If you go all the way to Chile, you’ll probably be tempted to visit San Pedro de Atacama. All the guidebooks mention it, you’ll probably find lots of travel blogs talking about it and it seems like a pretty cool place from pictures. I am not sure I can recommend it. At least, I probably wouldn’t go back. There were some highlights for sure, but also it has the distinct feel of a place that was once beautiful but now is being over-touristed into oblivion. As with all such places, any positive superlatives that follow all have the implied suffix “for San Pedro” unless otherwise specified. For example, “a good selection of beers” should be read as “a good selection of beers for San Pedro”. If you really do want to go, I am sure three nights is enough time.
Because nothing here really belongs in the “Don’t Miss” category (except maybe for sandboarding), for this post we will just have a list of things we tried and whether we would recommned them to you or not.
What to do (and what not to do)
Sandboard San Pedro – https://www.sandboard.cl/
Let me just say this is a brutal workout if you really do it. There are no lifts; you earn your turns on the sand dunes and walking up a sand dune at 10,000 feet above sea level will basically make your lungs and legs want to explode. That being said it was awesome and for me totally worth it. I am not a snowboarder so I was really just learning the whole time but it was totally rad. If I were are an accomplished snowboarder I bet it would have been even cooler. Plus our guide, Nacho (real name Ignacio Luis), was a total blast and spoke English quite well, possibly better than anyone else we met during our time in Chile. He was such a board bro but I loved it. If you are up for the workout I can’t recommend this one highly enough. Fyi you will get sand everywhere. I still think it’s worth it.
Franchuteria – https://goo.gl/maps/QrpfnkqDjQ4QybHT7 In the pre-trip planning document, Bryn wrote a note next to this place, “Sandwich to go for the airport?” which turned out to be maybe the best idea in the history of ideas. (OK maybe that’s a lot but you know what I mean.) But also! This is is not just a place to get a great sandwich to go. They are open early and multiple mornings when we had a tour pickup at 7:00a (way before our hotel started serving breakfast), we got some legit, fresh-out-of-the-oven croissants at this place and felt really smug about ourselves for hours afterward. If you are there at a normal hour and the croissants didn’t just come out of the oven, they will warm them up for you if you ask nicely (probably in Spanish ; ) The bread here is also legit, so if you are staying in an Airbnb or for some reason find yourself leading an early morning tour and would like to give your guests a breakfast they’ll remember, you should check this place out. If you are not a professional tour guide and just want to hang out, they have a really pretty terrace for al fresco dining. The coffee is unmemorable, but that’s actually kind of a rave review for San Pedro coffee.
Definitely the best food we ate in San Pedro. I particularly loved the guanaco (!) stew and the desserts, one of which had a chañar (local stone fruit) mousse and the other was a baked apple on top of quinoa cream (kind of like horchata I think but with quinoa instead of rice). The food was really good! It’s expensive but worth it given the alternatives in this place. My only complaint is the wine list is super weak. If they step up their wine/cocktail selection this place could be San Pedro’s first “Don’t Miss” destination ; )
Ceviche mixtoSmall producer, funky blend? Now you’re speaking my language.Lomo rustico
Some of the pictures on Google Maps make this place look wack, but if you skip the pizzas and quesadillas (because, seriously?) and don’t look too closely at the prices, this place is easily #1 or #2 in San Pedro de Atacama (Baltinache’s food is probably slightly better but Adobe’s wine list is light years ahead and sometimes you just want a fried egg on top of a steak on top of fries for dinner.) It gets busy though so either go early or make a reservation.
[Possibly] Pulperia Atacama – https://goo.gl/maps/ACJQDcT6J1VBbPta6 I don’t normally like to include places in these lists that we didn’t actually visit, but I’ll make an exception here because (a) the food scene in San Pedro kind of sucks and (b) I’m pretty sure this place would be in the top 3 just based on hearsay and google sleuthing alone. It’s closed on Sundays though (which is the reason we didn’t get a chance to try it) so if you want to check it out make sure you plan ahead.
A good selection of craft beer and an excellent green salad–which, depending on how long you have been in Chile, you might desperately need. Also a solid completo (hot dog with more avocado and mayonnaise than seems appropriate) and a pretty good ropa vieja sandwich which Bryn correctly described as a Chilean cheesesteak. Skip the coffee though, it’s legitimately bad.
Babalu Ice Cream – https://goo.gl/maps/La1pYZccHL5ka4fh8, among other locations Somehow there are three locations of this ice cream shop all along the main pedestrian street in town (Caracoles) which is like a 5-minute walk MAX form one end to the other. Anyway, the ice cream is fine, nothing that will change your life, but the flavors are cool. Lots of local flavors like pisco sour and flor del desierto. It’s ice cream, who doesn’t like ice cream?
Chile Infinito Wine Shop – https://goo.gl/maps/hATvLy1g74nid3E67 The hours on Google Maps are definitely wrong, at least as of September 2023, but I have no idea what the right hours are. The one time we managed to find it open, we did find a decent selection of wines including some smaller producers and interesting wines. If you are staying in an Airbnb or just want to get takeout for some reason, picking up a bottle of Chilean Semillon (or something) could be a cool thing to do ; )
We did this as part of the Piedras Rojas and Lagunas Altiplanicas tour below. We could not find a tour that only offered the flamingo lake but not the rest of the dopey stuff. If you can, I would recommend it. I think you can also go there by yourself if you have a car (or a private driver/tour). The flamingoes were really cool and totally majestic (in a goofy kind of way) when they fly. The flamingoes was the only part of the tour worth doing, but I have to say it did help to have a tour guide in this case because he shared some basic knowledge of the flamingo life cycle that we didn’t have which made the experience that much more interesting.
