Hiding out in Vila do Conde was hardly a chore, but being away from home always presents challenges one way or another. For example, since we’d never been here before we didn’t have any notions of where we might want to eat. We ended up eating out a lot during our visit to Vila do Conde . . . which makes sense since a lunch was the First Cause. Plus, the place we were staying, while nice, had no amenities related to “long stay” or residential guests, so we weren’t having meals in our room. While nothing was quite like Occulto, we have stories and even recommendations!

Our lunch get-together was at Europa, which is just across the street from the beach, making it an excellent place to stop in when spending a day in and around the sand. With an airy outdoor (covered) area and gorgeous inner setting with a full bar, they attract a wide variety of people. Good prices and a varied menu only add to the positives. Service was poor — we waited ages for our meal and basically had to flag down people to order dessert and more drinks — which detracts from an otherwise pretty good meal.

Our dinner was at the main hotel restaurant, Mosteiro. Hotel restaurants can be hit or miss — lots of text telling you how great they are, but the execution can be lacking. Not so in this case. They chose to emphasize traditional Portuguese cuisine with some interesting additions not specific to the north. We started with the couvert: three types of bread (corn, rye, and seeded) accompanied by olive oil and butter and codfish fritters. All were great, but the fritters were pretty much the best we’ve had since we arrived. Starter options include Breaded Wild Shrimp with Almonds, Eggs with Smoked Ham, Asparagus and Wild Mushrooms, Stewed Broad Beans with Chorizo, and Goat Cheese Puffs with Pumpkin Jam. We tried the latter and were, again, deeply happy with the combination of savory and sweet (pumpkin jam is a big thing here, and we love it). Main dishes varied between fish (such as lobster rice or grilled sea bass) and meats (such as beef entrecote, roast goat, or rack of lamb). We shared the Black Pork “Secretos” — a kind of meat found here in Portugal — and were thrilled by the succulent meat, cooked tenderly, accompanied by rice. We had no room for dessert, but they offer a nice selection that will please almost everyone. This hotel understands that guests may be there for several meals and does a good job of offering variety.

A late lunch/ early dinner was at Romando, an exquisite sushi place right next to the river. The odd hour meant the “kitchen” was closed, as in, no hot/cooked food was available. We shrugged and said, ok, and ordered several rolls and a mixed plate of nigiri. It came promptly, along with a lovely chat with the manager (also serving) about the food and its origins. Much like the surprise of sushi in Evora, we had a grand time. Lightly rice-wine-flavored rice held up superbly fresh fish.

Our final dinner was at Concerto. We were admittedly flailing a bit for options at this point, but poking at reviews and maps in the area led us to this sort-of fusion French Portuguese restaurant and we figured if nothing else it could make for a delightful story. Turns out, it also made for a great meal! As far as we can tell Concerto is a passion project of French immigrants who came to rest in Vila do Conde and are making a go of a restaurant. We started there with a unique deconstructed burrata; the burrata was creamed and mixed with a tomato reduction and pesto, and served up with fresh flatbread. It was unusual and super tasty. We ended up sharing an entree of a …er,… sort of a beef bourguignon confit? thing? A little hard to describe, but for all that it didn’t look like a classic bourguignon the meat was fall-apart tender and just as flavorful as you’d expect. As much as we do enjoy “classic” Portuguese restaurants, breaking up a run of the usual fare is always welcome, and Concerto fit the bill perfectly.

We don’t have a lot of hard and fast rules in our marriage, but we have many moderately set guidelines, and one of these is that if our feet aren’t nailed down there’s no reason to suffer through the worst heat, at least not without some reprieve. A few weeks back the temperatures were set to hit the mid to high 30s, maybe even touching the 40s, and stay there for a long stretch. Not at all related, the daughter of some very old and dear friends – a young woman in her 20s about whom we clearly remember talking to the parents about preparing to have their first baby(!) – was in Portugal for a few weeks on a deep-dive course in aspects of archaeology. She was in Vila do Conde and maybe we’d like to drop in for lunch and a friendly pair of faces? It sounded great. Then, Lisa says to me all sweet and innocently “did you know that temperatures in Vila do Conde this week are in the low 20s?”

