This will be my first trip to Portugal, and I am very excited. I will be traveling (at least mostly) solo and will get around by public transportation (train and bus). My current plan is to have three “home base” places and take some day trips or trips for meals (thinking, for example, to take that easy 500 bus from Porto to Matosinhos).
I have read (and very much appreciated) what you all have written here. I love fish, seafood and arroz de pato and thank very much both @Maribel and @mariacarmen for their comprehensive reporting.
At this time, I am planning to spend a week each in Porto and Lisbon, and five nights in Lagos with no car. My questions: Is the five days in Lagos too much (I don’t read much about the food opportunities in and around Lagos, but I don’t know the area at all)? Should I alter the basic itinerary/plan? Definitely looking for restaurant suggestions in and around Lagos? Also, in Porto proper (it seems like most of the recommendations for great seafood involves going to Matosinhos)?
I tend to be less interested in the Michelin starred or otherwise “fancy” restaurants, and tasting menus. That said, some of the most exciting meals I have had in Barcelona (for example) recently have been at restaurants serving creative (and lauded) tasting menus. I am very much drawn to family run restaurants serving excellent food. My experience of Portuguese cuisine is limited, but loved particularly George Mendes’ first New York restaurant Aldea where he served the best arroz de (con?) pato I have ever had. Cocktails there were also excellent.
Hope you can direct me here! I will not be there until the end of August and first weeks of September, so I have some time, but would like to at least nail down the geography of my trip. Thanks!
And if you like beer, the Portuguese Superbock is maybe one of the most delightfully refreshing pilsner-stye beers I’ve had in my life!
I only spent 5 days in Lisbon, but had very good meals at Prado (which is a 1*, but very affordable & was one of our favorite dinners), and the super-popular seafood temple, Cervejaria Ramiro, which now allows making a rez in advance, which I highly recommend.
It’s a very walkable city, and a couple of places we dined at were decidedly non-touristy, local places we stumbled upon & picked on the basis of their menu. Mostly fresh, non-fussy seafood.
Obviously you’ll have to get a pastel (or 10) while there, and def bring home some tinned seafood!
I’d avoid Timeout market, as it’s a bit of a zoo & you can eat anything that’s for sale there at other places.
Thanks @linguafood! I do like beer, and will look out for the Superbock. Do you happen to remember any of those non-touristy places you stumbled upon? Prado and Cervejaria Ramiro are on my list ; I’m a planner and reservations are definitely in my wheelbarrow Trying to be a bit more spontaneous, so if there are areas in my basic itinerary where I should just wander and choose without a reservation, I am all ears!
We did Porto and Lisbon in 2019, and it was one of our favorite. If I recall correctly, we took a day trip to Sintra and Cascais from Lisbon.
Mine is not much use for planning, and I realize now some notes would have been helpful, but it includes some pictures of both places, and maybe ideas for bring things back.
@mariacarmen 's thread is great! I don’t know if I have seen the one from @Maribel , but I have also linked another trip planning thread, in case you haven’t seen it.
We stayed in the hugely popular Bairro Alto, which is pretty central. The street we were on was lined with bars and restaurants. The Superbock will find you - it’s everywhere
A very cute brunch place in that neighborhood is Seventh Brunch, tho it’s not traditional Portuguese food. Taberna Portuguesa was a small, home-style cooking place very popular with locals.
A Cevicheria was recommended to us by @PedroPero , but we didn’t want to spend that much for lunch .
Here’s my writeup of Prado from our trip two years ago.
The Kitchen (srlisboa.pt)
I had an excellent brunch here.
And a couple of great dinners here “Restaurante Cova Funda Intendente” no website and on a cozy side street, close to Cervejaria Ramiro. Very traditional Portuguese Ma&Pa restaurant serving huge portions of home-style food.
I wouldn’t skip A Cevicheria, make it one of your splurge meals, but if you go for lunch get there just before opening and grab a seat at the bar.
Piri Peri chicken. Top photo - Casa Da India - great old school vibe in a cool part of town - I found the chicken to be dry(off day?), but the piri piri sauce was excellent.