Silvana Sutar – https://goo.gl/maps/9oXXwsWyE9qCEWxs5 Really nice little jewelery shop on Caracoles with everything handmade on a small scale. Bryn bought a cool silver ring with a very cool malvilla flower design. The woman manning the shop (she wasn’t the owner, though the owner is apparently sometimes present in the shop making the jewelery) spoke decent English. Definitely worth a look around, very nice stuff for reasonable prices.
Boutique Femme – https://goo.gl/maps/NbZZnqgLa73tU5RRA Small shop filled with various products (ceramics, chocolates, jewelery, etc.) hand made on a small scale by women-led businesses. A nice place to look around for a few minutes (which of course makes it one of the most interesting shops in Sand Pedro).
Emporio Andino – https://goo.gl/maps/JX4LfyFK8zH3i1Lg9 In fairness to them, we (unknoiwngly at the time) wandered in right before their siesta closing time, but if they wanted to be closed they could have just said that. It wold have been better than grumpily making a terrible coffee. I would not recommend it based on my small sample size of experiences, but the empanadas and cakes looked pretty solid (and there is like nothing else to do in San Pedro) so I wouldn’t fault you if you don’t take my advice.
Las Delicias del Carmen – https://goo.gl/maps/cpyuWxXboqDkagCs6 I wanted to try some local food and one of our tour guides (whose tastes I trusted) told us this is a place to get it. I have to say though, it was quite disappointing. They were out of the Cazuela stew that I really wanted, and the food items that we did order were enormous portions without any warning from the server. The pastel del choclo was fine, but who wants that much corn casserole? And the oven roasted pork leg was a literal entire leg of pig which was not cooked well–tough and chewy indicative of having been cooked too quickly at too high a temperature. The beer selection was weak as well, just a couple of lagers available. I cannot recommend this place; there are better places to eat in San Pedro.
Piedras Rojas and Lagunas Altiplanicas tour – https://welovechile.com.br/conheca-os-nossos-passeios/deserto-do-atacama/ We booked this tour through some tour aggregator called Get Your Guide, and we were quite surprised to find that everyone else on our tour was Brazilian, but in hindsight the actual tour operator is clearly a Brazilian company (based on their website) so it kind of makes sense. The tour was offered in English, and the tour guide was a nice guy but overall it just wasn’t a very exciting tour. There was a lot of annoying people taking annoying photos, obviously more concerned with posting on Insta than actually learning anything.
Valle de la Luna sunset tour – https://turismolayana.cl/ We also booked this tour through Get Your Guide and again we were the only English speakers on the tour. This tour was even less informative than the Piedras Rojas tour above. The vaunted sunset over the Valley of the Moon was nothing special to my mind. If you’ve seen a desert sunset I think you can skip this one. The lady guiding it was nice and I felt bad that she had to say everything twice just for us but overall it was just a giant waste of time.
Stargazing tour – https://www.feelatacama.com/
Another tour booked through Get Your Guide, another tour where we were the only English speakers in a van full of Brazilians. That said, the guide was great. She actually spoke better English than Brazilian and she was clearly passionate about astronomy and since the Brazilians were clearly not passionate about it (unless they could post it on social media), she seemed to be more interested in talking to us about the constellations and showing us some cool stuff in the telescope (including Saturn!) than anything else. I would recommend this tour for sure.
Where to stay
There are tons of hotels/hostels/etc in San Pedro at literally all conceivable price points. The choice can feel overwhelming for sure. If you stay near the main tourist pedestrian street called Caracoles, you’ll set yourself up for success as far as walking to all the places above/any tours that for some reason won’t pick you up or drop you off at your hotel. We stayed at a place called Hotel Desertica (https://goo.gl/maps/vntxex1eRzXn1dpSA), which was in the middle of the road price-wise (around $260/night in September 2023). The rooms were nice, the service was great, the breakfast was fine, the coffee was terrible (what else is new). We can recommend it but also if you feel like the price is higher than it should be I would definitely encourage checking out other places; it was not a be-all and end-all destination hotel.
Some things to note
In the winter (when we visited), the prevailing weather pattern is calm in the monring and pretty windy (sometimes extremely windy) in the afternoon. My understanding from talking to tour guides and others is that it is the opposite in the summer (windy in the morning and calm in the afternoon). You may want to take this into account for when to fly in/out and when to book certain tours or visit certain sites (for instance, sandboarding is apparently no bueno when it’s windy).
The town itself is pretty boring. I doubt you would find enough outside of meals to keep you busy for more than an hour or two total. As you can see, I think many of the excursions are a waste of time. Perhaps worst of all, there is no good coffee in San Pedro. Literally, none. So you can’t even just pass the time at a cool place drinking good coffee. That’s why I’m not sure I can recommend it as a destination.
Masochists that we are, we love Montreal in January. Every year we come for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day long weekend to play hockey and hang out with our friends Derek and Tanya. Derek, being Canadian, is a valuable resource for us, but just in case you don’t have your own personal Canadian tour guide, here are some of our favorites around the MTL, whether you visit in the summer or the winter. (Honestly, the winter really isn’t so bad once you get past the 0-degree–Fahrenheit–high temperatures and double-digit inches of snow!)
The great thing about Montreal is that it so perfectly straddles the line between foreign and familiar, between casual and passionate. You can fly seven hours to Paris for that quintessential European charm and excitement, or you can fly one hour-plus (from New York) to get the same feeling in Montreal. And as soon as you start exploring, you sense the excitement: the city is still inexpensive enough for young, creative types to do their thing, whether it’s cook, mix, brew or make. It creates a place that is a great joy to explore, where the high-end is just as high as any other place like New York or Paris, but the low-end is also elevated, making it hard to have a truly bad experience when dining or drinking out.
