Top Restaurants in Pinhao
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Pinhao Food Guide: 10 Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Pinhao
Discover the best restaurant in Pinhao, Portugal including Restaurante Hotel Douro, DOC, Quinta do Portal, Conceitus, o tachinho da te, LBV 79, Tabua D'aco, Cepa Torta, Adega Grande Ponto, Restauante Segredos Do Douro
Things to do in Pinhao
1. Restaurante Hotel Douro
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 12 reviews
Reviewed By jmcortescpa - Gardner, Co
Fernanda is not only the hotel's matriarch, she also presides over the kitchen. The food has always been absolutely delicious and Luis's service is impeccable. Luis also carries an excellent selection of great Douro wines. By selecting a main course and wine by early afternoon, Luis and Fernanda will have your meal and table service ready at the hour you choose and Luis will have your wine decanted and ready to enjoy.
2. DOC
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Douro is river, villages and suspended vineyards on imposing slopes. It's wine with designation of origin but also D.O.C, Taste of Certified Origins. It was based on this analogy that, in 2007, the DOC restaurant was born. Situated in Folgosa, Armamar, on the road between Regua and Pinhao, in what is one of the most beautiful scenic routes in the country, the restaurant occupies a building of contemporary lines with a picket based that extends along an elegant wooden deck overlooking the river. Designed by the architect Michael Scott, the structure also includes a river dock with capacity for 15 boats, a wine cellar and a car park. It's a place of enormous beauty, blending the grandeur of the vineyard covered Mountains and the serenity of the Douro river and the riverside villages, only awakened by the regular passage of the train. DOC serves as a window on this breathtaking scenery, making every meal a unique and special moment. Since it opened, the restaurant has been the target of a growing recognition of press and public. David Lopes Ramos, the 'Publico' renowned food critic, thus referring to DOC, in an article published in the 'Fugas' supplement: "DOC is a unique case, because, alone, made the Douro kitchen Douro sophisticated and creative in a level previously unknown. This in Douro, our most prestigious wine region. "
Reviewed By GeorgeDubiecki - Los Angeles, California
We were greeted by Caterina who was very gracious.
Our waitress, Christina also friendly and helpful.
We were running 45 minutes late and they kept our reservation.
This is a beautiful restaurant, the inside and the outside is nature at its best.
The burrata honeycomb and radish orange peel. Very interesting combination. The honey brought it all together.
Suckling pig in the smallest bun like a tiny slider. I think I would have preferred it hot rather than cold.
Lamb chop was great with a side of corn four different ways. Pop, purée, baby and regular. The pop was slightly spicy, great idea and taste.
I ordered half the lamb dish and half the veal tenderloin.
The tenderloin came partly as tartar. That was great. The main tenderloin was a bit chewy. The roasted potatoes were great too.
Unfortunately like a number of top end restaurants as good as the service was throughout most of the meal, they seemed to forget about us. We had to ask three times for another cup of coffee.
Only when I tried to pour my own water did they appear to pour it for me.
Small but very important for such a high end restaurant that serves great food.
I still love the place
They were nice enough to give me a beautiful copy of the menu. I am very appreciative of that.
3. Quinta do Portal
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 144 reviews
Reviewed By hamish0 - Lincoln
Lovely restaurant, great wine, excellent service, super food, we had a wonderful evening and would wholeheartedly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting the area.
4. Conceitus
Overall Ratings
4 based on 70 reviews
Nieuw restaurant van de Quinta Nova
Reviewed By GlobetrotterPort - Bordon, United Kingdom
I took my father here as a special occasion - whilst the food was good it was not memorable and the cost was high. The location is beautiful but very much off the beaten track and 40 mins drive from Pinhao. Much better to stay there as well.
5. o tachinho da te
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 339 reviews
Reviewed By G. J
Near the Tourism Information office, this place lacked sufficient staff the night we visited. We saw one table of guests stand up and leave, not having ordered or eaten.
Keep a patient mind and you will be rewarded. Naturally there is a strong local contribution to the wines on their list.
6. LBV 79
Overall Ratings
3 based on 386 reviews
Reviewed By MaryBarryJackson - Lagos, Portugal
Nice place for a drink/coffee with views overlooking the river. Reasonably priced considering it is a real tourist trap. Staff not particularly friendly!
7. Tabua D'aco
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 285 reviews
Reviewed By LondonHello_kitty - London
It started so well. It was our first night in Tabuaco and we were looking for a place to have an early dinner with our 2 year old daughter. She was very tired so it was essential for us to have a quick bite and leave to put her to sleep. I walked into Tabua D'Aco to ask if they could feed us quickly. The restaurant opening time was 15 minutes later but the owner was kind to let us in and said he would sort it out. I was delighted at the friendliness and could not believe our luck. Unfortunately this is where the positives ended. Although they took an order right away it doesn't appear that they actually started making anything until the restaurant opening time. They kept saying 5-10 minutes every 5-10 minutes. One dish took almost an hour to prepare despite being quite simple. Meanwhile the other occupied table was getting meals out within minutes of them sitting down. When our main course finally arrived our daughter was crying to be put to sleep and I only managed a couple of bites before I had to run run. Really, really disappointed. Despite the apparent friendliness, it felt the restaurant couldn't care less. I couldn't work out why they had to lie to us as we could have easily gone somewhere else if it was too much trouble. Whatever food I was able to eat was not bad but nothing to rave about. Obviously not be be visited again.
