We took the train from Lisbon to Coimbra, arriving late morning. Our room wasn’t ready so we left the luggage and went out for a stroll until 12:30 when we had lunch at Devaneio Bistro.
The food was very good though portions were small. I had seabass crudo and tiger prawns. Stanley had braised shrimp with asparagus and grilled sea bass. With a glass of wine each, the bill was 100 euros.
After lunch we were able to get settled in our room at the Hotel Mondego.
Then we went to the university for our 3:00 tour of the library. They don’t allow photos but the architecture is spectacular. This also inluded the Sao Miguel chapel and royal palace, shown here:
After relaxing back at the hotel, we went to dinner at O Palco.
This was Stanley’s birthday dinner and was suitably spectacular. We don’t normally care for tasting menus but this one seemed like it would be worth it, and it certainly turned out to be. The philosophy is to use only local products and to waste nothing. Each dish has many ingredients, which the staff painstakingly describes. Palco in Portuguese means stage, hence the acts and scenes of the menu. We also were lucky to get the one table that faces directly into the open kitchen so we could watch the chef and his assistants at work.
The menus offered are 5, 8 and 12 courses. We chose the 8 course:
With a bottle of wine for 29 euros, cocktails and one coffee, the total was 240.
Sunday morning we departed and took the train to Porto.
This begins our first visit to Portugal, starting with 4 days in Lisbon, staying at Hotel Metropole (great location on Rossio square) arriving in the morning.
Our room was ready, so we dropped off the luggage and took the subway to El Corte Ingles, where we bought some port and sherry, and then had a light lunch in one of their restaurants, Cafetaria.
We enjoyed our dishes, shrimp salad and smoked salmon salad. These were generously portioned and very reasonably priced. The bill, including a lemonade and a ginger ale, came to 32 euros.
After lunch we returned to the hotel for a much-needed nap.
Before dinner we stopped off for cocktails at the Hotel Mundial rooftop bar then headed to dinner at Prado.
We had a superb dinner. It’s a small-plates restaurant, so we ordered 5 to share, mackerel, sea trout, eel (all served at room temperature). sweetbreads and alentejano pork. With a bottle of wine for 45, the total was 140 euros. Service was attentive and sincere, atmosphere beautiful, overall perfect.
Wednesday, 9/24
Took an uber in the morning to the National Tile Museum.
This is a fascinating museum, very worthwhile if you are interested in ceramics.
Next was lunch at O Velho Eurico.
Arriving at around 12:15, we waited nearly an hour to get in but it was worth it. Others who arrived around 12:30 were turned away, so be warned. We ordered blood sausage, chicken hearts with grapes, and sardine toast. It was a lot of food and delicious. With a beer, a glass of wine, coffees and water, the bill was 42 euros.
After lunch, we took an Uber to the Fronteira Palace, north of the city, in Benfica. This magnificent palace and gardens is now occupied by the 14th generation of the original family. Photos are prohibited inside the house but I got shots of the exterior and the gardens. We had a wonderful guide, an art historian, who made the whole visit very special.
Back to the hotel and then another rooftop bar, in the hotel Altis.
Following that, dinner was at Solar dos Presuntos.
This was another exceptional meal at a very reasonable cost. We started with lobster soup and clams, then roasted kid goat and veal in puff pastry. The wine the waiter recommended when I told him we prefer very full-bodied reds, and that I was looking in the 30 to 40 euro range, he came out with what turned out to be stunningly good, for 29.50 euros. The total was 138 euros. Service was flawless and the atmosphere is elegant.
Thursday, 9/25
This was the day of our small-group tour to the Pena Palace, Sintra, Quinta da Regaleira and Cascais, beginning at 8 AM. On the whole it was a nice day, but not without a couple of disappointments, though our guide, Xavier, was wonderful.
Here’s what happened. I had booked a tour that did not include the Regaleira palace, because in my research I found it to be not very interesting. The tour would have included more time in Cascais to see the town and have a leisurely lunch. The day before, I received a call from the tour operator, Inside Lisbon, telling me they had added Regaleira to the tour and that consequently it would be an hour longer. That was fine with us but I asked if everything else remained the same and she said it did. This was not true. We spent over 2 hours at Regaleira when it could have been seen in under an hour. This left us with only 15 minutes in Cascais, and our only choice for lunch was to get a sandwich in Sintra.
I assume what happened was not enough people booked the same tour I did so they decided to substitute the one I had decided against, and lied to me about the differences.
First stop, Pena Palace:
This was a very interesting and informative tour, led by our guide Xavier. By the way, unlike the other guides we observed, he spoke nearly flawless English, in addition to being very knowledgeable and charming.
Next stop, Sintra:
We had a quick sandwich lunch before walking up to the Regaleira palace.
Regaleira palace:
The interior was not fascinating but here are a couple of exterior photos:
Dinner was at Federico in the Bairra Alto.
Note the height of the room, looking up to the skylight.
Another impressive dinner. Here is what we ate:
Foie gras, crusted goat cheese on toast with ham, cod, sea bass, pistachio sponge cake with raspberries, strawberries, raspberry cream, strawberry ice cream (scrumptious!).
With wine and cocktails the total was 175 euros.
Friday, 9/26
We began with the Museum of Decorative Arts.
View of the harbor from across from the museum:
Then lunch at Taberna da Rua das Flores.
We arrived a few minutes before noon and there were just a few people waiting for it to open. They don’t accept reservations or credit cards. Everyone who came during lunchtime got in without a wait.
This is another small-plates restaurant, where it makes sense to order 2 dishes per person. Everything was perfectly done. I started with 6 oysters, and we shared baby squid with garlic sauce, veal tongue and pork belly. Stanley had a glass of red wine from the Douro and I had a white, Albarinho. The bill was 75.50 euros.
And after, the National Museum of Ancient Art.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Santini for ice cream.
Wonderful ice cream. He had chocolate and dulce de leche. I had pistachio and chocolate. What a treat!
Dinner was at Palacio Chiado.
This was yet another fabulous dinner, set in a true palace. We arrived early and had cocktails at the bar, then moved to our table, where we had perfect service, and great advice on wine. I forgot to photograph the wine but here it is from their list:
We had an excellent dinner this week at La Dong, a relatively new venture from the owners of Thai Villa. Reading Yelp reviews, I found a small number of naysayers, complaining that it is not authentic Vietnamese, which may well be true, but for us the quality of the food is more important than the authenticity. There is nothing inherently wrong with innovation.
To start, we shared a mango salad with soft shell crab. For the main course, we had bun cha and a tongue stew. The bun cha was one of the best we have had. The tongue was delicious, though it could have benefited from a longer stewing. It wasn’t tough but could have been a bit more tender.
Service was cordial and attentive.
With a bottle of Riesling, the bill with tax and tip was $190.
Robert Rems' Open House 