Pro-tips
Language barrier Does not exist. Next question. In all seriousness, I can probably count on my two hands the number of people I’ve met in Montreal that didn’t speak English, and half of them were taxi/Uber drivers. French is the official (and only) language of Quebec but you definitely wouldn’t be able to tell from visiting Montreal. I usually try to be polite and ask Montrealers in French whether they speak English, but I am totally stunned if anyone ever answers “non,” especially if they are in the service industry.
Where to stay Also an easy question: Le Plateau is basically the epicenter of cool stuff in Montreal. Not only in the sense that there is tons of good stuff in the neighborhood, but also in the sense that it is pretty much equidistant from whatever cool stuff is outside the neighborhood. Basically if you stay somewhere around Rue Rachel or Ave Mont-Royal in between Parc Jeanne-Mance and Parc La Fontaine you will be in good shape. There are plenty of Airbnbs and it’s a very walkable part of town.
You could also do well in Mile End. In my opinion there is not quite as much cool stuff and it’s not quite as walkable as Le Plateau, but it would also be a good choice. Same goes for Little Burgundy/Griffintown; there is enough to keep you interested especially for a short stay of just a few days, but it’s not quite as central, not quite as walkable as Le Plateau.
Getting around The main downside to staying in Le Plateau is the public transportation options are limited. The Montreal subway is clean and fast and efficient but it’s not very useful if you want to move around Le Plateau or in between Le Plateau and Mile End (which is a common trip for us ; ) Walking or learning the bus routes are pretty much the only options you have if you want to save money.
Ubers are plentiful and cheap in Montreal however so it is usually not a problem, especially if you can split with another couple or other people. And while in the summer months a 30-minute walk to the restaurant may seem like an enjoyable option, I’m sure $8-10 CAD for an UberX is going to seem like a great deal when it’s minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit outside in the winter.
Don’t miss
Pâtisserie Au Kouign Amann – Pastry Shop – Le Plateau If you only listen to one recommendation from this post, I would suggest you to make it this one. We look forward to their killer croissants all year long. Everything here is delicious but the almond croissants, the ham and cheese croissants, the quiche Lorraine and the namesake pastry are the highlights. It’s tiny inside so there is almost no seating but if you are lucky enough to snag one of the three tables and especially if the snow is coming down in buckets outside then it is such a homey and comfy place to chill.
The namesake pastry
Croque monsieur and fresh juice: breakfast of champions
They have a homey interior with wooden floors that get worn down by every ones snowy boots and 2 large picture windows with tiny tables in the front and a large chalkboard menu with all of the beautiful pastries scrawled on the board in French. In the back, the pastry chefs carefully make these little yummy pieces of eatable art. Their ham and cheese croissant have the perfect amount of béchamel inside to their signature kouign amman that melts in your mouth, its just perfection. A kouign amman is also known as a Breton butter cake. The New York Times called it the fattiest pastry in all of Europe (sorry mom, it’s only once a year). Oh… and the almond croissant and the croque monsieur that is warmed on the panini press that gets the most perfect hatch marks on the buttery surface.
Dispatch Coffee – Coffee – Le Plateau This place is a temple to good coffee. Still, it is welcoming and not oppressively geeky. They make mean espresso and have many single origin coffees to choose from; easily some of the best coffee in Montreal. I just wish it were a bit closer to the part of town we usually stay in : )
Le Chien Fumant – Dinner/Brunch – Le Plateau We found this little neighborhood gem after partying late night at Igloo fest a few years ago. We read it is where all the chefs eat when they get done work, so we knew it had to be good and I also knew that there was so way that Tanya and Matt would read a description like that and not go. It’s a tiny spot with a few cozy tables and a long bar. It is surrounded by lots windows and a large chalkboard menu with the food offerings. We had an amazing dinner that night with great food, wine, and great company.
Scotch Egg brunch “salad”
We have also been for brunch and boy was it a meat lovers dream. Matt got the pork belly gyro and I got the scotch egg on top of crunchy tortilla strips, pickled veggies and a salad underneath.
Derek and Tanya got every breakfast meat known to man, blood sausage, ham, sausage, and bone marrow… I think I’m missing some too! Everything was perfectly fatty, salty and delicious. I’m not much of a brunch person, so I would tend to recommend it more for dinner.
Arts Cafe – Brunch/Lunch – Mile End This place has the trifecta covered – great coffee, food, and ambiance! They have a great shakshuka here with merguez sausage & polenta and a duck poutine that is delicious (fyi… this is more of a russet potato breakfast potato hash than fries situation, just warning you so you’re not disappointed, which by the way you won’t be…). This time we all shared the roasted cauliflower on top of hummus with a garlic labneh and pistachios, this is definitely something that we will try to recreate at home. For dessert, they have a homemade ring ding, one of my favorites! Eat your heart out Drakes : )
Arts Cafe interior
Fete des Neiges de Montreal – Festival – Parc Jean-Drapeau Takes place for 1 month from mid January to mid February on the weekends in the Parc Jean -Drapeau in Montreal. Tanya and I went a few years ago and had a ball! First of all, any place they have a sugar shack where they pour pure maple syrup into the snow and make a “pop” out of them is a place for me. They have so many cool activities at the snow festival…dog sledding, axe throwing, sled racing to name a few. They have an awesome free outdoor ice skating path that is super fun to skate on and people watch.
