Best Porto Restaurant
Casa De Cha Da Boa Nova
Visiting Porto, Portugal? Your trip would not be complete without an evening at our top Porto restaurant recommendation, Casa de Cha da Boa Nova!
In our opinion, this two Michelin star restaurant is the best spot in all of Portugal. Between the food, the wine, the service, and the views, it is an unforgettable experience from beginning to end. Enjoy a truly marvelous culinary experience in this restaurant, occupying a property declared a National Monument and located on the rocks above the beach right by the water’s edge. It is the perfect setting for locally inspired cuisine that is only available through a tasting menu that features either 6, 12 or 21 dishes. Being foodies, we recommend the 21 courses. Book reservations as far in advance as possible. Trust us, this is one restaurant you do NOT want to miss!
The Experience
Let your senses wander and your breath be taken away by the stunning scenery of Casa de Cha da Boa Nova. Perched on the rocks overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, this restaurant offers the most spectacular views of all of Porto. Honestly, the view alone is worth the visit (and the photo opportunities as you can see below). As soon as you walk into the restaurant, you will be blown away by the beauty of this exclusive, intimate spot, and will be greeted immediately by the friendly staff. With a customized, friendly and attentive service, the Restaurant comprises two dining rooms that overlook the sea, as well as a gorgeous outdoor patio right along the water.
LETS TALK ABOUT THE SERVICE
When it comes to the service, we don’t have enough words to explain how incredible it is. While this restaurant is fancy and proper, the staff is extremely accommodating, relatable, helpful, and makes you feel at home. Everyone from the server, to the maitre d’ and even the chef made sure we had a fabulous time. We recommend getting there a few minutes before your reservation to ensure you get the table with the best view possible. But don’t worry if you can’t make it early, as the floor to ceiling windows (which are retracted pending the weather), as well as the max capacity of 40 people, guarantee that every individual will have a breathtaking, oceanfront view as the sun sets.
The Menus
As explained by the restaurant itself, the menu, which is inspired by the poetry and songs of Luís de Camões, will take you through a customizable experience that will lead you to recognize their past and discover it in the future.
WHAT TO EXPECT
A mind-blowing tasting menu featuring 6 (130 EUR), 12 (170 EUR), or 21 (230 EUR) courses that blends the exquisite flavors of Mediterranean, European, Portuguese food. While we know that a 130 – 230 EUR plus 110 – 150 EUR meal may be a very high number in Portugal, this experience is an absolute deal compared to places in the US of this caliber.
OUR RECOMMENDATION
21 courses all the way! Each course is the Chef’s selection, and the consistency of the quality of every course is unmatched by few other tasting menus we’ve had (remember we live in NYC and thrive off Michelin star tasting menus). There’s not a single course that we would recommend passing up on. Further, the courses are perfectly portioned and spaced out enough throughout the evening to you will leave feeling full, but perfectly content.
If you do choose to opt for a smaller tasting menu, you will receive fewer courses, but slightly larger serving sizes – so all in all, you will get about the same amount of food regardless of which tasting menu you choose. In regards to the type of food, the menu does change frequently based on the season. But expect a menu that is highly focused around the local seafood, rather than land animals. If you do happen to have a shellfish allergy and or you are vegan, don’t panic! As this is one of the rare restaurants of its caliber that offers a fully vegan tasting menu as well.
PERSONAL SOMMELIER? CHECK.
To make the meal even better, the restaurant offers an optional drink pairing for around 110 EUR that is out of this world! The Sommelier, Carlos Monteiro is incredibly knowledgeable, engaging, and truly takes the time to understand your palate and preferences to ensure perfect pairings. We truly believe that the best experience possible happens with the perfect dish and wine pairing. At Casa de Cha da Boa Nova, the sommeliers test each combination in detail, searching for the best suggestions. The list, designed by the gastronomic, architectural and landscape genesis of the restaurant, counts on more than 450 references, from the main Portuguese wine regions and the world in general – the best Port and the delicate champagnes, including the most exclusive and extraordinary wine classics.
The Kitchen
The kitchen in Casa de Cha da Boa Nova is a bold, avant-garde creative place, as the chefs continue to search for new techniques, approaches and harmonization’s. The genuine flavors and reinvented memories flow in a modern and functional space, where the concern to select environment friendly and seasonal products appoint quality as the main criterion of choice. They strive to achieve ethno-emotional cuisine, with no geographical limits to creation and influence, but closely linked to their cultural roots. Regardless of the combinations or equipment used, they believe the important thing is to preserve the genuine taste of the product, with each dish summoning all of the senses and customer satisfaction. For them, the kitchen is a place of passion and creation, rather than a place to simply cook food.
Conclusion
An evening at Casa de Cha da Boa Nova is more than an exclusive, unforgettable meal. It’s a detailed, exquisite, once in a life time experience. Honestly, it’s shocking to us that it is not a 3-star Michelin restaurant, as it blew away any 3-star spot we have been. We highly recommend making reservations as far in advance as possible. And again, we highly recommend the wine pairing for the full experience! Thank you for reading our review. Be sure to check out our full Porto travel guide, as well as our Porto, Portugal travel highlights!
