If you haven’t had the pleasure of tasting Portuguese wines yet, you’re in for a treat and some surprises. Wine tasting in Lisbon is a very popular pastime and there are several wineries near Lisbon so you don’t have to travel far to do a wine tour and tasting session in aRead More →
If you only have one day to explore the Douro Valley, a day trip from Porto will give you a taste of its beauty, culture and gastronomy that will linger in your memory and make you yearn to return (see below for other options if you have more time to spare). Read More →
If the thought of a whole festival dedicated to chocolate appeals to you, here’s my advice for getting the most out of annual chocolate festival in Óbidos. 1. There’s plenty to enjoy without buying a ticket If you’re on a tight budget and don’t want to stump up the 7 euros toRead More →
Vinho verde is often badly translated as ‘green wine’ but it really just means young wine; light, fresh, slightly effervescent and best drunk within a year of bottling. Within this overall category of Portuguese wines, there’s a surprising variety of flavours, as I discovered when I visited Quinta de SantaRead More →
BTL (Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa) is Portugal’s most important annual travel fair, which is why I go every year. The first few days are for professionals, press and trade but from Friday evening throughout the weekend, the public have the chance to find out what’s on offer in Portugal andRead More →
Over the last 15 years I’ve sampled a lot of different Portuguese food. Most of the time, it’s been a pleasure, although there are some things I will never touch (snouts, feet and ears) and others I refuse to repeat (tripe). Portuguese restaurants can range from Michelin star grandeur toRead More →
For my Lisbon cooking class the chef, Patrícia, gave me the choice between learning how to make a bacalhau (salted cod) dish or polvo à lagareiro (baked octopus). The decision was easy. Bacalhau may have been first choice for many Portuguese people but I’ve been in love with octopus ever since I movedRead More →
When Célia Pedroso, co-author of Eat Portugal, invited me to join one of her Culinary Backstreets Lisbon food tours, I jumped at the chance. As well as being a well-established foodie, she knows the city intimately so who better to lead the way to Lisbon’s gastronomic highlights? Over the course of sixRead More →
Slightly sweet and moist with a crunchy crust. That’s the way I like my broa, aka traditional Portuguese corn bread. Broa is often served in the basket of bread you get served with olives in restaurants. Portuguese corn bread is more dense and filling than ordinary bread but, when freshly baked, is ohRead More →