Gypsy Cafe + Bar – Brunch – Le Plateau This cafe and bar has the perfect bohemian chic, vibe. They have another location in Bali and you definitely feel that influence inside the different nooks of this spot. I love the variety of the different seating areas, rattan lighting and a gorgeous bar surrounded by fresh, fragrant ingredients. We went for coffee & brunch, but they also have dinner & cocktails. They make a solid avo toast here with grapefruit, radishes, tomatoes and a perfectly poached egg on top. Other highlights were the the breakfast sandwich and frites & their cassolette with mushrooms, sausage, and eggs.
Ile Flottante – New Canadian – Mile End Vegetable-forward tasting menus with killer wine pairings; this place was a total revelation for four meat loving Americans (or I guess 3 meat-loving Americans and 1 meat-loving Canadian). Honestly of the seven courses the two meat dishes were my least favorite. Not to mention the wine pairings were slightly weird, obviously natural and quite delightful. Definitely one of the best meals I’ve had in Montreal.; I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts – Museum (duh) – Downtown An excellent art museum and I’m not normally much of a museum person. The collection of paintings in the Pavilion for Peace is the perfect size and very well-curated as to not be overwhelming but still be interesting. I especially enjoyed the modern art (which is extremely unusual for me) as well as the third floor Golden Age of Holland and Flanders. It’s an especially nice place to pass a few hours on a freezing winter day.
Ma Poule Mouillee – Poutine – Le Plateau In our opinion this is the best poutine in Montreal. Portuguese rotisserie chicken are big in Montreal (see Rotisserie Ramados, below). Ma Poule makes the most perfect, smokey rotisserie chicken, cooked over open flame and perfectly seasoned the chicken is super flavorful and moist. You can get the chicken by itself with a green salad and some french fries on the side, but the pro move is to get it put on top of those perfectly crispy fries with some sliced Portuguese sausage, loaded up with gravy and topped off with fresh cheese curds. C’est parfait!
Larry’s – Breakfast – Mile End Oh man, we love it here. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee break, happy hour; they do it all and do it all right. The food is eminently delicious, somehow simple and interesting and addicting all at once. If you’re there for breakfast DO NOT miss the pikeletes. They are out of control delicious when slathered with real maple syrup. The only thing you need to be aware of is it is SMALL in here. I mean like tiny. Go early or late or be ready to wait. In fact, maybe they could just take over Lawrence (see below) next door and make one big Larry’s; I’d be ok with that ; )
Pikeletes (behind the syrup): small but mighty (delicious)
Provisions Restaurant – New Canadian – Outremont This place is so good it makes me upset. There is no menu, just a board with the names of all the ingredients they bought at the market that morning and that will go into the dishes they are about to bring you. The food is seriously ridiculous and the wine pairings are actually *perfect* pairings with the food; they are definitely firing on all cylinders. It’s not cheap but it’s so worth it. Just go; you won’t regret it.
Provisions Bar a Vin – Wine Bar/Butcher Shop – Outremont Just down the street from Provisions Restaurant (above), this is a more a-la-carte experience. The salad here was so good we ordered a second; made of fresh bib lettuce, ribboned carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers in a fresh yogurt dressing with mint – I want to recreate this at home. As a (part) butcher shop, their homemade sausage is a must-do. This night, it was served with pickled onions and a homemade mustard and was definitely on point. The steak frites were great, but the thick steak fries stole the show, they were absolute perfection super crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. The food and service at this place were both winners.
Aliments Viens – Charcuterie – Mile End Fantastic cured meats and cheeses. Everything is homemade and has so much flavor. If you need provisions for a picnic (or just a snack at home before dinner) you could do a lot worse than this place. Be sure to head down the street to Hof Kelsten (below) to get some delicious bread to eat with the meaty goodies you just spent all your money on.
Hof Kelsten – Bakery – Mile End The bread here is what’s up. Their croissants can seriously give Au Kouign Amman (above) a run for their money. They have coffee here too but to be honest I haven’t tried it since we usually get so distracted by the breads : )
Bar Le Lab – Cocktail Bar – Quartier Latin Well-made drinks with unusual flavor profiles and interesting combinations of ingredients; they obviously take cocktail making very seriously and I appreciate that. Service had some hiccups when we were there, but overall this is one of the better choices (if not the best choice) for cocktail-geek cocktails in Montreal. Bonus points for the amazing popcorn–trust me, just buy a bag to snack on with your drinks.
Café Neve – Coffee – Le Plateau Great cappuccinos and single-origin filter coffee. Seems small from the outside but the is a long communal table with ample space for drinking your coffee and even space for parking your bike. It’s very homey and comfy and would be a tempting place to lazily spend the day while it is dumping snow outside (which happens from time to time in Montreal ; ) NB there are two other locations, one on Rue Rachel and another (apparently) inside clothing store Frank and Oak on St. Viateur.
If you have time/are in the neighborhood
Bar Le Sparrow – Brunch – Mile End Fried eggs with sage served with a pile of bacon, perfectly crispy potatoes and freshly toasted bread – this was delicious, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit I was diving into Matt’s plate for more of the Zatar sandwich, which is a totally genius breakfast. The only downside is the coffee kind of sucks.
Joe Beef – Quebecois Restaurant – Little Burgundy This one is more like “if you manage to get reservations” than “if you have time” but in my (admittedly limited) experience it can be very hit or miss so don’t feel too bad if you can’t get reservations. I’ve been twice and one time it was terrible. The service, the food and the wine were all exceptionally disappointing. However, I came back a second time and found it a much more satisfying restaurant experience.
