Porto’s city centre is filled with lots of lovely restaurants and unfortunately also a few tourist traps. How do you recognize good restaurants from rip-offs? Rest assured, just as always I get you covered! So here they are; the Porto hotspots tested and approved from me to you!
Brunch
Miss Pavlova
Miss Pavlova must be paradise on earth for all the girlie girls that love rosé wine, cupcakes and all things pink. Wait that’s me! Even before going there I knew that it was going to be a place I’d like! Before you arrive at the restaurant, you have to pass through the store, where you can buy the cutiest souvenirs. On the menu you’ll find sweet and savory dishes. As I was really hungry and could’t choose between the Tomato-Mozarella bruschetta and Pancakes, I ordered both. I really liked both and together with the bottle of Sparkling Matheus wine, we had a great brunch expierence at Miss Pavlova.
Zenith brunch & Cocktails Bar
Zenith Brunch & Cocktails Bar is my favorite brunch spot in Porto! ‘Brunch all day’, is totally the spirit at Zenith, and as you know by now, that’s my mantra too. At Zenith you’ll find perfect combinations of healthy and tasty dishes. From Fresh Juices to Specialty Coffee. Classics like French Toast, Banana Bread or Eggs Benedict, Açaí bowls, Shakshuka and pancakes. Let me tell you, at Zenith they have it all! I ordered the Eggs Benedict (always a winner) and my friend chose Zenith’s answer to the Francesinha, Porto’s signature dish. Both dishes were sooooo delicious! I also really digged the interior at Zenith. The mint green coaches and accesoirres together with the brick walls gave the place an industrial and contemporary feel and what’s not to love about that?!
Apero time
Wine Quay Bar
Wine Quay Bar was selected the best wine bar in Portugal in 2016! And I totally get that! The owners pride themselves in helping you select a wine that is 100% to your liking. I’m always eager to learn more about wine, so I very much appreciated the passionate explantions they are providing with each wine. I really love this place; excellent wine selection and the views from the terrace are amongst the best in the city!
Café do Cais
Another fun bar to have a drink before dinner is Café dos Cais. Enjoy an Aperol Spritz or a signature cocktail while taken in the priviliged sights upon the Douro river.
Dinner
RIB Beef & Wine Porto
Located at the bank of the Douro river, lays RIB. With that location in mind, you would expect nothing but seafood restaurants. And sure they are a lot of these, but I was really glad that a fellow-blogger recommend RIB; which in my opinion is the place to be for meatlovers!! As we did not make a reservation, we had to wait in the bar for our table, but we did not mind that at all, as the wine and cocktail list were great. If you don’t like waiting, make sure to book your table ahead, because this restaurant is very popular and the food there is divine!.
Vinhas d’Alho
As the day before, dinner was all about meat, we wanted to try a traditional seafood restaurant as well! Vinhas d’Alho is a little further down the road from RIB and where you need to be if you want a local and delicious meal for a good price. This restaurant is also quite popular, so a reservation is absolutely necessary. The interior of the restaurant is quite traditional, but the service is very friendly and the food is absolutely the best I’ve had in Porto. We ordered the Cataplana, a local fish and seafood stew, which was to die for. This restaurant is a must do when you’re visiting Porto.
Mistu
If fine dining is more your thing, you should book a table at Mistu. The first thing that caught my eye, when walking into the Parisien style restaurant was the black & white picture of a topless model. Very strange, but it didn’t feel at of place. The rest of the interior felt very luxurious: marble tables and a bar with velvet green chairs. Interior love over here! The cuisine is inspired by the world and mainly that of Asia and South-America with a Portugese twist. We ordered the Ceviche made of Tuna and the Smoked Squid with sweet patato and both dished were amazing! Also dessert was to good to be true!
