Portugal

Ristorante L’Altra Mezzanotte – A Delicious Dinner on the Water in Ischia Porto

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Riva Destra, Ischia Porto.

Ristorante L’Altra Mezzanotte is a long-standing restaurant in Ischia Porto’s Riva Destra, or the area to the right of Ischia Porto that is lined with waterside restaurants and bars.  Apparently the Riva Destra has been a popular evening hangout since the 1960as. Ristorante L’Altra Mezzanotte opened in 2015 when two locals reopened an older restaurant that had closed. Ristorante L’Altra Mezzanotte itself is easy enough to find, it’s located right in the line of restaurants on the Riva Destra.

Exterior of Ristorante L'Altra Mezzanotte on the Riva Destra in Ischia Porto

Ristorante L’Altra Mezzanotte.

Ristorante L’Altra Mezzanotte offers both indoor, air-conditioned seating, as well as outdoor seating in the cutest teal chairs. The outdoor area offers port views, while the interior offers views of the wood-fired oven. The staff at Ristorante L’Altra Mezzanotte is incredibly friendly and welcoming to tourists.  Known for its fresh, local seafood, Ristorante L’Altra Mezzanotte also has a wood-fire oven for preparing pizzas and some other dishes.

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A Taberna do Mar: The Most Reasonable Tasting Menu in Lisbon

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Course six: horse mackerel soup with crumbs and coriander, served in a shot glass

As you may know, Dan and I have spent a lot of time in Portugal, including getting married there in 2017! We tried a fantastic and inexpensive seafood tasting menu on our last trip, and it was one of our best finds yet! Yes, I’m talking about A Taberna do Mar or, in English, The Sea Tavern. It really just sounds much better in Portuguese. This is my review of Taberna do Mar!

A Taberna do Mar, the tiny seafood restaurant in Lisbon's Graça neighborhood

A Taberna do Mar is a tiiiiiiny restaurant in Graça are of Lisbon (think Alfama). The chef, Filipe Rodrigues, learned to cook from family in the Algarve and has worked at a number of Japanese restaurants in Lisbon. As a result, A Taberna do Mar offers a small menu of local seafood prepared in a cross between Portuguese and Japanese technique. The menu changes regularly, but often features similar things, and offers ordering a la carte and a tasting menu. The tasting menu was only 25 euro per person during our visit (yes, you read that correctly!) so we opted for that! Everything was fantastic, but the menu is almost exclusively seafood, FYI for non-seafood eaters.

Inside A Taberna do Mar, the small seafood restaurant in Graça, Lisbon

The compact dining room at A Taberna do Mar in Lisbon

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Spending New Years in Lisbon, Portugal!

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To celebrate the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, Dan and I flew to Lisbon, Portugal (where we got married!) for four nights and five days. We had great weather and a lovely time, despite the crazy Omicron Covid testing requirements in place at the time (no longer in place). This article details what we did, ate, and drank in Lisbon in the winter!

Me and Dan celebrating 2022!

Me and Dan celebrating 2022!

DAY ONE – LANDING IN LISBON, EATING AT THE TIME OUT MARKET, & A 25 EURO TASTING MENU!

Dan and I arrived in Lisbon very early in the morning and luckily, we were able to immediately check into our hotel room at the Intercontinental Lisboa. Not surprisingly, the Intercontinental Lisboa was still decorated for Christmas and everything looked very nice. Due the early hour of our arrival, a nap was most certainly in order.

Christmas decor at the Intercontinental!

Christmas decor at the Intercontinental Lisboa!

After a pretty sizable nap (we did arrive before sunrise), Dan and I walked from our hotel to Lisbon’s TimeOut Market for lunch. The walk from the Intercontinental Lisboa to the TimeOut Market goes through some pretty parts of Lisbon and we took lots of photos. We also picked up some Covid tests en route, as the rules were super strict and if we couldn’t get a PCR test, we would need to self-test before entering any restaurants, etc. Unlike the US, at-home Covid tests were cheap and plentiful.

Gorgeous weather.

Gorgeous weather.

Love this teal building.

Love this teal building.

Yellow tram cars!

Yellow tram cars!

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Quinta do Arneiro, Gradil, Portugal – A Great Place For A Party (Or Lunch) In Gradil, Portugal!

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Dan and I hosted our “rehearsal dinner” the night before our wedding at Quinta do Arneiro in Gradil, Portugal last summer! I have “rehearsal dinner” in quotes, because we did not actually have a wedding rehearsal (we winged it!); this was just a dinner the night before our wedding with all of our guests who were in town! The evening was fabulously fun, and Quinta do Arneiro was the most amazing venue that anyone can visit for a meal! Highly recommended!!

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Quinta do Arneiro!

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