I believe the difference in my experiences may have a lot do with the time of my reservation. The pro move apparently is to make an early reservation because no one ever leaves their table on time and the servers are more likely to be helpful early in the evening. This is more important than it may seem because there is no printed menu, so you are either at the mercy of letting your server choose for you (yeah right, not this control freak) or you will have to make them read the entire menu to you while you scribble it down on the napkin in front of you.
Overall I would go back if I ever managed to snag a reservation (the DINR app comes in great handy in this regard if you are flexible about making last-minute plans), but I can’t say I count Joe Beef among my favorite restaurants in Montreal, and so I don’t usually get too upset if I can’t find any reservations.
Café Melbourne – Coffee Shop – Le Plateau A good spot for espresso drinks and toasts with typical Australian toppings. The espresso is solid enough, but the filter coffee isn’t the greatest and the staff is a bit aloof (in that charming if frustrating Australian way). It’s a good spot but I prefer some of the other coffee shops in the area because they align more closely to my tastes. If you’re Australian I’m pretty sure you’ll love this place.
Le Bremner – Seafood Restaurant – Old Montreal Very good service, cool ambiance and good wines. The food was also technically proficient but nothing that changed my life. I would return if someone else invited me since it is overall a good restaurant experience but I would probably not run back.
La Banquise – Poutine – Le Plateau This is our favorite late night poutine spot (and everyone else’s too, including locals). Note the emphasis is on the phrase ‘late night’. If Ma Poule Mouille (above) is open; go there instead : )
Looks better at night : )
Unlike Ma Poule however, La Banquise is open 24/7, so whenever you feel the need to warm up with some cheesy, fried goodness (i.e. whenever you are drunk), this is the spot. They have endless topping combinations. As if fries covered in gravy and cheese curds weren’t a gut bomb enough for you, you can add everything from hot dogs, to bacon or guacamole on top.
Igloo Fest – Festival – Old City/Harbor If you happen to be in Montreal at the end of January/beginning of February and you are into EDM, make sure you head to Igloo Fest. Every year for three weekends on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights people get dressed up in ski gear and dance the night away in the outdoors. There are live DJs and ice sculptures, drink luges, and outdoor games. We had a blast dancing under freshly falling snow outside all night!
Zone Maison – Shopping – Le Plateau Adorable furniture and home shop. This is a must visit on our annual trip to Montreal. They have great small scale furniture and accessories and always makes me jealous that we don’t have a place to decorate in Montreal.
September Cafe – Coffee – Little Burgundy Very solid coffee (drip coffee and espresso from their La Marzocco) in a cool atmosphere with friendly people. Pair that with a stupendous chocolate chip sea salt cookie and you’ve got a great place to warm up on a cold winter’s afternoon. They also have some good-looking breakfast options that we unfortunately didn’t get a chance to try. Not necessarily worth going way out of your way for, but definitely a good option if you’re in the neighborhood.
La Dependance Espace Design Gourmand – Coffee – Le Plateau Hipster haven coffee shop. They have decent cappuccinos here and more millennial pink and light grey than you could imagine. Cozy atmosphere with a separate room for people that want to camp out with their computers. They also have a great little shop that sells books and home goods. Mostly it is a nice, comfy place to pass the time with a book in case it is snowing buckets and freezing cold outside.
Time Out Market – Food Hall – Downtown I think it is in a mall so maybe it is technically a mall food court but it is definitely the best mall food court we’ve ever been to. Instead of Panda Express, they have quick food (not fast food) from some of the city’s best chefs and restaurants.
Matt got a pork belly on top of a parsnip purée and carrots from Le Club Chasse et Peche which was a bit too fatty for Bryn, but definitely looked and tasted like an entree from a high end restaurant like Le Club Chasse et Peche, and for $16 it was a great deal. They also had a seasonal carrot salad with grapefruit and dates with some of the carrots shaved into long strips and some roasted to perfection, topped by a cumin vinaigrette giving it a slight heat.
Eat your heart out, typical mall food court
Bryn had an awesome fish ceviche served with small sweet potato chips from Paul Toussaint. It was an acid bomb and she loved every bite! Overall, everything we ate was beautiful and delicious and reasonably priced for the quality. Our only complaint was the drinks situation; given the food selection I would have expected the bar to have a much more curated and composed selection of beer and wine, but it was very pedestrian. Hopefully they can change that and make Time Out Market a can’t-miss destination in Montreal.
Pullman – Wine Bar – Downtown-ish Perhaps it’s not quite fair to pass judgement on Pullman since the power went out (on the whole city block) about an hour after we got there. The wines we tried (a very old-vine orange wine from Chile and a full-bodied but funky natural white wine) were very good, and the meat and cheese board was also real solid, but that was about the extent of our experience. The service was friendly and helpful though so I think that is enough to warrant a “go there if you feel like natural wines and snacks” in this part of town.
Some real “out there” wines btg : )
Cheese and olives? Yes please!
Monarque – Fancy Canadian – Downtown The food at Monarch was very well executed and the wine list is solid if expensive. Actually, come to think of it, everything here is expensive. The restaurant is huuuuge and there are two distinct sections. The back section is much more of a white tablecloth, borderline stuffy experience which I was not the biggest fan of. I would recommend going back, but be sure to book the front section of the restaurant and be ready for a bit of a higher bill than you might otherwise expect. Some dishes though are totally worth the price; in our case we had a killer salt-baked celery root with coffee foam, but overall it doesn’t score super high on the value front.
Regine Cafe – Brunch – La Petite-Patrie Eh. Not sure what all the hype is about; it’s good but not worth the wait in my opinion. The œuf et bœuf was the standout of what we tried. If there is no wait or I had reservations (which they accept–but are probably not necessary–on weekdays only) then I would come back, but otherwise I would probably pass.
