The Mediterranean Insider

Guimarães, Portugal

Guimarães’s 5 best restaurants (and must-try dishes)

The Mediterranean • Eat & drink • Guimarães’s 5 best restaurants (and must-try dishes)

The guide to Guimarães’s best restaurants

Guimarães may be known as the birthplace of Portugal, but it’s also building a name for itself as one of the Norte region’s most exciting places to eat. Set behind mediaeval walls and tiled façades, you’ll find kitchens where tradition is respected but not rigid and chefs who aren’t afraid to play with flavour, texture and memory. In Guimarães, familiar dishes like bacalhau à Brás and arroz de pato carry the depth of local kitchens. Some plates feel personal, others inventive, but all are grounded in a strong sense of place. You’ll find elegant dining rooms doing slow, thoughtful cooking and laidback spots where petiscos and a glass of vinho verde hit just right. In this guide, we’ve picked our favourite restaurants – places we’d go back to in a heartbeat – along with the dishes you absolutely need to try while you’re there.

Top photography courtesy of Norma

34

On the top floor of a restored heritage building by REM’A Arquitectos, 34 looks out across Largo do Toural with one of the best sunset views in town. Inside, soft timber curves and green trailing plants offset the building’s original stonework – a fitting backdrop for a menu that moves with ease between continents. The Japanese-inspired salmon toro is a must and also give the lamb with chestnut purée and slow-braised pork ribs seasoned with Minho spices a try. It’s the kind of restaurant where the wine list isn’t just an afterthought – local vintages from the Douro and Vinho Verde regions are paired with care. But our go-to is one of the signature cocktails – a feast for the eyes and taste buds.

34
Galerias Toural
Largo do Toural 23
Guimarães
Portugal

Photography courtesy of 34

Le Babachris

Born of a Parisian romance, Le Babachris reflects chef Christian Rullan’s Mallorcan-French roots and partner Bárbara Rodrigues’s Guimarães heritage. Set within a UNESCO-protected building that preserves a fragment of the old city wall, the bistro-style dining room and private salon feel both relaxed and refined. Seasonal Portuguese ingredients combine with French-Mediterranean techniques – think of Chloe-inspired beef tartare with delicate seasoning or a daily rice special reflecting Christian’s Valencian training. During their pandemic-era renovation, the couple added a workshop for freshly baked breads and installed dedicated stoves for rice dishes – now among their most popular offerings.

Le Babachris
Largo Condessa do Juncal 19
Guimarães
Portugal

Photography courtesy of Le Babachris

Norma

Norma occupies a discreet corner of the old town, its terrace framing views of São Gualter church. Chef Miguel Marques leads the kitchen, bringing a wealth of experience from esteemed restaurants in Zurich, Munich and Portugal. He offers a menu that draws inspiration from human evolution, featuring dishes that pay homage to the past as well as those that reflect culinary progression. Inside, minimalist décor and a light-filled dining room set the stage for a seasonally driven tasting menu and à la carte selections. Must-tries include the crab profiterole (choux pastry ball) with sweet basil cream cheese and the Bacalhau à Brás (Portuguese dish made from shreds of salted cod).

Norma
R. Dr. José Sampaio 35
Guimarães
Portugal

Photography courtesy of Norma

A Cozinha

António Loureiro’s Michelin-starred kitchen is rooted in four ideas – memory, innovation, sustainability and a deep respect for northern Portugal. At A Cozinha, those pillars translate into one of the country’s most thoughtful menus. The Michelin-starred Equilíbrio (Balance) tasting menu – available in six or nine courses – features highlights such as tender veal with cauliflower and chorizo-infused broad beans. The restaurant holds a Green Key and is certified zero-waste – a first for Portugal – but nothing about the experience feels worthy or didactic. We love that the restaurant sources many ingredients from its own terrace garden.

A Cozinha
Largo do Serralho 4
Guimarães
Portugal

Photography courtesy of A Cozinha

Hool

Located beside the Church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira in Hotel da Oliveira, Hool honours Guimarães’s birthplace status through a menu rooted in tradition yet lifted by Mediterranean creativity. Stone walls and exposed beams establish a classic backdrop for Chef Vítor Matos’s modern interpretations of regional favourites, overseen day-to-day by Chef Liliana Moura. Two tasting journeys – Raízes (Roots) and À Descoberta (Discovery) – feature dishes like duck magret with fennel couscous and seasonal vegetables treated with the same level of reverence as a roast cut of meat. Sit out on the terrace, surrounded by ancient stone and vine-covered walls and the lines between past and present blur in the best possible way.