popular and inexpensive grill. Grab a spot at the stand-up counter and join the good old boys for a filling meal (abundant chips included). Other grills are nearby.
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Scala Restaurante
Overlooking the rugged Praia Norte, Scala has unrivalled views of the sea. The interior is less exciting, but livened up perhaps by the broad menu of salads, crêpes, seafood and the usual Portuguese favourites. Scala is 2km west of the centre.
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Livraria Café
Tucked inside the bookshop Centésima Página, this charming cafe serves a changing selection of tasty quiches (tomato with camembert, broccoli and brie) along with salads and desserts. Has outdoor tables in the pleasantly rustic garden.
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