Portugal: June visit to Guimaraes, Evora and Lisbon

Regional Dining Discussions Italy, Spain, Portugal
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Thanks to everyone who helped me make a plan for our weeklong visit to Portugal this June. Here’s a link to my previous post. We’ve settled on the following itinerary:

Tuesday, Jun 13:
Fly into Porto in the early afternoon. Rent car, and make our way to Guimaraes. We’ll be spending three nights a couple minutes outside the historic center (to the east), which means that if we want to walk around the historic center, we’d take a quick drive in and park. It also means it will be fairly easy to eat at places that are outside the city center.

We’ll have two full days in Guimaraes, which means at least one of them could be a day trip or half-day trip, potentially even back to Porto or Matosinhos, or otherwise to smaller towns/wineries/etc.

Friday, June 16 – Drive from Guimaraes to Evora. Not totally sure which route we’ll take for this, but probably would choose whichever seems fastest to get us fairly close to Evora. But I could imagine choosing a different town/city for lunch that’s maybe 3/4 or 4/5 of the way there, if there was something good/interesting. Evening in Evora, this time staying right in the city center.

Saturday, June 17 - Day trip (or 1/2 day trip) to Monsaraz

Sunday, June 18 - Depart Evora, drive to Lisbon and return car in Lisbon. Staying just south of the Rossio Metro station for 2 nights, before departing on Tuesday the 20th to return to the USA.

Now that we have the itinerary squared away, I’m starting to look more at restaurants food. Many of the recommendations sound wonderful, but it’s hard for me to gauge what it will be like to dine with a 19-month old at some of the pricier/fancier places. Some of the more casual spots sound really nice. Some places I can’t really tell how casual they really are.

Here are some places I’ve read about or liked from the recommendations so far. Let me know if you have any thoughts/comments about any of these, including whether you think we definitely should or shouldn’t go there.

Guimaraes
• Taberna Trovador
• Tasquinha do Tio Júlio (snacks, sandwiches, small meal)
• Cervejaria Granada
• Boutique do Gelado (ice cream)
• Cantinho dos Sabores
• Restaurante Batista (which is east of town, I think walkable from where we’re staying)
• Tasca da Carroça
• Adega do Ermitão (snacks, small meal)
• Solar do Arco
• República do Polvo (gets good reviews on TripAdvisor, but would probably skip this if we end up spending a day nearer to coast in Porto)
• Restaurante do Outeiro (east of the city)
• Restaurante Talento (northwest of the city)

If we go to Braga, some places that sound good are:
• Taberna do Lebre
• Pappa’Lab (ice cream)
• Arcoense

Would still love recommendations for:
• Other baby-friendly restaurants in the central part of the city, especially with pleasant outdoor dining, for either lunch or dinner. Price isn’t a huge concern, but vibe/ambiance potentially is. Not really looking to eat anywhere where we’d have to be fancy or formal.
• Day trip destinations, including family-friendly wineries/vineyards and smaller villages/towns, cool castles, other sites that are not food related that would be an excuse to drive somewhere and then stop for some food :slight_smile:
• Specific recommendations for bakeries/ice cream/specialty foods.
• Potential places to stop/visit between Guimaraes and Evora.

Evora

• Tábua do Naldo
• Tua Madre
• Cavalariça Évora
• Taberna Típica Quarta-feira
• Tasquinha do Oliveira
• Lombardo
• Fialho
• Restaurante a Grelha
• Restaurante O Templo
• TaskaFina

Would still love recommendations for:
• Other baby-friendly restaurants in the central part of the city, especially with pleasant outdoor dining, for either lunch or dinner. Price isn’t a huge concern, but vibe/ambiance potentially is. Not really looking to eat anywhere where we’d have to be fancy or formal.
• Where to eat in Monsaraz or en route ( Taverna Os Templários and Sabores de Monsaraz both look good and seem to have nice views?)
• Specific recommendations for bakeries/ice cream/specialty foods.

Lisbon

Might save this for a different thread, since I have a lot of ideas/recommendations already and we only have two days there. This is on purpose, since we tend to prefer being in smaller cities.

Thanks again to Maribel and everyone else who responded in the original post!

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The town of ÉVORA has 1 Pousada Hotel called Lóios … it is classified as an Unesco and is located in the historic district.