And thus, very quickly, our lunch date turned into three days’ refuge from the sun.

We “got our car out of the garage” (we don’t own a car, as little as we need one it’s far cheaper just to rent one when we want) and made for the coast. Vila do Conde is situated on the coast at the mouth of a river. We’d never been there before but people we know had said they had enjoyed it. The vibe there is definitely more touristy than Braga, but for being an extended suburb of Porto (the light rail makes it out there, which surprised us) but still far quieter than Porto proper, thank the gods. Lisa arranged our lodging which, because we had a hankering for a pool and maybe some spa time, ended up being the lovely Lince Santa Clara. It was, oddly enough, the second converted home of a holy order that we’d stayed in here in Portugal, and the digs were impressive. Stone construction, vaulted ceilings, heavily ornamented… it’s a hoot, really, so long as you don’t dwell on how the original holy order accumulated the power and wealth for digs like this. (sigh…)

Most importantly, by the time we hit town we could kill the A/C in the car and roll down the windows, taking in the gorgeous breezes. Our first order of business was to find our visitor coming out of her accommodation – we had expected to be taking her and her roommate to lunch but the roomie was still asleep… ah, youth. We left the car parked and walked in a couple of different directions (heh) before getting ourselves pointed towards a nice row of restaurants including Europa, which was our target. Our friend liked the place and told us a just adorable story about how her friends all figured out that going in on a jug of sangria was a cheaper buzz than just ordering drinks on their own. We say again, “ah, youth.” (And before our friends blow gaskets, she told the story about what “they” do, she apparently isn’t much for drinking in public.) It was a nice time, and we caught up on what she had been studying, which turned out to be restoring and preserving archaeological artifacts. When I was in college it never would have occurred to me that this was a thing, so good on her.

After a nice afternoon playing catch up, we made our way to the hotel and got checked in. The plan for the day was just to check out the facility in general and then make for their restaurant, Occulto.

There is a fun story behind the restaurant’s name, which translates to “hidden”. The hotel is a fairly recent renovation (2024) and while doing some foundation work, they found an entire level that was not shown or referred to in any plan or document. Thus, a superbly beautiful vaulted space became a restaurant that has already earned a Michelin star. Don’t worry, if you forget this story when you’re there you will be reminded several times. They aren’t trying to be pedantic; everybody is just eager to share an admittedly cool story.

The menu is quite simple, offering only two tasting menus: Flora (8 moments, vegetarian) and Imersão (“Immersion”) (option of 9 or 12 moments) with an optional wine pairing, each moment is tied to local and seasonal products. “Moments”, by the way, seems to be Portuguese parlance for the courses of a tasting menu. It seemed an amusing affectation the first time we heard it, but it’s come up at several restaurants now so “moments” are in.

It’s tricky to describe our meal, other than outstanding.

The Imersão is based on fish and seafood, mostly sourced from the fishing community of Vila do Conde, and our menu was . . . crab, goose barnacles, chawanamushi, horse mackeral & mussels, codfish & green tomatoes, hake & zucchini, red prawn & sea urchin, monkfish & cauliflower, and “pao de lo” with nectarines. The first three moments and the final mignardises and coffee, are served in a comfortable seating area facing the kitchen, with the chef explaining the source and inspiration for each. Once in the intimate dining room a cart with slow-fermented bread from a local bakery and butter from Marinhas arrive to whet your appetite. We both agree that the second moment of goose barnacles with smoked green asparagus was one of the best things we’ve ever put in our mouth. (Lisa still remembers it fondly.) While we didn’t love every course, we enjoyed the several hours we spent wending our way through the local seafood.