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On the Menu…Vinum Restaurant & Wine Bar, Porto (Portugal)

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Vinum Restaurant & Wine Bar is a highly rated restaurant that offers panoramic views of the Douro River and the historic center of Porto. The glass enclosed restaurant is located on the top floor of Graham’s Port Lodge, on the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the river. The restaurant offers a menu that features the best ingredients that are locally sourced from the nearby Trás-os-Montes region and the Atlantic Ocean. Each dish is created to be paired with the Douro’s fine wines. Adjacent to the restaurant on a lovely terrace overlooking the river is the Wine Bar, which serves a variety of tapas, pintxos and sweet pastries, and a curated selection of wines.

Vinum is considered one of the best and most charming rooftops in Porto, offering great views both day and night, including a romantic sunset view. The stylish restaurant and bar is an ideal place to enjoy a fine meal and sample the local wines, while taking in the beauty of historic Porto, the Douro River and the Dom Luis I Bridge.

Photo credit: Vinum Restaurant & Wine Bar

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On the Menu…Restaurante Elemento, Porto (Portugal)

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After working in a number of restaurants in luxury hotels and collaborating with Martin Berasategui, the most award-winning Michelin-starred chef in Spain, Chef Ricardo Dias Ferreira returned to his native Portugal to open his own unique restaurant. His dream was to focus on preparing food in a primitive way, cooked solely using the basic element of fire. With Elemento he has introduced a new concept of fire dining, with everything prepared in either a 19th C. oven or on a customized grill created for the restaurant. The chef makes us of a variety of materials, such as firewood, straw, pine needles, pine cones and more to enhance the various flavor profiles of his food.

Elemento is located in a beautifully restored 19th C. building just off the Praça da Liberdade. The interior is warm and inviting, with exposed stone walls and a beautiful marble counter where diners can sit at the counter and watch their food being prepared in the open kitchen. The stone walls continue into the cozy dining room in the rear. The menu highlights seasonal, locally sourced ingredients from small producers. Diners can order a la carte or choose the tasting menu that changes weekly.

The smell of a wood-burning fire does permeate the restaurant, so diners should heed the restaurant’s advice: “If you come to visit Elemento, don’t be afraid of smoke and wood fire smell.”

  • Rua do Almada, 51
  • Porto, Portugal
  • Phone: +351 224 928 193
  • Website: Elemento

Photo credit: © Christopher Pappas · All rights reserved.

For assistance with your travel plans, including hotel and private tour reservations, click here.

On the Menu…Tapabento, Porto (Portugal)

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Tucked away on a narrow cobblestone street alongside the São Bento train station is the restaurant Tapabento. This charming tapas restaurant offers a wide variety of home-cooked food, served in a warm and welcoming ambiance. The easiest way to find the restaurant is to look for the crowd of people standing in the street to the left of the train station entrance, as they are most likely waiting for a table to open up at Tapabento.

Tapabento is a family-owned business and a labor of love of the owner Isabel, who will most likely be the one to greet you at the door. Her personality is warm and outgoing, and she welcomes diners to the restaurant as if she were welcoming you into her home. Although the restaurant space is tiny, the same can’t be said for the menu, which is full of a broad range of Portuguese, Spanish and other Mediterranean inspired food. Dishes include a velvety roasted pumpkin soup, classic Spanish tortilla, foie gras toast, citrus marinated tuna toast, sauteed mushrooms and glazed Alentejo black pork cheeks – and those are just the starters! Main dishes include a tasty duck breast, vegetarian wild rice, curried seafood stew, and traditional baked cod. Other daily specials and seasonal dishes are offered, so be sure to ask your server about any additions to the menu.

The one thing you should not miss out on at Tapabento is the Peanut Foam on the dessert menu. The name does not fully do it justice, as it is a heavenly treat made with layers of peanut mousse and ice cream, drizzled with melted caramel sauce, and topped with peanut brittle – it tastes like a sophisticated Snickers candy bar. This dessert is a perfect end to a delicious and comforting meal.

Demand is high for the small number of tables in this cozy restaurant and even the handful of seats at the bar fill up quickly, so reservations are a must.

  • Rua da Madeira, 222
  • Porto, Portugal
  • Phone: +351 222 034 115 / 912 881 272
  • Website: Tapabento

Photo credit: © Christopher Pappas · All rights reserved.

For assistance with your travel plans, including hotel and private tour reservations, click here.