GUIMARAES has two Pousada Hotels: Nossa Senhora Da Oliveira situated in The Medieval historic district and Santa Marinha is located in the historic majestic district as well.

The Pousadas, according to their Guide, are owned by The Pestana Hotel Group.

Have a great trip.

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For Monsaraz Taverna Os Templários is fine, ime.

Baby friendly in Lisbon (did you mean Lisbon or Evora or Braga or Guimarães?):
There are many informal pizza places that are very kid/baby friendly…like the Zero Zero Pizzeria in Príncipe Real at Rua da Escola Politécnica 32, Forno d’Oro up by the Marquês de Pombal square (very good) or Capricciosa on Doca de Santo, Armazém 8 near the water.

For pastéis de nata, those irresistible custard tarts, in the Belém district, the iconic place where the recipe is a well guarded secret

But also in the Belém district and also on the Praça de Luís de Camôes square on Rua de Loreto in Chiado, you´ll find Manteigaria.

And a new-ish one than we also like very much, the Alcôa shop on Rua Garret 37 in Chiado and the Castro shop across the street with its whimsical shop window, voted one of the best in the city for its pastéis. (There are also two Manteigarias and a Castro in Porto for those who are headed there)
http://pastelaria-alcoa.com/#culture-media-general
https://castropasteisdenata.pt

For ice cream we like Santini with shops around the city, including in Belém underneath the National Coach Museum and in Chiado at Rua do Carmo 88.

For Guimarães we’ve enjoyed the traditional Solar do Arco in the historic quarter.

In Evora we’ve enjoyed the very casual Tabua do Naldo with a very sweet and kind owner who will make you and your toddler feel right at home. It´s like eating with a friend.
Also the Tasquinha do Oliveira and Taberna Típica Quarta-feira are good bets.
Fialho is a bit more formal and imo a bit dated these days, with so many fine new options that are more contemporary.

For the route from Guimarães to Evora, I would stop at Tomar for a more easy in-and-out than larger and more confusing Coimbra. It’s smaller and just easier to get around, ime.
For very casual with outdoor terrace plus nice sandwiches and pastries we like Amor Lusitano at
Praça da República 38. (We have a friend who lives in Tomar and sent us there for a casual lunch after our visit to the Convento do Cristo, the Templars castle on the hill.)

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In Évora with a toddler, I would think of 2 possibilities: Cavalariça, because it enjoys the courtyard of the palace of the Duques of Cadaval (of which the chapel and the palace itself are worth the visit), so plenty of space to run around. And the Convento do Espinheiro, also well worth the visit as an historic convent, beautifully restored and converted into a 5 star hotel, with restaurant to match. Most of the other restaurants I know in Évora are rather cramped, and not particularly suitable for young children, but trust Maribel’s advice :wink:

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Thanks so much Maribel! I have noted all of your Evora suggestions.

I also like the recommendation of stopping in Tomar for lunch, though it appears that Amor Lusitano has closed permanently. Any other favorite spots? Since we’ll be driving, I also wouldn’t mind a place that is more rural (i.e. we could park right on-site, since we’ll have our belongings in the car). So if you know any good places outside of Tomar those might be good as well.

And thanks for the Lisbon recs too!

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Just looked into this a bit more and found Alpendre, which is outside of town in Tomar - might be a good option?

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Sorry that Amor Lusitano has closed.

I don’t know Alpendre but somewhere a bit out of town with easy parking might be a better idea for you.

The Portuguese gastronomic guide, Boa Cama, Boa Mesa, this year in March gave awards to both CHICO ELIAS in the town of Algarvia (2 km away) for its 20 years of dining merit and also to A LÙRIA at Rua da Alegria, 34, Portela, in São Pedro de Tomar, both family-run and serving traditional fare, that you might want to consider.

Neither has a web site, though. They do have Facebook pages but don’t keep them current (fairly typical of Mom and Pop type places, ime).

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We’ve been having a great trip to Portugal, and we just have two nights left! We had a wonderful time in Guimarães and Évora, and I’m in the process of writing everything up. Now we’re in Lisbon, and now that we’ve been traveling with the toddler for 1.5 weeks, I have a more specific request.