Bottom photo - Bonjardim - located in a touristy part of town, but the chicken was excellent, as was the piri piri sauce, and I ordered SALAD !!
we stayed in Porto for a week on our first trip to Portugal and thought that was too much - could have been just 2 days - but we did not take any side trips. I honestly don’t remember any destination-type places to eat - we’d just stumble upon things or even cooked in the airbnb a bit (it was pouring rain a lot of the time we were there.)
I still love the Time Out market in Lisbon but it’s now better to go at lunch. It’s a terrible scene in the evenings these days, but by day it’s doable. There you can get an idea of the myriad Portuguese dishes and try some of the city’s famed restaurants’ food in a much smaller format.
Get Portuguese croquettes wherever you can! they sell them everywhere in many different flavors (bacalao is my favorite but all are good) and make very handy, quick, filling and delicious on-the-go meals or if you just want to sit outside in a cafe and nosh.
Check out all the miradores in Lisbon, they’re all worth it.
Never been to Lagos, so I can’t help you there… have a wonderful time! (it’s going to be very hot at the time of year you’re going!)
My brother said he had some of the best Goan food anywhere in Portugal at a seafood place – I’ll ask him the name, but I don’t think it was one of the well-known Goan places in Lisbon like Jesus e Goes (rip Jesus) or similar, because he was describing amazing seafood (carabinero prawns and the like) and that there wasn’t much vegetarian for my SIL because this place had been selected for being a seafood specialist, but then they brought him a separate Goan menu.
@DaveCook coincidentally just mentioned that Culinary Backstreets has guides in Lisbon - might be worth a look.
Did you see Ziggy & DaveMP’s trip reports last year? (I’m stalking Portugal… hoping to get there in the next 2 years…)
Thanks to you all! I have read (and re-read) all of what (some) of you have written previously, and have taken notes. I appreciate all of this expansion on previous posts as well as completely new suggestions!
I have read Culinary Backstreets on Goan food in Lisbon, and added Zuari and Velha Taberna to Jesus é Goês on my Goan list (not sure the other two both came from Culinary Backstreets or elsewhere).
I’m thinking the week in Porto won’t be lost on me…My thinking on that is that A. It’s my first stop and will take me a day or so to handle the time change; B. I am quite happy wandering in a new place (any place actually); and C. There seem to be plenty of places to go for a day (or meal) trip close by. I checked, and Portugal doesn’t seem to be so hot as some other places at the end of August beginning of September. And I am also okay with exploring early, having a nice lunch and a siesta before heading out again in the evening.
I will also circle back, as I get my itinerary more settled. I am still interested if anyone has thoughts particularly about Lagos and surroundings (though I am also happy to go and poke around).
Don’t count on it. In October the temperature was in the mid 30’s C. Take a hat, cooling clothes and solid shoes for walking. Porto and Lisbon are both built on steep inclines. The cobbled streets and walks are beautiful, but rough on shoes and tend to get quite slippery if it rains.
As far as food goes, make sure you try the bifana. If you need a really junky fix, the francesinha sanwich will demolish any craving you had. Ginjinha is a sour cherry liquer that it often served in chocolate cups. It’s very popular. On the sweet side Pasteis de nata or custard tarts are delicious, iconic, and totally waistline killing. Yes, they are that good. There’s Pasteis de Belem, not far from Lisbon that makes the best, with a close second being found at Manteigaria by the Time Out Market, which is a giant food hall worth visiting in itself.
If you can, visit the Douro valley, it’s absolutely beautiful, with great wineries and quintas you can stay at. It might be worth taking a couple of days off your Porto itinerary to go there. I haven’t been to Lagos, so cannot comment. Portugal is a beautiful country, the food is generally very good, and though it isn’t inexpensive, prices are less than North American ones.
Yesss! Good friends of ours did a 5 day walking tour through the Douro & visited several wineries. They crashed at guesthouses along the way and were absolutely in love with the whole trip.
Hey Ninkat, as you know we went last year. One of the best eating trips we ever had.
After much deliberation we decided to spend time in Evora instead of The Algarve. No regrets. We also really liked Tomar (again) as a nice change of pace between the two large cities. Just a little harder to do without a car.
From Porto you have a plethora of interesting day trips in all directions.
Jesus é Goês was one of our favorite meals in Lisbon. One thing I’d note is that the popular places like the excellent O Velho Eurico are booked months in advance. I would start booking at least 3-4 months prior.
You have my food report here and much more on the blog
Happy planning
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