Fromagerie Atwater – Cheese Shop – Little Burgundy Great selection of artisanal products, especially meats and cheeses from the counter for very reasonable prices. Huge selection of craft beer too, at least at the Atwater Market location. Basically everything you need if you are planning a picnic and are not close to Aliments Viens (above). Note there is another location just below Parc LaFontaine.
O-Thym – Quebecois Restaurant – Gay Village Very delicious and creative menu for dinner at very reasonable prices. The tartare du moment did not disappoint and my main course of venison was very good. The star of the show however might have been the apple bread pudding with black beer ice cream which was to die for! Since it’s BYOB it helps keep the cost of a fancy dinner in the realm of “we could do this every week”, which we totally would if we lived in the neighborhood. However, since it’s BYOB it may not be for everyone since it is somewhat hard to buy good wine at retail in Montreal.
Don’t bother
Lawrence – New Canadian – Mile End I don’t normally black-list places after one visit, but I really had a bad experience here. We went for dinner–we had reservations for 3 at 8:00p. They sat us (party of 3) at a cramped 2-top right by the door; not off to a great start. I asked about the beers available–it didn’t seem like our waitress had much of an idea, so we went with cocktails. Bryn’s sazerac came in a rocks glass with no rock(s)–odd. We had some questions about the menu–which dish should we choose between these two, what are some of the more popular dishes, what is this particular dish like, etc. Our waitress’s explanations could not have been less helpful. In some cases she didn’t seem to know the menu, in other cases she basically just read the menu back to us. It was almost as if she had not ever eaten or even really seen any of the food being served. She made choosing our dinner very difficult, and not in a good way. In the end we trusted our own judgement of the menu and enjoyed supremely the charcuterie board, an appetizer of grilled heart and liver as well as an appetizer of octopus and eggplant and an entree of aged steak, cooked absolutely perfectly. The only miss was the whelk and sausage stew which was very heavy on the whelks and light on everything else. The food was so delicious it’s a shame our experience was ruined service that was sorely lacking. I could be persuaded to give it another try, especially since Larry’s is so good, but I won’t go back on my own accord.
Patati Patata Friterie de Luxe – Diner? – Le Plateau If you are a hipster you will probably love this place. The servers are nice and helpful but everything else about this place is not making me want to run back. It’s small (I mean SMALL), cramped, the food is good if you’re drunk but not really otherwise. I will probably be looking elsewhere for my late night poutine cravings.
Bar Big In Japan – Cocktail Bar – Le Plateau Cool ambiance but at the end of the day I want to drink when I go to a bar and their whiskey selection was very small: just two Japanese whiskeys, four scotches and a small number of bourbons. And given the prices I would not say any of them are really special; it’s pretty expensive. They do have cocktails but nothing too exciting or cutting edge. This place might be a good idea if you have a date to impress and you are pretty sure he or she cares more about pretty people and cool scenes than drinking and eating. Otherwise there are more interesting and exciting bars in the neighborhood and Montreal in general.
Romados – Rotisserie Chicken – Le Plateau Charcoal grilled rotisserie chicken, fries and a salad are just what the doctor ordered on a cold winter day in Montreal. Or a warm summer day. Or any day in between; this chicken is always in season. Get the spicy sauce and use your fries to sop up the spicy goodness. It’s actually quite good; the only reason I say don’t bother is because it’s not quite as good as Ma Poule Mouille, which is literally right down the street and even if the line is longer at Ma Poule I would still go there instead of Romados.
Montreal Pool Room – Diner? – Downtown Come here for the poutine and nothing else and you will be happy.
Café Myriade – Coffee – Le Plateau Sadly, this place has gone downhill somewhat in my last few visits. There is still promise but the espresso has lately been bitter and dirty-tasting. Unfortunate because the location is pretty excellent, and the pastries are good but the coffee is just not great like it used to be and there are definitely better coffees in the neighborhood.
Hurley’s Irish Pub – Irish Pub – Downtown Ok, this may not not be a popular opinion, but I think this place sucks. Mostly that is because the last thing I want to do for my once-yearly Saturday night in Montreal is spend the night drinking crappy beer and watching the Habs on TV. Unfortunately this is exactly what the Wild Turkeys (the hockey team which is the reason we come to Montreal in the first place) always want to do. Not only are there better places to drink in Montreal, there are also better places to watch the Habs. I say skip it.
Whether your passion is coffee, food or booze, Copenhagen is a wonderful place to spend a long weekend. Heck, Copenhagen Airport is a wonderful place to spend a long weekend! I feel confident saying it is the best airport I’ve ever been to. Anyway, if you do decide to venture outside of the airport, here is a handy guide to where to (and where not to) eat, drink and be merry while you are in Copenhagen.
First though, a few things about getting around. Everyone says Copenhagen is very walkable, and that’s true to an extent, but if you will be making trips to and from Refshaleøen and Norrebro (which you should!), you will quickly find Copenhagen is not as walkable as everyone says. Everyone rides bikes for a reason ; ) You should also ride a bike if you can (or want to) but the biking culture is pretty serious about following the rules of the road so take a second to learn them if you are planning on biking.
If you don’t want to bother with a bike, all the buses and trains (there are subways as well as something more like a regional commuter train) and ferries run on the same ticketing system, somewhat like the MTA. If you are staying for a while you can pay 80 DKK for the Metrocard equivalent and then put money on it whenever you need at subway stations. Alternatively you can buy multiday passes. Finally, you can pay per ride on the bus, but note that the bus drivers are not able to make a ton of change. There aren’t any turnstiles for any of the transportation, you just need to have your ticket on you in case anyone asks to see it.
