Bonjardim and other restaurants
 

I see many recommendations for Bonjardim . Do they take reservations?
Any other Lisbon, Porto, or Cascais recommendations? We have reservations at Cantinho do Avillez in Porto and for Pizzeria Lisboa and also a Fado restaurant in Lisbon. Having lunch at Ponto
Final . Thanks

I highly recommend Cervejaria Ramiro in Lisbon. It is an awesome seafood restaurant recommended by the late Anthony Bourdain. I also suggest eating at the Time Out Market in Lisbon.

Bonjardim is very casual so I would be surprised if they take reservations. We were there last year on April 25, which is a big holiday in Portgual (Carnation Revolution). They were busy; we did not have reservations but we only had to wait a few minutes for a table.

I have never tried to get a reservation at Bom Jardim, and have never needed one. However, Lisbon has been getting a lot more popular. It's very central, so you might go by and ask while you're in the area.

Not a place to eat, except nibbles, but I always recommend the Port institute - https://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=1&codPag=169

Got interested in the Port Institute, but saw the following announcement on their website. I guess they are closed till the end of next year. That's one major renovation!
Opening hours:
Closed for refurbishment. Expected reopening at end of 2020.

Thanks, I actually have a reservation at Cervejaria Ramiro, however there is a catch. My husband really wants to go there, but I do not eat shellfish and would have to make my meal of Prego sandwiches! I do all the planning for our trips and he never complains (otherwise he would have to plan!) so I may go along with this request. It is at the end of many days of eating in Portugal so I will have had a lot of fish, and then we will be going to Cascais, so more fish!

As far as Bonjardim, even if I could make a reservation I don't think I need to weeks in advance . Will check with the conceirge at the hotel. I do have a reservation at Pizzeria Lisboa (Jose Avillez) in Lisbon and also at Cantinho Avillez in Porto.

My favorites from my trip to Portugal have already been mentioned here, except for Cafe Gelaria House of Wonders in Cascais. It's a vegetarian restaurant with three options each day. Don't be put off by the fact that they don't serve meat (assuming you generally do eat meals with meat) - my philosophy is that if a vegetarian restaurant has a ton of good reviews, they must be doing something right. I got a plate of the day's mezzes and they were so good, fresh, and filling!

We like both Cantinhos very much, the original in Lisbon and the sibling in Porto.

For a tapas-petiscos, small plates dinner we also enjoy Tapisco in Lisbon's Príncipe Real district (but it's not inexpensive by Lisbon locals' standards, and one needs reservations). It also has a sibling in Porto.

On our Lisbon last trip we discovered Prado, a farm-to-table, opened by a chef who trained with Nuno Mendes and who received the designation of #5 on Mesa Marcada's "Portuguese Best Restaurants" list last year. It was a great find in the Baixa not far from the cathedral, prices are moderate, and it's open continuously.
https://pradorestaurante.com

Near our hotel, our concierge sent us to Sr Lisboa for another small plates dinner, a tiny place with a young, friendly staff a retro vibe. Also open continuously, prices moderate, but reservations are recommended.
https://lisboacool.com/en/eat/sr-lisboa

In Porto, if you find yourself at the beach in upmarket Foz do Douro, where the Douro meets the Atlantic, we like Cafeína and Terra there, now acquired by the Jose Avillez group (but you may be "Avillez-ed out" by then!).

For an inexpensive, casual, small plates dinner in Foz, we go to Casa de Pasto da Palmeira, the little dark red house with a whimsical décor, near the Jardim Passeio Alegre, facing the river. Here the menu changes monthly. We also go to BarTolo in a narrow 3-story storefront with a rustic-chic upstairs dining room and a rooftop terrace, on Rua Senhora da Luz, a block from the beach.

In downtown Porto, I can recommend Traça, a slow food restaurant with plenty of meat options. (They also own Pisca in Foz).
Traça


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thanks for this tip!