restaurant suggestions in Porto and Lisbon

In Porto I can recommend A Grade Restaurant. That’s about it.
In Lisbon I can’t even recommend a place. We found the food to be so-so.
We didn’t have any bad experiences, just nothing great.

We are in Portugal now and can recommend some restaurants that we liked and why.

Porto

• Flor dos Congregados has been in business for over 160 years and is easy to miss as it is on a side street a block from Avenida dos Aliados. We went there on a food tour and tried a local delicacy terylene, a pork sandwich made with 24 hour roasted pork, topped with a slice of ham, and then finished in a wood-fired oven. The bread is soft and crunchy and the pairs well with Dao wine. They also serve a variety of traditional home style Portuguese food.
• Vinum is a restaurant adjacent to the Grahams Port Cellar. We visited for lunch after a tour. Vinum has a beautiful view overlooking the Douro River that is stunning anytime of day. The food is outstanding, from the sourdough bread served with olive oil and the heirloom tomato salad to the fresh grilled, locally sourced John Dorry with potatoes. The food relies on the freshest ingredients with olive oil and fresh herbs. Simple, but tasty. The service is flawless, attentive and kind. They even gave us extra bread to take home with us to our apartment for breakfast the next day. It is a bit more on the pricey side, about $50/person with drinks, but one that I would go back to again.
• Pregar is a local steak sandwich restaurant that my husband has been dreaming about since our last trip to Porto two years ago. It is a no frills place with medium rare steak, perfectly seasoned on a sesame roll. We ordered the grilled onion and cheese with a side of fries and Sangria. This is my husband’s favorite place, so we ate there twice on our trip.

Lisbon

There are so many great places we have eaten in Lisbon, but I will share a few of my favorites.

• Oficio is a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant with inventive and modern Portuguese cuisine. I found this place two years ago, ate there twice on a four day trip and couldn’t wait to visit again. The food is still creative, but now since they are a Michelin recommendation it is harder to get a reservation. This is a small-plate tapas restaurant. I will describe just two of the dishes. One is a tomato salad with a lettuce vinaigrette. The tomatoes were peeled, perfectly seasoned and the lettuce vinaigrette created an herbal sauce that complemented the tomatoes. The second was a medium-rare rib eye cut on a bed of glutinous rice, topped with a fried egg. The sauce was a beef bone reduction with a bay laurel oil. Every bite was a perfect balance of flavors. I am back again before I leave this week. It as a bit more expensive at $65/per person with drinks.
• Vale do Rio is a 7 minute ferry ride from Lisbon to Almada. We went there for Portuguese Seafood Rice on a Monday afternoon and it was filled with Portuguese people enjoying their lunch. The Seafood is fresh and consisted of crab, shrimp, clams, mussels all in a flavorful seafood, tomato broth served with hot bread. It is a treat to see Lisbon from the river and then enjoy an hearty and inexpensive lunch.

One last tip, if you see Naughty Rice on a menu (Malandrinho) you must try it, especially if it is in the summer. I had it twice on my trip. It is a light tomato broth with a loose rice (similar to a risotto, but not as starchy). It is summer on a plate and pairs well with fried fish or cod fritters.

In Porto, I enjoyed Abadia do Porto. (I think I found this one in a RS guidebook, but I could be wrong.) The restaurant serves a traditional menu, and we enjoyed the food. We are big fans of Portuguese food. When we were there for dinner, it was pretty busy. Our waiter wore a bowtie and was all business. After he expertly deboned my husband's fish, we applauded him, and he was pleasantly taken aback.

We've been to Lisbon three times, and each visit included dinner at Casa do Alentejo. The building itself is beautiful and has an interesting history. The last time we were there was in 2023, and it didn't live up to our previous visits. The food was still good, especially the pork with clams, but it felt more touristy and less personal.

Another good Lisbon spot in Quermesse. The octopus is fantastic! The servers were also friendly and welcoming.

For Lisbon, we ate in a number of small places, and a couple better known ones.

If it helps, look for a certain type of place, chances are it will be great.

First, there is the TimeOut food market. A wide array of food stalls, easy to walk around and try a variety of things. Some very well known restaurants and chefs have places there, good for a break with a snack and a drink, a quick meal, or more.

If you really want something local, rustic, and authentic, look for a Tasca. Usually a family run place, simple, but really good. Lots of places qualify, we liked O' Gaiteiro, O Velho Eurico often comes up as recommended. Best to have some cash on you, many of these places do not take card.

Another type of place is a Cervejaria, literally a beer hall, but nowadays mainly a local restaurant or seafood place. The best known one is Cervejaria Ramiro. It picked up some fame via Anthony Bourdain and some other TV chefs, we were leery, but went. They have polished up a bit from a humble restaurant, but the seafood (you really have to like shellfish) was top notch. Being fresh, high quality seafood, it'll set you back about 50 euro per person for multiple dishes, wine and dessert, but worth it.

Another tact you can take is to do some searches for local iconic dishes, and then the best places to have those.