Intimate Michelin-starred dining with creative tasting menus


























R. de Santo Ildefonso 404, 4000-466 Porto, Portugal Get directions
€50+

"Dimly lit with cookbooks and prized objects on the shelves, this small neighborhood Michelin-starred spot serves an inventive tasting menu inspired by global techniques and is best experienced at the marble-topped central counter where chefs explain each dish—an edgy, inspiring space that justifies its star." - Abigail Malbon, Jessica-Belle Greer

"Vasco Coelho Santos is one of the best chefs in Porto and a prominent cook-turned-businessman with restaurants spread out across the city. After stints at Mugaritz and El Bulli, the chef returned home to open this high-end restaurant, which remains his best-known brainchild. The intimate, Michelin-starred restaurant is built around a chef’s counter, which gives diners the feeling of being invited to a talented friend’s home. The chef and his young team incorporate Asian flavors and world class techniques, but the focus remains on Portuguese produce and dishes rooted in tradition. Best for: A playful take on fine dining." - Rafael Tonon


"On a narrow street in downtown Porto, you’ll find one of those restaurants that captivates true food lovers; unsurprisingly… it can be hard to get a table! When you ring the bell, the doors open onto an intimate space brimming with personality, reminiscent of Japanese izakayas, featuring a counter opposite the kitchen where all dishes are prepared. What’s their proposition? A tasting menu that will leave no one unmoved, highlighting Chef Vasco Coelho Santos’s passion for a wide array of world cuisines. With coherence as a foundation, he pushes flavour to its limit, enabling him to work with charcoal, introduce smoky notes, use aged fish from his own fishmongers (many sourced from Azorean waters)... and pair the main ingredients with intriguing condiments, from spices to spicy herbs. The chefs, who interact a great deal with customers, always add a surprise dish not shown on the menu!" - Michelin Inspector
"An intimate restaurant offering a 10-course tasting menu that incorporates global flavors with locally sourced ingredients." - Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Be a Travel Writer, an online course for the next generation of travel journalists. Her photos, videos, and words have appeare

"A Porto restaurant whose chef has had to rethink operations for a mainly domestic clientele, including removing costly items such as Mediterranean lobster from the menu; it illustrates the broader shift restaurants may need to make in staffing, pricing, and sourcing to survive reduced tourist flows." - Rafael Tonon