Riding the public transportation is relatively expensive compared to most other public transportation systems I’ve seen, but it is pretty useful and pretty reliable, which is good since there is no Uber in Copenhagen. They have plenty of taxis, but the public transportation was so reliable we never had the need to use a taxi. Even getting to and from the airport is super easy; the M2 subway goes from the airport to stations in the Indre By (“center city”–don’t ask me how to pronounce it though : )
If you do decide to go for a walk, take the opportunity to walk through one of the cemeteries. Danish Cemeteries are absolutely stunning; they have big gorgeous trees everywhere in them and people seem to sit under big trees just enjoying the cool breeze. It’s much more like a great city park than a cemetery; it just happens to have some tombstones around.
Note also that Denmark is almost a cashless society. Many shops do not even accept cash and the only thing we needed cash to pay for was the bus fare if we were paying on board (rather than buying a ticket from the train station as I mentioned above). Trust me, unless you collect foreign currency as a souvenir, you don’t need any Danish Kroner : )
Where To Stay
Hotel SP 34 As I always say, if it’s good enough for the New York Times, it’s good enough for me. Our room was tiny, with a Juliet balcony, but it was well decorated like a West Elm catalog. This cozy boutique hotel, had a cool, casual, relaxed vibe. It was in in a great location – near the Torvelhallerne market, and close, but not too close to shopping areas. They are a part of the Brochner hotel group which offers complementary Portuguese red, white & sherry wine from 5-6 pm everyday (& the best darn potato chips you’ve ever tasted). They have 5 other hotels in Copenhagen (soon to be 6), they all have a different vibe, and as a guest of SP 34 you are welcome to visit the other hotels during happy hour.
Don’t Miss
Amass – Modern European – Refshaleøen Can I give it six stars? A fantastic evening where the food, wines and service all came together perfectly. Everything we tasted was amazingly delicious (which is not as common for a tasting menu as you might think), the wines were interesting and paired perfectly with the food and the service was fun but not unprofessional. It isn’t cheap but it is worth it.
The chef, Matt Orlando, has had a lot of fine dining experience–including at Per Se in the late 2000s with some other very special people who just happen to own our favorite restaurant–so it’s perhaps no surprise that he would be good at this, but the dinner we had was really on another level. To borrow an analogy from baseball, they pitched a perfect game. We will definitely be back when we are in Copenhagen again.
Broaden & Build – Brew Pub – Refshaleøen If you can’t get in to (or don’t want to shell out for) dinner at Amass (above) then you could do a lot worse than this. The beers are all amazing, creative but still well balanced. The food is taken just as seriously as at Amass (even if the food itself is a bit less serious, which is perfect for the setting). It’s a great place to spend an evening with friends, eating dinner and having great beers. I promise we are not paid spokespeople; Matt Orlando is just really killing it in Copenhagen right now.
Kyros & Co. – Cocktail Bar – Indre By It may not look like much from the outside but this is really a great cocktail bar on the inside. Vodka-tonic types need not apply, but for any true cocktail aficionado this is a must-do. If Ana is on staff, tell her you want to go crazy and she will sort you out. The cocktails are as bespoke as possible and many of the ingredients are of the homemade, genius mad-scientist type. They distill their own gin, have small-batch rums that smell and taste like no other rums you’ve ever seen. A really fantastic, personal cocktail experience in Copenhagen.
Coffee Collective – Coffee Shop – Various Locations This is probably the best coffee in a city with a lot of good coffee shops. The nitro cold brew is the bet I’ve had; normally nitro cold brews are not flavorful or texturally pleasant but this one was both. I finally felt like I understand what a nitro cold brew is all about. The flat white is also top-notch and at the Torvehallerne location they don’t have any food so you can bring a pastry from Laura’s across the aisle to enjoy with your coffee.
Reffen – Outdoor Food Market – Refshaleøen Think of it as the Smorgasburg of Copenhagen, but really chill–even on a Saturday night–with a great view of the sunset. There are so many cool food booths representing many different cuisines here that we couldn’t try them all but those we did try definitely did not disappoint. For sure this is one more place to add to a long list of great places in Copenhagen to hang out with friends, eating and drinking and having a good time.
Arket Store & Cafe – Cafe – Indre By I’m not much of a shopper, but there are not too many places I’d rather be having a coffee while Brynnie is looking around the store. The espresso is on-point, silky and rich in a cappuccino and the cold brew was actually one of the better cold brews I’ve had, period. Well done for a cafe inside a clothing store. Also note they have a location in the airport, which is not only a good choice for a last-minute shopping spree but also definitely your best option for coffee in terminal.
Admiralgade 26 – Modern European – Indre By Great little spot for dinner and wines right around the corner from Ved Stranden 10 (which are owned by the same people). The food is excellent, the wine list is very good and the service is too. They have a lot of good choices by the glass (even some that aren’t necessarily on the menu) and can definitely help you find something you’ll love.
Sonny – Cafe – Indre By Great coffee from a slick La Marzocco Strada and great smørrebrød for breakfast. Potato bread was great but the avocado bread was even better! Breakfast does not seem to be much of big event in Copenhagen, so this may have been the best choice for a good breakfast (even if it’s just smørrebrød and pastries) that we found in the center city.
Mirabelle – Cafe & Wine Bar – Nørrebro Cute little spot for all day dining, right next to Bæst and BRUS. It’s a bit on the expensive side, but this was the place that we found that by far took breakfast the most seriously in Copenhagen. The pastries and breads are made in house (you can literally watch the bakers do their thing through the glass wall that separates the dining room from the bakery) and hoo boy are they delicious. The breakfast portions are very generous–one plate of eggs and a pastry or two is definitely enough for two people. They have a good-looking selection of wine too in case you are too late for breakfast.