Would love to find the following for Lisbon:

  • Good food, ideally Portuguese or Portuguese-influenced, but open to other ideas.
  • Outdoor dining, especially if on a quiet/pedestrian street or plaza
  • Neighborhood could be anywhere, but especially more centrally located in Baixa, Bairro Alto, Principe Real. Planning to explore Alfama for Monday during the day, and already have several lunch ideas for that neighborhood

The toddler generally does great with any restaurant where we eat outside, no matter how “fancy” or “casual” a place is. And the weather here is just perfect for outdoor dining. Walking around Baixa and Bairro Alto, I see there are hundreds (or thousands) of places that meet the outdoor dining criteria, but how to choose!?!

Also, they need to be open on Sunday or Monday evening.

Any ideas would be amazing, ideally ASAP :slight_smile:

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Ramiro had a large outdoor patio but sort of enclosed. May not be exactly what you looking for, but thats the closest I got. Hopefully others chime in

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Ramiro’s terrace is indeed enclosed, which is the only reason I didn’t mention it on David´s other thread. But it does serve those amazing clams in that incredible sauce that one mops up with that also incredible buttered bread!

And it does accept reservations, now online.
https://www.cervejariaramiro.com/?lang=en.

I also didn’t mention every tourist’s favorite for piri piri chicken, which appears in all the travel guides, is very easy on the wallet, can be found off “restaurant row” in Baixa and has an outdoor terrace. BOMJARDIM, nicknamed “rei dos frangos”.
It also offers take out.

https://www.fodors.com/world/europe/portugal/lisbon/restaurants/reviews/bonjardim-595141.

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Restaurante Cova Funda Intendente
This small family run restaurant has everything you’re looking for. Delicious food, indoor/outdoor seating amazing prices(2019) and excellent service. It’s kinda close to Ramiro, same neighborhood), so good I went twice :slight_smile: And very kid friendly, go early to avoid the crowds.

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Thank you to everyone for the ideas! And thanks Maribel for the direct message as well.

We ended up doing a big loop through Bairro Alto and Principe Real, stopping at playgrounds, eating ice cream at Nannarella (raspberry and dark chocolate sorbets, both great!), and then walking down to Time Out Market. The inside of the market was CROWDED and a little intense, but we decided to sit outside at Azul, which was very nice. Had the razor clams I had wanted (we ended up canceling our reservation at Cervejaria Ramiro which was going to be at 5 pm), plus some fish and garlic shrimp. Then we got some croquetas from inside the market for our post-meal snack.

Ramiro is super popular, at least in terms of getting a reservation — the reservation I booked two weeks ago was one of the only ones left for the weekend, and it was for 5 PM.

We are likely going to Bonjardim tomorrow, but will check out the other nearby places too!

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So far in Lisbon (where we have only been for 8 hours so far) we’ve tried the pasteis de nata at both Manteigaria and Alcoa. My husband preferred Alcoa because he didn’t love the cinnamon flavor in Manteigaria’s. I still liked Manteigaria’s a bit better.

I’m hoping to convince my family to take the train or bus to Belem tomorrow to try them there too.

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If you do take the train out to Belém, there are now 3 great places to try nata. In addition to the most famous with the “secret” recipe, there’s also across the street the branch of Manteigaria and up towards the Torre de Belém, a branch of Confeitaria Nacional that has an outdoor terrace, where we often stop to rest, grab a big sandwich and a nata.

I was going to add the Azul in my message, but was afraid that it would be too crowded, since the Time Out Market is most always a zoo!, but glad to know that you found a table outside there and enjoyed it.

For more ice cream in Belém, there´s a branch of Santini directly underneath the Museu Nacional dos Coches.

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There’s also a branch of Gelato Davvero in the Centro Cultural de Belém!

For outside eating in central Lisbon you could try O Velho Eurico as they do have some outside tables - but not sure whether you can reserve one of those specifically (assuming you can get at all, not sire how far out they’re booking at this point).

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Another second for O Velho Eurico, one of the “hot” neo-tasca tables at the moment.

https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/lisbon/2022/o-velho-eurico-2/.

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I third it, but extremely hard to reserve. A friend isnt able to reserve for September

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I know! Someone on Chowhound (maybe one of the chefs incognito) told me to send them a message on Facebook, as for me and for my hotel concierge, no one ever answered the phone!

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They recently opened a reservations system. Spoiler alert: I got lucky

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That’s great news, Ziggy!