A Portuguese Tour

Pica-Pau, in Príncipe Real, is not a Minho restaurant, but rather a traditional eatery that takes its cue from the recipes of Maria de Lourdes Modesto (1930-2022), a great name in Portuguese cooking. Every Friday there is cabidela rice (€12), a Minho classic also known as “pica no chão”, chef Luís Gaspar’s favourite dish. It’s best to just tuck in without any preconceptions, but if you really want to know what’s in it, it’s simply rice and chicken cooked in its own blood. Any other day, you can familiarise yourself with yet more classics of Portuguese cuisine.

Paredes de Coura is in the heart of Alto Minho (northern Portugal), but you can also make the journey north by dining at Os Courenses, a popular restaurant of Minho origin facing onto a small garden. The cozido à portuguesa stew (€16) is one of the most popular dishes in the house and is served on Thursdays and Saturdays, but there are always dishes of the day, which include roast kid or octopus fillets. The food is the lure, but Manuel Braga, one of the partners, insists that another secret of the restaurant’s success is the employees who have been there many years and “know everybody”, he says, referring to the regular clientele.

While decent, tasty food is what has made the place’s name, it’s Sr. João always asking us back like we’re family that makes it truly magical – both for regular customers and first-timers. We feel right at home taking a seat at this tasca , a typical Minho restaurant where there’s always room for one more around the table, and enough food for everyone. The traditional Portuguese dishes on the menu vary according to the day of the week, and there is always bacalhau (cod) Minho-style (the owners are from Ponte da Barca, after all). When the time comes, around February, this is the place to eat lamprey, a rather ugly-looking critter.

It was a Galician who opened this restaurant on Rossio, the heart of the city, at a time when there were still wagons passing by. For 14 years now, it’s been managed by David Castro, but it’s his wife, Fátima, the person behind their great dishes and snacks. The tasca atmosphere is all there, from the aluminum counter to the carboys hanging on the wall. For a quick meal, take a seat on the counter and try the moelas or the pataniscas. For a longer one at the table, try the cozido à portuguesa stew, served every Thursday.

Under its Minho owners, O Velho Macedo serves francesinhas (€15) which seems a little out of place. Depending on the day, this is a place for big portions, from cozido à portuguesa stew to pork shank or tripe Porto-style. The francesinha, a speciality from Porto, or from Matosinhos to be more precise, is something José Barbosa only makes to order. Either it’s done right, with quality ingredients, or it’s not worth doing at all, he says. The sauce has to be spicy with no frills, the bread lightly toasted, the linguiça sausage tasty, the steak tender and the cheese in just the right quantity. Then the egg goes on top. The homemade chips are finely sliced. It is undoubtedly one of the best (if not the best) francesinha in the city.

Rua da Madalena, 117 (Baixa). 21 887 3003. Mon-Sat 12 noon to 4.30pm / 7pm to 11.30pm, Sun 7pm to 11.30pm

This is many a chef’s choice for lunch or dinner when it’s their day off, a safe bet for good traditional food at prices that are now hard to find in Lisbon. The grilled dishes never disappoint, whether it’s fish or meat. But the chanfana (€9), a dish of which Miranda do Corvo, in the district of Coimbra, is said to be its spiritual home, is one of those that keeps customers coming back for more. It is slow cooked, as tradition dictates, so that the mature goat meat yields up its flavours. It’s not always on the meat menu, but is usually served between Monday and Wednesday every fortnight.

On Saturdays, in this tasca in Chelas, they serve maranho, a delicacy that is hard to find in Lisbon, traditionally from the Beira Baixa region. It is so special that the fact it has maranho is more prominently displayed outside than the name of the restaurant itself. It is served on Saturdays, comes from Oleiros, Castelo Branco, and the price (€12.50) is for the full menu. A few words of explanation: it’s a goat's (or sometimes sheep’s) stomach stuffed with meats, sausages, rice and a mixture of aromatic herbs, in particular mint.

Estrada de Chelas 207 (Chelas). 21 868 1874. Mon-Sat 9am to 11pm

Named European restaurant of the year by the European Oenogastronomic Brotherhoods Council, a non-profit organisation that seeks to highlight quality dining within the European Union, Solar dos Nunes is a classic in this fair city. It was not by chance that Madonna used to come here for dinner after she decided to move to Lisbon in 2017. Open for business since 1988, the restaurant owes its name (and fame) to the Nunes family, of Alentejo origin. The reputation of its dishes, such as the braised partridge or cod açorda, comes, therefore, as no surprise. There is an entire section of game dishes on the menu, and egg and sugar-based desserts include sericaia with Elvas plums, encharcada from Mourão and a fidalgo real.

Originally two restaurants, one in the Bairro Alto and the other in Santo Amaro de Oeiras, Zé Varunca has become a single establishment in Paço de Arcos, larger and more modern but still with Alentejo airs and graces: plates on the walls, farming tools here and there, colourful flower-patterned tablecloths, farmhouse chairs and earthenware. Customers are lured inside by the huge board of starters, including various typical salads, such as chickpea with cod or pig’s ear (€3.50). Then there’s the dogfish soup (€10.50), Alentejan chickpea stew from (€12.50), lamb stew Alentejo-style (€15), tomato soup with chouriço and fried bacon (€7.50) or Alentejan migas with rib steak in a bread roll (€12) – all in generous portions. The dishes vary depending on the day.

Bertílio Gomes is not unknown in the Lisbon restaurant trade. This tavern opened in 2019, traditional at heart, but with a lot of contemporary touches. Inspired by his family roots, he threw himself into Algarvian cuisine. No frills, with tradition as the bottom line. The menu changes regularly, depending on market supply. Not surprisingly, there are more fish and seafood dishes than there are meat. Xerém, for example, is an old faithful, but sources of protein vary. It may be squid and prawn (€30), clams, ray or whatever Bertílio has on hand that day. 

Fried corn, black scabbard fish, laurel wood kebabs, limpets, bolo do caco muffin, banana, passion fruit and an endless supply of fruit you've probably never heard of. Madeira is probably one of the best Portuguese regions for eating well and the sheer variety of goodies that make it to the plate is immense. The good news is that you can find these flavours on the mainland, thanks to Madeiran who make a living here. That is exactly what’s happened in this hidden-away restaurant in Campo de Ourique.

If one thing among many in the Azores is sure to raise an eyebrow, it’s seeing cooking pots buried in the ground so that the heat from the thermal springs can work its magic. The taste is like nothing else. It’s true that it can’t be done in Lisbon, but even so, at the Espaço Açores, the stew is not so far removed from São Miguel. The technique cannot be explained simply, but it involves a chamber that simulates the seismic activity of one of those holes in the hot springs. It comes with sweet potato and yam, as it should be. Available on Friday and Sunday lunchtimes (€14.90). Then there is the cozido stock soup (€4.95), with all the stew ingredients finely sliced, and served daily.