yestravel

There was a recent thread with restaurant recs which included Porto that I can't locate. Could I please ask folks to repost any suggestions for restaurants in Porto. We're up for any thing pretty much. Have been traveling Portugal for almost four weeks now and find I don't love traditional versions of Portuguese food as much as I like the more modern takes on it. Price wise up to €100 for two people with wine. With a few exceptions we have spent less than that so far. We arrive Sunday in Porto for four nights. Thanks!

sandralist

If you haven't checked out the Yeatman, you should look up prices to make sure it is in the budget, but sounds exactly like what you are looking for and it has the great view plus simply delicious port cocktails. I would sooner head there than spend on a taxi to get out to Foz, where I ate a trendy recommended restaurant and the food was inconsistent. Not bad, but the only choices were fixed menus, and not everything was a winner. (I generally don't enjoy fixed menus anyway.)

Surprising to me, 2 of the better meals I had in Porto were at the Cafe Majestic, which has light cuisine. It is definitely the tourist destination in that part of town, but we liked our first lunch there so much we decided to return for a second lunch.

Sorry you've not found traditional Portuguese food you liked, and I don't know where you've been. I had a great time eating in no-name joints in Lisbon, and the aptly named Historico in Guimaraes served me one of my favorite meals in recent memory in Europe, all made from historic recipes. Alas, I was generally disappointed in the food of Porto (but not the port) -- but I didn't eat at the Yeatman and I very much wish I had. I just drank there, and it was lovely.

I hope at least you've been enjoying the local wine!

sandralist

Just recalled the name of the trendy restaurant in Porto that didn't repay the effort to get there. It was Foz Velha.

yestravel

Thanks for the suggestions. Wine has been fabulous, esp port which I love. Am slowly becoming a fan of the "black pork" which has had no fat and is very tender and flavorful. We ate in many no name joints in Lisbon and other towns thruout this trip. The food is ok, just don't love it. Breads have been consistently good. I was in Portugal many years back and didn't love the food then either. So it's just me and my food preferences I guess.

sandralist

I'm a huge fan of mackerel, sardines and octopus, and thus happily ate copious amounts of it in Lisbon, along with some great roasted chicken and mozambique-style shellfish I never even ate the black pork, even in the areas of Portugal where it is a specialty, and could not bring myself to sample a "francesinha" so there you have it.

The port cocktails at the Yeatman were just a revelation to me. Had I known, I might have booked myself into their hotel just to drink their cocktails every night. The view from there is beautiful in and of itself, so if you decide against dinner, you might at least stop by for a drink (or nine). I found the immediate riverbanks on both sides of the river unbearably touristy, and the restaurants rather dreary in that way. But Porto itself is an endless fascination.

Bread is lovely in Portugal. So are those huge watery melons if it is hot enough. If you find anyplace serving the chicken sausages from Portugal's historic Jewish community, they are a treat, I think.

Not what you asked, but my biggest regret of my Portugal trip was forgetting to buy Claus Porto soaps!

yestravel

Will have to keep an eye out for chicken sausages. I do love the fresh grilled octopus.

sandralist

http://catavino.net/alheira-portuguese-sausage/

yestravel

We spent a few hours in Mirandela a couple days ago. Wish I had known.

yestravel

Still hoping for some more suggestions for Porto. Thanks!