45 Best Restaurants in Northern Portugal, Portugal

You wouldn't know it from the bright, modern decor, but O Laranjeira is Viana's oldest pensão, and its restaurant serves some of the best traditional Minho cuisine around. The business is now in the hands of the third generation, who are innovating while respecting tradition and preserving the soul of the place. Any of the fresh fish dishes is a good option, but so is the roasted kid.

Despite the unusual location, amid industrial units a 10-minute drive out of town, this Michelin-starred gourmet haven helmed by youthful chef Rui Filipe draws foodies with its seafood-heavy menu of regional dishes. First-time visitors are recommended to go for the "Tradition" tasting menu (€110)---though you may also order à la carte---but there is also a more daring "Innovation" one (€145). Either way, vegetarian or other dietary requirements can be catered for, with a bit of notice. There are various types of wine pairings on offer (from €60): the place is owned by a leading wine distributor and you can also sample some of vast range, along with gourmet snacks, in the attached wine bar.

This small café is the perfect place to soak up the Minho atmosphere. The proprietor makes his own pastries, cakes, and croquettes. 

The popular, no-frills sister eatery to Taverna de Matilde, Arco Iris serves big portions of home-style fare such as jabalí (wild boar) stew, roast lamb, and grilled cod. There's a short list of inexpensive regional wines. If you have any room left at the end of your meal, try the almond mousse.

The wooden sign and the rustic balcony outside this delightfully rustic restaurant in Gimonde, 8 km (5 miles) east of Bragança may remind Americans of the Old West. The menu features regional dishes such as garlicky alheira sausage and posta à Dom Roberto, the house steak, as well as local game. For dessert, try the creamy rice pudding or local cheese with homemade compote. If you feel like staying over, guest rooms (from €57) in the attached apartments have a rustic feel, but also modern conveniences.

Overlooking the Rio Cávado, 4 km (2.5 miles) from Esposende, Sra. Peliteiro is housed in the clubhouse of a golf course, where players often stay on to enjoy the octopus, bacalhau, and hearty meat dishes produced by the eponymous chef, Paula Peliteiro. It's not just the usual regional fare: there's also a rump-steak tagine and Brazilian-style prawn moqueca (stew), and a good range of desserts, both traditional and modern.

This smart dockside restaurant and terrace in a former warehouse is owned by a family of fish wholesalers (with their own boats) who since 2008 have been serving customers some of the best seafood around: the only meat here is on the kids' menu. Monkfish features most days, as do navalhas (razor clams), while the vegetables used are all organic. Start with a fish soup, bolinhos de bacalhau (cod cakes) or Galicia-style octopus, before moving on to fresh grilled fish or their spectacular cataplana stew. If you have a sweet tooth, end with a lindinha---a flaky pastry stuffed with sweet ground almonds.

Hip-homey is the vibe this tavern exudes with its red-and-white checkered table runners, blond-wood chairs, and birch tables. The restaurant often hosts live music. Meat and seafood are the stars of the menu, which includes a warming fish stew with rice, grilled lamb, and steak carved table -side. Pair dinner with a carafe of local wine and finish it off with refreshing almond mousse. Taverna da Matilde is attached to Restaurante Arco Iris.

Visa is the only credit card that can be used here.

With tables nestled inside oversized wine barrels, Terra de Montanha has an interior design that's as memorable as the food. Try excellent specials such as bacalhau with onion escabeche and mayonnaise or a well-flavored meat dish such as the house veal, which is seasoned, grilled, and then roasted with potatoes before being served with sautéed vegetables. The kitchen stays open late here—dinner is served almost until midnight on weekends.

Inside a charming 1920s building in Póvoa de Varzim (Vila do Conde's twin to the north) that was Portugal's first brick-built theater, staff bustle about a high-ceilinged, white-painted space, serving well-priced cocktails, unusual snacks (ask for the day's specials), and classic northern Portuguese mains. Desserts are more international, including a salted chocolate mousse and lemon meringue tart. The family that runs the place also owns the town's oldest bookstore, and corridors and stairs around the dining area are lined with shelves; on your arrival you'll even find a book on your table to peruse.

The tibia, a traditional local pastry, takes center stage here, but prize-winning pastry chef João Benjamim Araújo and his team turn out a wide range of other sticky delights, most of which also originated in Braga. Grab a coffee and choose whether to sit inside the beautifully renovated historic building or on the terrace---both of which are great places for people watching.

Barely marked, you could easily miss this little restaurant on the riverfront, which is a quick walk from the train station; look for the Vintage House Hotel and you'll find it next door. The kind owner and her staff serve simple, well-prepared fare—grilled meats and seafood, best paired with local port and wine and rounded out by fresh fruit or ice cream. Terrace seats offer great views of the river and the valley. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily, but call during low season to check opening hours.

Just across a footbridge from the center of Pinhão is this casual roadside eatery offering simple Portuguese fare at a great value. It's the kind of place locals stop in to chew the fat with their neighbors over a glass of port. On the handwritten menu you'll find Portuguese comfort-food staples—grilled meats, grilled seafood, and traditional accoutrements.

Confusingly, this building says Grande Ponto, but look for number 29B and you'll find this homey restaurant, which dishes up heaping plates of grilled meat and seafood. The restaurant's specialties include veal, roast chicken, steak, eel, and sardines. Vegetarians won't find much here other than french fries and the olives, bread, and fresh white cheese starters that are brought to every table and added to the bill only if eaten. Wash it all down with carafes of local wine.

Since 1988, this riverside restaurant a short walk from the train station has been serving basic but well-prepared Portuguese cuisine: grilled seafood, grilled meats, and sides of potatoes. There's beer and rustic local wine to drink and, for dessert, slices of spongy borracha cake, drizzled with a rum syrup.