21 Best Restaurants in Northern Portugal, Portugal

The restaurants along or near Rua 31 de Janeiro may have river views, but they don't necessarily serve the best food. This ham-and-garlic-bedecked place—off a square at the end of the main street—has no views, but the regional fare served on its wooden tables make it worth a trip. Regular dishes include cozido à portuguesa (a sausage, bean, and vegetable stew), cabrito assado (roasted kid), and tripas (tripe and beans), most available as a full dose (serving) that's enough for two people or a meia (half) dose. If you're planning on dinner, come early because the small space fills up fast.

This family-owned restaurant 3 km (2 miles) from the center of Vila Real, on the main road to Chaves, has been open since 1947 but has kept up with the times in terms of decor, presentation, and service. Tasty starters here include bacalhau and chickpea salad, and tripas (tripe) dishes unrivaled by nearby venues. Meat-centric mains—some of which may be ordered in half servings—range from garlicky alheira sausage served with sautéed grelos (turnip tops) to beef-and-chestnut stew, or roasted kid; there are also hearty fish dishes. This is also a good place to sample regional wines and desserts.

A local institution, Pastelaria Clarinha is the best place to sample regional cakes and pastries. It has a range of delicious sweets, including traditional tortas de Guimarães—pastry rolls with an eggy pumpkin filling—and the local take on toucinho do céu (egg-and-almond cake, here with gila, fig-leaf gourd).

Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook rolling hills, the Douro River, and a railroad bridge at this family-owned restaurant. Just 800 meters from the train station, the establishment is run by the granddaughter of the late owner, and her partner, who trained as a chef in France. Offerings hinge on what's freshest and may include grilled cod, roasted lamb, game (like rabbit and boar), fish soup, or pillowy wood-oven-baked bread. Desserts skew French: lemon mousse, chocolate fondant, and crème brûlée. Nearly everything, even down to the wine, is grown on the restaurant's own farm.

A meal in this long-established restaurant is worth a climb (or drive) to the top of the hill that's home to the Santuário Nossa Senhora do Sameiro. Views from the spacious, elegantly decorated dining room are superb, and the menu is unadulterated northern Portuguese cuisine. It's possible to eat here for around €10 per head, but if your budget stretches further, you might start with the alheira—a garlicky regional sausage, served with sautéed grelos, or turnip tops—before moving on to the house bacalhau, feauturing heaps of fried onions, or cabrito assado (roasted kid).

With tables nestled inside oversized wine barrels, Terra de Montanha has an interior design that's as memorable as the food. Try excellent house specials such as bacalhau com presunto e broa (cod baked with cured ham and cornbread) or a well-flavored meat dish such as joelho de porco assado (roasted pork knuckle). They serve dinner until late here—almost midnight on weekends.

It's best to come hungry to this rustic eatery across the Lima River, famed for its starters, such as rissóis de leitão (suckling pig rissoles) and orelha de porco (pig's ear), as well as main dishes like cabrito assado (kid roasted in a wood oven) and bacalhau with a corn bread crust. The stone-walled dining room is dominated by a massive fireplace that keeps the place warm on chilly evenings; in summer there's a pleasant shaded terrace. Servings are huge, so when dining alone don't be shy to ask for a half (meia dose). Don't miss their pudim de Abade de Priscos, an ultra-rich crème caramel pudding. 

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.

In business since 1858, this local landmark serves a wide variety of light dishes and has lovely views of the fountain in the square outside. The dining room is refined and elegant, but the tables outside are most in demand.

In this restaurant a couple of minutes' walk from the medieval bridge, regional dishes such as bacalhau, roasted kid, or arroz de sarrabulho (a spicy stew, made with rice and pig's blood) are served up in a cozy, stone-walled dining room. The lunchtime dishes of the day are an incredible value, and delicious. For dessert, the chocolate mousse is one of the best around.

So famous that it was featured on a postage stamp in 2017, this vintage pastry shop is best known for its bola de Berlim donuts, overflowing with pastry cream. Also popular are the cinnamon biscuits, pão de ló à Jorge Amado (a sponge favored by the late Brazilian writer on his periodic visits), and Manjerico de Viana, an eggy tart that tastes like sweet basil. It was originally invented at the nearby Pastelaria Zé Natário, opened in 1970 by Manuel's brother José.

A covered balcony held aloft by stone pillars makes this one of the most appealing places for outdoor dining in Ponte de Lima. You might start with the bolinhos de bacalhau, fried potato cakes with plenty of cod in them, and then try one of the regional dishes, such as rojões (fried pork). Braver souls might go for the arroz de sarrabulho, a dish made of rice and pig's blood, for which this restaurant is particularly renowned.

An 1820s manor turned 11-room inn, Falcão de Mendonça's restaurant has warm service and surprisingly reasonable prices. On the menu is Portuguese fare with a few interesting additions, like shrimp-stuffed bacalhau, rabbit stew, and prawns with garlic mushrooms. You can take your meal beside the outdoor pool, and there's a billiards table to amuse the kids while you linger over your meal—but they're sure to run back to the table for a dessert of crêpes topped with ice cream and chocolate sauce, or crema catalana (the cinnamon-scented Iberian version of crème brûlée).

Tucked modestly behind a parking garage—follow the arrows to the two modern, air-conditioned dining rooms—this popular local staple prides itself on cooking bacalhau myriad ways, but according to locals the onion-rich house version is the best in the world. The changing menu invariably also features grilled fish and dishes such as filetes de polvo (octopus fritters), rojões com papas de sarrabulho (pork medallions with corn meal flavored with blood) or roast kid—most also available as a meia dose, for one person. For dessert, try the pavê, a Brazilian take on tiramisu, or coroas do rei, traditional pão de ló sponge cake but topped with meringue.

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.

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.

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 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 (€57) in the attached apartments have a rustic feel, but also mod cons.

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.

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.