The Yeatman is one of the premier hotels in Porto with a stunning view. It is also one of only two places in Porto (at time of writing) that holds 2 Michelin stars in their premises.  Dick’s Bar and Bistro is not their 2 starred venue but their more informal restaurant.  Whilst this is the case,  you may wish to be arrive not too underdressed as it is not that informal.  We were meticulously looked after on this visit and I loved the piano playing in the lounge area. The €96 for a starter to share, two mains, splash of wine each and coffee represented an above-average price for what was had, but fairly standard for a 5 star hotel.  Even if you don’t wish to dine at the hotel, I would recommend popping in to The Yeatman if you come to Porto as a must for drinks at the least as you will have one of the best views of the city to enjoy a glass of something local.

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Gazela is a backstreet venue in Porto with a number of hot dog options using quality sausage meat with lovely seasoning and herbs.  The lovely bread buns are grilled like paninis but having been buttered so they have a gorgeous, crispy crunch to them and with their melted cheese, this is absolutely one of the gems of Europe!  You can choose with or without hot sauce and having had both I would say go with the hot sauce.  It is a little haunt that I noticed Anthony Bourdain had frequented as well based on the wall decor and if you are in Porto I would recommend every single person visiting going to this venue.  With the beer, this cost a grand total of €6 which was almost embarrassingly low. You MUST have at least one hot dog here if you are in Porto.

Food Grade: 69%

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DOP is one of Porto’s flagship City Centre restaurants by one of Portugal’s most hailed chefs, Rui Paula, who is widely seen to be the founder of modern Portuguese cooking.  He also owns DOC restaurant further inland and 2 Michelin starred Case de Cha da Boa Nova. This was a small meal but enough to show that it was reliable cooking from a casual restaurant, but based on its competitor restaurants literally opposite and around (one of which we had been to earlier), it was clear that this was a good option for safe bet cooking with some classic, Portuguese codfish and pasta.  The three courses to share with wine came to €79 total, representing good value for money as well.  Recommended. 

Food Grade: 70%

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Traça is a casual restaurant with an al fresco dining option.  We opted for just two dishes as an excuse to have a drink as we were nearly marshalled away from the door when we initially asked if we could have a drink.  After our obscene request was cleared up, what we actually had was a brilliant foie gras shavings dish (much easier to enjoy) with pear and balsamic that really worked well and some average (slightly under seasoned) croquettes.  The outdoor tables have a pleasant view of the square and based on these two starter dishes, I would say this is a decent option to go for if you had no idea where to go in Porto and wanted something easy and enjoyable.  Hardly enough eaten on this visit to get a huge sense of the restaurant, so the grade is based purely on an opening impression.

Food Grade: 66%

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No ‘ifs or buts’, this is a wonderful hotel all round.  Part of a very small chain across the world, it was lovely to be in the Douro Valley and the main restaurant proved to be a lovely place for a quick bite.  The absolute highlight was the wild mushroom with potato espuma on top as an absolute knockout.  The opening bean paste with bread was a little claggy and the steak tartare was unfortunately too salty as well as overdosed on emulsion (and that’s from a sauce lover) so ultimately a little too thick to enjoy, but the pasta was fine.  The chef’s table menu has a quite extraordinary £250 equivalent price tag, but that is mainly because you can order whatever you like that they can do within reason. The ultimate touch I loved was the fact that you can join the head chef on a 3 mile run around the Douro vineyards at 7am on certain days of the week which I enjoyed doing, culminating in enjoying a fruit blast and granola bites on completion before breakfast.  Utterly recommended if you can splash out and a stunningly designed hotel.

Food Grade: 66%

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