Portugal

Cais da Ribeira 32. & 22/200-43-89. Reservations recommended Fri–Sat nights. Main courses 10€–25€
($12–$33). DC, MC, V. Daily noon–3pm and 7–11:30pm. Closed Tues Nov–Apr. Bus: 1.
O Caçula PORTUGUESE In the Boavista zone, this restaurant is tasteful and comfortable,
offering a Portuguese cuisine that has been updated for modern tastes. It is both
a cafe, with Internet access, and a formal restaurant. The chefs always prepare a fresh soup
of the day, or else you can pick from such starters as bruschetta with melted goat cheese,
perhaps a salad of four different types of lettuce with cheese from the Azores, whipped
together with a mustard and honey sauce dressing. For the vegetarian, courses are offered
such as ratatouille with basmati rice served with grilled polenta. Among the best fish
dishes are grilled tuna steak in a sage sauce or grilled codfish filet on a bed of fresh spinach.
The chefs are equally skilled at turning out meat dishes, including grilled lamb steak
with a Thai sauce or rump steak served with black beans.
Travessa do Bonjardim 20. & 22/205-59-37. www.ocacula.com. Reservations recommended. Main
courses 7.50€–9.95€. MC, V. Mon–Sat noon–3pm and 7–10pm.
O Muro PORTUGUESE This is an earthy, rough-and-ready fish restaurant.
Don’t expect grandeur: The decor is utilitarian and the staff is gruff. But there’s a convivial
amiability about the place, with a terrace that was built as part of the foundation
buttresses for this medieval waterfront neighborhood a short walk from the Praça de
Ribeira. Owned by a once-professional soccer player and his Mozambique-born wife, it
specializes in the type of hearty and straightforward cuisine that used to make the Portuguese
Empire run. The best dishes include codfish- or octopus-studded rice, red snapper
or turbot, fried codfish, and steak with mushrooms, milk, cream, herbs, and lemon-flavored
butter. Most dishes are at the lower end of the price scale listed below.
Muro do Bacalhoeiros 87–88. & 22/208-34-26. Main courses 12€–22€. MC, V. Daily noon–2am. Bus: 1.
In Vila Nova de Gaia
Adega & Presuntaria Transmontana II PORTUGUESE Set within easy walking
distance of most of the port-wine sales outlets, across the river from the medieval core of
Porto, this rustic-looking restaurant showcases the rich and hearty cuisine of Portugal’s
most remote province, Trás-os-Montes. The venue resembles a stone tasca (tavern), where
at least two dozen cured hams hang from the ceiling. The best-tasting menu items
include platters of cured ham, green cabbage soup, shrimp in garlic sauce, octopus with
green sauce, and stewed or grilled meat in the Minho style.
Av. Diogo Leite 80, Vila Nova de Gaia. & 22/375-83-80. Reservations recommended. Main courses
10€–20€. AE, DC, MC, V. Daily 11am–2am. Bus: 57 or 91.
In Foz do Douro
Bar/Restaurant de Praia do Ourigo PORTUGUESE One of the most popular
and appealing beachside restaurants in Porto lies in the residential suburb of Foz do
Douro, at the bottom of a cement staircase that descends from the waterfront boulevard
above. Its design might remind you of a giant glass-and-steel box. Windows take in views
of a lighthouse and the jagged mouth of the Douro River as its waters merge with the
sea. Your seating options will largely depend on the weather: Whenever it’s nice outside,
dozens of wicker-topped tables sprawl along a wide terrace nearby, protected from the
wind by a Plexiglas breakfront. Most of the time, however, diners huddle inside, seeking
protection from the wind, rain, and fog. We savored the grilled monkfish with garlic
butter, although a wide array of shellfish was featured as well, including a garlic-flavored
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