Restaurants in Porto

One of Porto's hippest dining choices, this long, modern space is lined by literature reflecting its former incarnation as a bookshop. Keeping up with the theme, menus and the bill appear in books, while the food is innovative variations on Portuguese delicacies. There is also a resident DJ here, plus a bar that serves cocktails inspired by well known works of literature and writers, particularly those who enjoy a tipple (think: Hemingway).

The most expensive restaurant on the Porto riverfront, Dom Tonho is also the best. The eatery of choice for prominent guests to the city (from Fidel Castro to Jacques Chirac), this elegant and modern restaurant serves up some of the best food in Porto. The superb cuisine is mainly local and regional, and includes bacalhau (salted fish), Porto-style tripe with beans, and an excellent fish selection. If you don't manage to get a reservation here, there's another branch over on the Gaia side.

This restaurant on the south bank has only been open since 2013, and has already earned a Michelin star. It has amazing views across the Douro to Porto, which is matched by the fantastic contemporary cuisine created by Ricardo Costa, the chef. There's even some 25,000 bottles of wine in its cellar. Service is proper and discrete, and the setting is cool and comfy, but the real star is the delicious and pristinely plated dishes.

Causing a buzz among those in the know, Cafeína is only a block from the beach, so it concentrates on fish and seafood but does both excellently. Offering Portuguese cuisine with a creative twist, the food is really special. Sample dishes include salmon with fennel mousseline and wok vegetables, and whiting stuffed with spinach and sundried tomatos, served with creamy chive rice. The setting here is serene, chic and full of character, and this is one eating experience that will make it onto the postcard home.

A rustic, if touristy, restaurant on the quayside in Porto, Chez Lapin serves up hearty local fare in a warm, cosy atmosphere. Prices are reasonable and the local dishes are all first-class, if not a little unusual. Try the salt cod cooked with octopus, which is uncommonly good, or the restaurant's take on mixed fish stew. The riverside location is great, and not surprisingly, it is very popular.

This is a typical Porto restaurant serving local specialities in the traditional way. The fish soup, baked codfish and the Oporto-style tripe are all delicious and served in generous portions, but lighter meals such as tapas and petiscos (Portuguese tapas) – including the delicious pimentos de padrón (fried green peppers) are also available. According to restaurant folklore, Amalia Rodrigues, the queen of fado music, once performed here.

This longstanding restaurant feels a little lost in time with its colourful patterned tablecloths and curious 1970s styling. It's a friendly, homely place that's full of locals enjoying great traditional cuisine. Particularly good is tripas à moda do Porto (pork bowel with white beans and meat), but if you don't fancy tripe, there are lots of other delicious options as well, such bacalhau (dried cod) dishes and fish with potatoes.

While Restaurante Bibóporto is nothing fancy and won't win any awards for décor, it serves up good hearty local cuisine for very little loot. It's a great spot for a filling meal of typical Portuguese specialities such as bacalhau (salted fish) to a range of meats and poultry. It's conveniently central and the large outdoor eating area is a great choice on a sunny day. Staff are friendly and the welcome is warm too.

A local favourite, the green azulejo-tiled Taberna São Pedro has heaps of atmosphere and lashings of simple, yet excellent seafood roasted on the outside barbecue. Wash it all down with a crisp vinho verde (young wine) or local red. You can sit inside or out, but choose the latter on a sunny day where the scent of sardines grilling on the coals whets the appetite.