Winning tip: Casa Guedes, Porto

Casa Guedes, in the old centre of Porto (130 Praças Poveiros) serves juicy slabs of roast pork in rustic brown rolls, stuck together with oozing sheep’s cheese. The delicious sandwiches are washed down with the bar’s own label albarinho wine, which is light and apple-crisp. Stand around outside with the young locals, try the house’s rose-coloured fizz and watch the chefs carve pork from the giant roast.
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LISBON

Chapitô à Mesa

This restaurant is part of a circus school complex and serves fun, informal food with a delightful twist – either in terms of choice of ingredients or presentation. There is a wood-fired grill for mains but plenty of lighter options. Make a reservation (+351 21 885 5550) and request one of their two window seats, which offer some of the best views in Lisbon.
English info: facebook.com/ChapitoAMesa
MigraineJones

Drinks with a view

For seafood in Lisbon, go to Tó do Marisco, in Carnide, close to the Benfica football stadium. This place has the most amazing mariscada, which basically consists of a variety of seafood, served with fries and a delicious sauce. For afternoon drinks, seek out Noobai – at a viewpoint called Adamastor. It’s perfect to have a bottle of white wine and watch the sunset while enjoying one of the most beautiful views in town. Later, have a cocktail at Park, another bar with a view of the city at the top of a car park close to Bairro Alto.
Nuno Cabacing

Sinal Vermelho

Finding an empty table in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto can be tricky, but the owner of a fully booked restaurant quietly directed us down an unassuming street to the place he goes on his lunch break. Sinal (89 Rua das Gaveas) is a welcoming, bustling “local” place with huge portions of succulent cod, incredible salmon, crisp white wine and great service.
Sally Gascoigne

OTHER REGIONS

Cafe Santiago, Porto

This is the best place to eat Porto’s speciality francesinha sandwich, usually filled with steak or finely cut ham and covered in melted cheese and a rich sauce made with tomatoes and beer – with a fried egg and plate of chips for dipping. The restaurant has a friendly staff and atmosphere, low prices and traditional decor, and you will almost certainly be dining with the locals.
266 Rua Passos Manuel, caferestaurantesantiago.com
rachelm25

Mercado do Peixe, Aveiro

The fish market in Aviero, a short train ride from Porto, is central and hard to miss, and Mercado do Piexe restaurant sits on top of the market hall with views over the town’s colourful houses and canal. You won’t need to look at the menu for long: simply walk in and order the prato do dia for the succulent catch of the day.
wikthor

O Batareo, Setúbal

You’ll feel like you’re in a friend’s kitchen here, sharing the freshest grilled fish imaginable. It’s a small, unassuming restaurant where even the queue to get in is exciting – order a cold beer and watch one of the owners grill fresh sardines and red mullet by the door as you wait. Service is exceptional and prices surprisingly low for the humongous portions. Side dishes, including simple salads and boiled potatoes, are excellent and you can also sit outside.
canaria

Sao Frutuoso, Braga

At Sao Frutuoso you’ll find traditional cooking techniques in a rustic family-owned restaurant. Start with pasteis de bacalhau, Portugal’s legendary cod fritters. For something typical of the rustic northern countryside, try cabrito asado, a slow-roasted young goat cooked in a wood-burning oven. It’s a meal that highlights northern Portugal’s rich agricultural history and local ingredients. Don’t forget the vinho verde, a great young wine.
168 Rua Costa Gomes, saofrutuoso.com
Leah Sunna

Mira Mar, Peniche

North along the coast from Lisbon, working port and surfing hotspot Peniche is the perfect place to try fresh sardines. You’ll immediately know you’re in sardine country – the scent is unmistakable. Head to the harbourfront and you’ll be met with large, juicy specimens at Restaurante Mira Mar (42 Avenida do Mar) where the friendly atmosphere gives a flavour of the local humour and waiters jovially explain how to eat the fish “properly”.
Rosanna Pound-Woods

Pingo Doce supermarket, Albufeira

The cafeteria in the Pingo Doce supermarket in Albufeira may not sound grand, but the food is excellent, as demonstrated by how full it is with locals. You can get a two-course meal for two with wine for under €10, choosing your own fresh fish or meat to be grilled to order, or savour creamy bacalhau made with salt cod. If you want sea views and tablecloths, it is not for you, but if you are after really good food, this is the place.
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Restaurante da Praia, Praia da Arrifana, Algarve

Stewed octopus with sweet potato is the speciality at this restaurant, which sits alone at the bottom of the steep access road that winds down to one of Portugal’s most beautiful and geologically interesting beaches. It’s such a good dish the more famous Mercado da Riberia in Lisbon copies it, but the views on the Rota Vicentina cannot be matched.
restaurantepraiaarrifana.com
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