Top 3 Vegetarian Restaurants in Porto

November 25, 2019November 25, 20191 Comment

Full disclosure…I haven’t been vegetarian for long. Well okay, technically, I’m pescatarian so, not eating any red meat, my travels around Portugal this year relied very heavily on fish, seafood and plants (and cake too of course but that’s talked about in another post).

While Portuguese cuisine is quite heavy on meat and seafood, with pork and stews being popular dishes, I didn’t have any difficulties finding places to eat that catered to vegetarians. In fact, Porto is a city that caters extremely well to all palates and has many restaurants and cafes that are solely vegetarian and vegan.

I’ve included a variety of different styles of restaurants, all serving up healthy seasonal delicious fusions of food, so whether you’re after a casual lunch with friends, a date night or a delicious weekend brunch, I’ve got you covered.

Continue reading →

The Best Brunches in Porto

November 6, 2019November 6, 20193 Comments

Brunch is always a good idea. Especially when you’re travelling. And especially when you’re travelling somewhere that has such exceptional cuisine. It’s been a while since my taste buds were as satisfied as they have been in Portugal, particularly in Porto, which has an abundance of cool restaurants and quirky cafes that serve an expert brunch.

Clearly the best meal of the day, brunch gives you a totally valid excuse to have a lazy morning and then enjoy excessive amounts of both savoury and sweet in one go, with a fun social atmosphere, all while sipping on booze before midday. I may have had a dessert overload, as you would have read in my last drool-worthy post on Porto’s most indulgent desserts, but I also brunched hard, so here are some of the best places for brunch in Porto.

Continue reading →

Porto’s Most Indulgent Desserts (and Where to Find Them)

September 12, 2019September 12, 20196 Comments

On my recent visits to Porto I have been lucky enough to have eaten at some of the most fantastic restaurants, all recommended by locals, from great brunch spots to the most divine vegetarian restaurants. I now have so many recommendations to share that there are far too many to include in one post, so I’ve split it up into sections. The first…desserts! Obviously. Because cake is the most important food group especially when the Portuguese seem to do them so well.

The streets of Porto (which you can wander afterwards to burn off all those sugar-filled calories) are full of cafés and sweet pastry shops. The Portuguese coffee culture gives you an excuse to enjoy something sweet alongside your morning, afternoon and/or evening espresso.

So here is my list of the best places for dessert in Porto. Warning…there are several photos of me enjoying said desserts because apparently I eat so many and enjoy them so much that it just has to be caught on camera.

Continue reading →

10 of the Best Foodie Spots in Lisbon

August 22, 20197 Comments

Scoping out the best restaurants and local delicacies used to be one of the highest priorities on my list when travelling. But due to the exciteable toddler who now accompanies me on all my adventures, I don’t often get the luxury of eating out at nice places as much anymore. My main criteria now seems to be restaurants that cater to small children, where no one would blink an eye at a bit of noise or a toddler going for a wander around the tables or crayons being thrown all over the floor. And bonus points if the restaurant has a play area! Ah the joys of travelling with children.

It wasn’t until we returned home from Lisbon that I realised just how many amazing places we’d eaten at in the few days we were there. So many in fact that the food needed a whole post of its own! All of these places come highly recommended by a local (which was the only reason we ate so well because I did absolutely no research myself), some of which are family favourites. So they have been tried and tested by both locals and tourists (aka me) too. None of these are specifically child friendly but they all catered very well to children, so whether you’re travelling with kids or without, these are some of the best places to eat in Lisbon.

Continue reading →

Exploring Lisbon with Kids

July 4, 2019August 22, 20194 Comments

If you read my previous post on falling for Lisbon you will know that our first experience of this city was a very brief one. This time around we had several days to explore at a more leisurely pace as well as a local to guide us around, showing us all the best attractions and local spots, which gave us the chance to fully appreciate this beautiful city.

Many parts of Lisbon are made up of a maze of steep hills and narrow cobblestone streets – particularly the old district of Alfama with its historic colourful houses and superb viewpoints. Pretty to look at but not so ideal to visit with a baby in a pram! I found this out the hard way on our first visit (I’m surprised the wheels didn’t fall off), so I would recommend taking a baby carrier for these areas to save yourself the workout of pushing a pram uphill that you most definitely did not sign up for on a city break. Other easy ways of getting around are Uber or tram. Most of the Uber drivers we used had a baby seat in the back and the tram is always fun for little ones to take a ride on.

Continue reading →

Falling For Lisbon at The Explorer’s Home

May 29, 2019May 29, 201914 Comments

My first trip to Lisbon two years ago was not a great one. We only had a day in the city on a cruise and during our brief visit my grandad almost had his wallet stolen and I found it extremely difficult to get around all the hills and cobblestone streets with a baby in a pram. I was so disappointed that we came away with a negative view of this city that so many people, especially family travellers, talk so highly of.

But I knew we had not been able to experience the city fully in just our one short day so I wrote it off as a bad experience that could have happened anywhere and kept it on my very long travel wish list to visit again at some point in the future.

So when we were invited back by Duarte, the host of The Explorer’s Home Airbnb, after he saw a comment about our bad experience on Instagram (ah the powers of social media), with a promise to show us a better side to Lisbon and change our views on the city, I couldn’t resist giving it another chance.

Continue reading →