8. Cepa Torta
Overall Ratings
4 based on 100 reviews
Reviewed By David P - Hayward, California
One of the staff of the local quinta where we were staying recommended Cepa Torta. as the "...best restaurant in Alijo". It probably is the best restaurant in Alijo. We arrived early to an almost empty restaurant. The staff were great, at least one spoke good English, and they were very attentive. They had an English menu, and as we ordered, the couple sitting next to us insisted we try their appetizer: Alheira, the local sausage. Delicious!
Entrees were a mixed bag. Mine was ribs with polenta. The ribs were a bit dry, but the polenta was kicked up a couple of notches and almost addictive. My wife enjoyed her seafood salad.
Dessert was the recommendqation of our waitress and waiter; canilhas de leite creme. They're something like cannollis. The custard filling was great. Wines were local and delicious (Doura's not-so-big-secret: go for the local table wines, not the ports)
The restaurant was filling up as we left. Nice atmosphere, friendly staff, good food; a winning combination.
9. Adega Grande Ponto
Overall Ratings
3 based on 39 reviews
Reviewed By Jord O
Upon examining the menu outside we were greeted by the owner who kindly talked us into going inside. The place was packed, which we thought to be a good indicator of the quality of the place. Unfortunately we could not be more wrong.
After being seated the well groomed waiter greeted us and started summing up the set menu in English. He did this in a manner resembling a flight attendant thanking the passengers for flying with their airline. He said the words almost phonetically, like he did not know what they meant.
Start with a sausage with minced meat, then the pork, then the chicken, then desert. When we asked to see a menu we could make out a slight annoyance in our waiter. It seemed as though he was told to sell the set menu and was not pleased when we insisted on seeing the menu. When we were ready to order we found out why; almost none of the listed dishes were available. The only thing available from the menu besides the items from the set-menu were sardines. I opted for the set-menu and my girlfriend for the sardines.
After about 5 minutes my starter was brought to the table. The sausage with minced meat (as i would think almost all sausages have). It turned out to be the very Portugese sausage with wet bread inside. We both hated it. It had a terrible texture and was just not very tasty. We realized this could be due to our limited knowledge of the Portugese cuisine, so, so far so good. Then the sardines came. Oh my. The poor fish had only been dumped into the deep-fryer, but worse was that they were too big to eat whole and way to small to get any meat of the sides. Still struggling with my sausage, the pork arrived. Like the sardines served with soft, stale french fries. After tasting one fry, the meat and the fries turned out to be cold. I asked the waiter: "I'm terribly sorry, but is this dish supposed to be cold?" He took it back to the kitchen and 2 minutes later he was back. The meat had been re-nuked in the microwave and the fries were still soft but hot. The meat looked like leftovers from the day before yesterday. A mixture of spare-ribs and cut-up pork chops. The taste was not terrible, but it was tough and chewy.
Not even half-way through the pork the piece-de-resistance arrived; the chicken. The looks of which can only be described as offal. No breast, legs or wings, just unrecognizable bony chunks with veins sticking out. To be honest, i can literally feel my stomach turning just thinking about it. Besides a tiny taste, I did not touch the chicken. All the while my girlfriend bravely kept on trying to find something eatable among the deep-fried sardines.
The restaurant was almost empty now and we had noticed that of all the clients we had seen, no one smiled. When a different water came to take our plates he did not ask if we had enjoyed the meal, but just asked if we wanted desert. The fruit salad sounded safe and it was. Some canned and fresh fruit mixed in a tiny bowl.
At the very end of our horror meal the owner comes to us and asked if everything was to our satisfaction. We politely told him the truth. To our amazement he did not in the least contest our findings, nor did he seem surprised. All he said was: "Ok, 25 Euro" Although we did not deem the meal worth even 1,- Euro, we knew 25 was a considerable discount and decided to take the offer. The fact that the owner was not surprised tells me he must have known his food if of very low quality.
To summ up: The food was horrific. The service uninterested. The decor surprisingly authentic.
Conlusion: Avoid like the plague.
10. Restauante Segredos Do Douro
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 49 reviews
Reviewed By David H - Mol, Belgium
Had lunch here on a very warm day and found it most enjoyable. It was fairly busy and the sole waiter was kept fully occupied. He remained very friendly and the service was prompt. Good english spoken in addition to perfect portugues.
We chose the meal of the day, a pork cutlet stew with seasons vegetables. A simple, but very tasty dish served in (very) generous portions. The table dishes (starters) of ham, fresh cheese, olives and bread were of good quality. They are not complimentary and you are not obliged to take them, but I would recommend them.
There is a fairly wide choice available on the menu, but I think the dish of the day is going to be the best choice most times.
One thing to watch out for. The name on the awning over the street is not the same as the advertised name. It says Cafe do Ponto (i think) so look out for the street number (29) and the blue tile interior.
