Food in Portugal
 

Hi !
Another thread (Bourdain's visit to Porto) open a whole discussion abouit the quality of food we can found in Porto. SInce I will be there in 3 weeks with my wife and kids (5 and 9) and that we considered ourselves as foodies that subject is something very appealing for us.

Travelling is a good occasion for us ti discover new tastes and eating is a big part of the fun we can have while travelling. Of course with kids we wont be able to eat in high end restaurants but we still are looking for good meals on places we will go.

So I make a call to any food lovers or anyone who get a good meal in one of the places we will be...we need your recommandations and we thank you fo them !

We will be in Portugal for 13 nights.

1) Porto: we will be there for 3 nights and have an appartment at Rua de Mouzinho da Silveira near Rua do Infante D. Henrique., We would do a day trip to Guimaraes. Rialtogrl already gave me some ideas about those places, but I can take more !

2) One night in the Douro valley. We will have a car for 6 days from that day. We have reserved a night in Quinta de Santo Antonio in Tabuaco

3) 2 nights in Coimbra (daytip to Conimbraga)

4) 2 nights in Sao Martinho do Porto (with daytrips)

5) 5 nights in Lisbon (we drop our car at arrival). Our appartment will be in Rua de Santa Justa, between Rossio and Baixa stations (is it a good locationby the way ?). We will do a daytrip to Sintra

We dont have any food allergy or things that we don't like. Of course kids are a litthe less open minded abouit food but we will manage that !

If you have good website about food in Portugal we will take that too !

Thanks a lot in advance !

My Favourite three meals in Lisbon were at:
Farol de Santa Luiza
bonjardim (Cheap, but excellent peri peri chicken)
Chapito

I loved Ramiro in Lisbon and its great for all ages.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-fall-2016.cfm

Do they have good peri peri chicken?

Delivered quick and with consistent quality like that U.K. Chain?

Sorry just half kidding.

Not a foodie but thinking of visiting in April when it's suppose to be dry and warm, at least from Lisbon to the south, Algarve.

Bookmarking

And thanks escrunchy for adding your extensive TR.

vinho verde will make everything taste better.

scrb11 - It's not a UK chain, but a South African. I believe the origin of the dish is the old Portuguese African colonies.

Our apartment was in Chiado; I am not so familiar with the other neighborhoods, so you may have to map that out. We were lucky to be a short walk from several of Chef Jose Avillez's restaurants, again not sure how far you might be. Your kids might enjoy Pizzaria Lisboa; we did as adults. More than pizza. One evening we were seated near two Portuguese families with several children, they were all having a good time. It's a small cozy room.

I was thinking of Nandos but apparently there are a couple more regional chains in the U.K.

Looks like Nandos has expanded in all continents, even a handful of states in the US, but not on continental Europe itself.

The Bonjardin has a take out window which we used our first night in Lisbon to take the peri peri chicken back to our apartment. Just go to the window and order it. Peri peri is spicy so you may want to remove the skin from the kids' portions.
When we stayed in Coimbra, our hotel told us about a nearby road/highway in Mealhada that was filled with restaurants specializing in suckling pig which is called leitoes in Portugese. We had an incredible meal for lunch at what looked like a very simple place. We loved our hotel in Coimbra, La Quinta de las Lagrimas. Site of the liasions of King Pedro and his Ines, quite a story!
You will enjoy Guimares with it's castle and history as the first capital of Portugal. We spent several days there and popped into whatever restaurant looked good. Sorry I don't have the names.
Your Lisbon apartment appears to be in a convenient location. Ours was up the hill , above Restauaradores and Rosssio and we found it perfect there. Make sure you visit the Belem area of Lisbon, Monasterio Jeronimos (Vasco de Gama's Tomb is there)and Monument to the Discoveries. Your children will be learning about the explorers in school and this is some of that history for them.
Enjoy Portugal with your family! We loved our time there, especially the caring and friendly people.

Yes, Nandos - originally formed in South Africa.

At Bonjardim they serve the sauce spearately, so you can "season to taste"

Taking notes.

I will focus my reply on the north part of portugal (till Coimbra).

Note that besides the main course, you will find a wide variety of regional sweets not to be missed.

Starting with the sweets:
Pasteis de Tentugal (Coimbra Region)
Doces de Ovos Moles (Aveiro)
Fogaças (Santa Maria da Feira)
Doces de Ovos e Amêndoa (Amarante)
Pudim de Abade Priscos (Braga)
Leite Creme Queimado and Mouse de chocolate (Everywhere, children will love both)

Main course:

All of Portugal -> Various (>100) salted cod dishes

Coimbra/Mealhada -> Leitão à bairrada

Aveiro -> Fresh fish (children will probably like shellfish and grilled squids)

Porto -> Francesinha (for all), tripas à moda do porto (parents only), Arroz e filetes de Polvo (octopus rice and fillet)

Matosinhos is a town close to Porto famous for its fresh fish.

Douro -> Cabrito assado no forno


Please let me know if you need help with translations or need any extra information.

P.S. - Quinta de Santo António is a very good choice. You can visit Ucanha (nice small village) and Lamego.

tripas... possibly not :-)

We had a great fresh fish dinner at O Antonio in the Matosinhos area of Porto (Rua Herois de Franca, 473). They cook the fish over coals on grills set up right outside. There are several other excellent restaurants nearby as well.

On the other hand: In Lisbon we ate at a restaurant near the Gulbenkian, famed for their traditional salted cod. Although I've enjoyed spaghetti al baccalà in Italy, this tasted like they pulled it out of a sewer.