BTW, 100 Maneiras is a tiny room - only 30 seats or so. Be sure to have a reservation.
I stayed at a gorgeous little boutique hotel called LX Boutique Hotel and loved the place. Best rates by booking directly on their website. I highly recommend it.
I second (and third) Cantinho do Avillez - Food was great and we pulled it off with four kids (including twin 5 yr olds). I’ve sent several people there and they’ve been thrilled.
We couldn’t get into Cervejaria Ramiro, but it was a constant recommendation from everybody ranging from our VRBO owner to the taxi driver.
Definitely worth a visit to Time Out Lisbon for lunch, and it was walking distance from the water, iirc.
Finally, I tend to agree with Ramon re: Pasteis de Belem. Don’t get me wrong; the pastries are fantastic… but they’re everywhere in Lisbon. You’ll end up taking the tram line 30 minutes out (or taxi, of course) to wait in line and shuffle through like cattle for a box of pastries. If you go out, make sure to hit the Cloister of Jeronimos Monastery, which is pretty cool.
For what it’s worth, guided tours there are pretty cool and you can easily pick one up in front of the Lisbon Cathedral (the Se) and run 15-20 euros for an hour, again iirc. Definitely appreciated it a bit more than normal, given the up-and-down nature of Lisbon, especially with 1,000,000,000 cobblestones. I swear, Lisbon gets my award for “most likely to break an ankle in” city. Have a blast!
Lisbon–great city–makes SF look flat, it’s a city of 7 hills and the stone sidewalks are slippery. Don’t drive in the city–crazy rules, lanes, and drivers. Taxis are cheap. Take a Tuk-Tuk ride and tour. People are very friendly, prices great, food better than Spain. We stayed in a great location, a small hotel called Valverde, knowledgeable staff and great air conditioning. In Chiado (area of Lisbon), there is a glove store called Lucaria Ulisses worth visiting, there since 1925 and amazing leather gloves and service. Coffee shops and bookstores are there, a fun area. Super restaurants near Valverde–one called Sommelier, has very good food and a super Portuguese wine list, most available by the glass. Speakeasy called Red Frog was fun, had an excellent drink there several nights. Solar dos Presuntos is a must–should have gone there twice–classic Portuguese restaurant, cheese, olives, ham, had delicious kid. JNçquoi, pronounced je ne sais quoi, was excellent–lots of natives eating there, definitely worth lunch or dinner. Largo had good Portuguese food and is known for martinis–roast pork excellent. Michelin 2 star Belcanto had very good food, disappointing wine list and wine service, decor very simple. Visit “Time out Market” and eat their Pasteis de Nata, better than any others and worth eating several. Try and buy some Ginja sem rival, a cherry liqueur. Spend a day in Sintra, amazing and 25 miles from Lisbon. Great city!
Thanks guys! Alan - definitely doing a day in Sintra!
Was there this summer - had excellent dinners at Alma (1 star Michelin) and Taberna de las Ruas Flores (no reservations, get there early to get in line). Was honestly underwhelmed by Ramiro - good, not great. Sintra is definitely worth the day trip - and you can stop nearby at Viuva Gomes to taste some of the 1969 Colares (plus their very nice current vintages).
BA Wine Bar. Bairro Alta.
It’s a seriously geeky Portuguese wine bar. But it’s tiny and reservations are a must. I was lucky and there was a last minute cancellation so I got in, but in the two hours I was there, over a dozen groups were sent away. Reservations can be made online at bawinebar@gmail.com. Tel 351 21 3461 182. They open at 6 pm. A lot of wines from all regions in Portugal and some old ones as well. The only food available are charcuterie, cheeses, the famous canned Portuguese seafood. The only hot food is grilled sausages. You can get an entire tour of Portuguese wines there. I managed to talk the proprietor into selling me a bottle of the 1992 Herdade do Mouchao to take home. I also met the owner of Knight’s Valley Vineyard there who was traveling though Portugal.
In addition, it is worth a taxi or Uber to go to Feitoria in the hotel in the Altis Belem Hotel. The tasting menu was amazing.
Another aspect of travel to Portugal and Spain is that high quality shoes are a major bargain. For Portugese shoes, go to Sapataria do Carmo.
If you want the big department store, El Corte Ingles has a great selection of European shoes and if not going to Mallorca, they carry Carmina which are a must buy for shoe geeks and Georges Handmade shoes. If you price bench made shoes from England, Hungary and Italy the amazing value speaks for itself.
Agree with The Port wine Institute. Great variety and very comfortable without any rush
Bringing this back up to the top…We will be there in late May. Any new information including hotels would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance! 
Cheers!
Marshall ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
And we are going in October — so a “refresh” would be great.
Restaurants and hotels.
If interested in Moscatel de Setubal, go to By the Wine, the wine bar run by Jose Maria da Fonseca in the Chiado district. Can get their entire lineup by the glass. Also the myriad table wines by JM Fonseca, many of which are excellent. I had an afternoon by myself and was indulging in a vertical of their higher end Moscatels and Roxo. (Roxo is the purple Moscatel) The CEO of JM Fonseca was entertaining clients and introduced himself to me and we chatted for a bit over a glass of wine.
Fancy meal
Cheaper meal
https://geral24128.wixsite.com/cervejariaramiro/copia-home
Don’t forget one of the best bargains in Portugal. High quality shoes are cheaper than other places.
If you aren’t going to Spain, El Corte Ingles has their top brands such as Carmina. US stores that sell Carmina literally double the price to place it against comparable quality from elsewhere.
No doubt a fairly standard recommendation, but don’t fail to go to the Gulbenkian. Pieces amassed by a great collector who had very deep pockets. Most are quite exquisite.
We’re heading to Portugal in September, a few days in Lisbon, then Coimbra and surrounds, then Porto and surrounds. I’ve been reading the great food suggestions, how about any highly recommended places to stay…from rustic up through five star? Thanks.
Tourism is booming in Porto and Lisbon. Need reservations for lodging quite a period beforehand unlike just a few years ago.
My wife and I stayed (5 nights) at the Hotel Avenida Palace back in March. Enjoyed our stay - very nice room, very helpful staff, excellent breakfast, great location. I recommend it.
TAP just launched non-stops from O’hare to Lisbon on their new A330Neo. Time to go back. 
George
Been waiting for this! Need to go back as well. Super convenient now with this direct option.
We had a stressful connection in Boston last year when we took the kiddos. A direct flight would have been awesome given that we live 25m from ORD. And I’d love to go back!