John’s Hotdog Deli – Hot Dogs – Vesterbro Located in Kødbyen (the Meatpacking District) among a bunch of other really cool stuff, but definitely don’t overlook this hot dog. The dogs and buns are of course good and even the slightly surly (or maybe just Danish) service can’t take away from the magic that is the toppings table. 20+ creative relishes and pickles turn this into a hot dog extravaganza. You’ll need a few dogs to try all the toppings…and you’ll definitely want to try all the toppings. My suggestion for the perfect Kødbyen afternoon with your best buds? Grub up here and then go brew up next door at Warpigs. You can thank me later.
ROAST Coffee – Coffee – Indre By Coffee shop in the center city with a strong coffee game. They roast their own beans and make a mean cappuccino. They only have coffee, but there is something to be said for doing one thing and doing it well.
Steff’s Place – Hot Dogs – Airport I know, I know, it’s a hot-dog stand in the airport, but it’s seriously really good. If you have ever been to Iceland then you know Scandinavians know how to do hot dogs right. Maybe it’s just because you can get it to take on the airplane, but in my book Steff’s Place is just a notch or two below Bæjarins Beztu in Reykjavik. This is a totally brilliant alternative to the usual airport food; you can’t go wrong with two regular dogs with everything on ’em–most importantly those fried onions and pickles!
Illums Bohlighus – Shopping – Indre By In the city center, there is Illums Bolighus, this beautiful Danish Department store. Filled with Danish art, furniture, home goods, and clothing–I could have spent hours here. The Danish design is just stunning.; the perfect combination of function & fashion.
If you have time/are in the neighborhood
Hija de Sanchez – Tacos – Torvehallerne From a stand in between the two market buildings at Torvehallerne, the tacos were technically proficient, but some of the flavors were just a bit…off (the cheese taco was not nearly as delicious as it could have been—too much crema). On the other hand, some flavors were off the hook (cabbage taco sounds weird but was so good). The tacos fly out of the kitchen though so if you find one you like it won’t take too long to order another one. Overall a good–if somewhat overhyped–spot for a quick snack.
Speaking of Torvehallerne Market, it’s part farmer’s market, part food hall, and while that sounds really cool (and probably is really cool if you live right in the neighborhood), we never figured out how to love this market. The stalls are all interesting enough, but none of them make you go “omg I haaave to try that”. Like I said, it’s probably more of a local’s market than a tourist’s market.
Den Økologiske Pølsemand (DØP) – Hot Dogs – Indre By Solid, organic hotdogs from these two streetcarts in the middle of Copenhagen. The dogs are a great snack overall but the buns are a bit hard since they are made from whole grains and sourdough. Unfortunately I think I’m just too partial to good ol’ fashioned white or potato bread; sometimes you just shouldn’t mess with a classic.
CUB Coffee Bar Boldhusgade – Coffee Shop – Indre By A comfy and cozy coffee shop down a flight of stairs in between Ved Stranden 10 and Amiralgade 26. It’s just a coffee shop, with a few pastries and a solid if unspectacular flat white, but the real draw of this place is as a place to hole up when the weather is not so nice and do some work or read a book.
Cafe Atelier September – Cafe and Wine Bar – Indre By Super-cute all-day cafe that has good coffee and a few typical breakfast options like avocado bread or a soft-boiled egg with cheese and rye bread. There is not a ton of seating so try to go a bit on the early side. Very good coffee–filter and espresso were both solid–though confusingly there are no bathrooms so maybe get that second cappuccino to go.
I’m pretty sure this vintage Porsche is part of the decor ; )
Warpigs Brewpub – Barbecue/Brewery – Vesterbro GIANT brewery and barbecue place in Kødbyen. Lots of great beers on tap, both from the brewery and guest taps. It’s a great place to hang out–outside if it’s nice (though there is no shade) or inside if it’s not so nice. Either way there is plenty of space. The barbecue is good if not great, but then again Denmark isn’t Texas. The pulled pork–always the safest bet–is smokey and moist and delicious. The brisket however was dry so I would skip it next time and go with some of the more non-traditional BBQ dishes on the menu.
Prolog Coffee Bar – Coffee Shop – Vesterbro A small shop in the Meatpacking District, they have a nice espresso machine and make a good if not great flat white. It’s not necessarily worth going out of your way for, but if you need a coffee after a day of eating and drinking in Kødbyen then this is probably your best option.
BRUS – Brewpub – Nørrebro A giant pub that has some good snacks and a big list of great beers. It’s really well-decorated and comfy on the inside. The food portions are on the smaller side and the beers are on the expensive side but it is a good place to hang out with friends and a good place to pick up some beers to go in case you are having a picnic.
Kompa’9 – Cafe – Indre By A cute little place, with a vintage chic interior, good coffee and a solid breakfast. They had a great avocado toast topped with a tomato powder (!) and accompanied by a few roasted tomatoes. They also had some perfectly cooked scrambled eggs served with spinach and mushrooms. Nothing mind-blowing but a solid option to start your day right.
Mikkeller & Friends – Beer Bar – Nørrebro There are plenty of Mikkeller-owned places to drink great beer in this city but the original is a pretty good setting to do so. Lots of taps, good Mikkeller beers and guest beers, helpful service and–if the weather is nice–some tables across the street to sit at and people watch. Since they don’t have any food, you are welcome to bring your own. Note also there is a Mikkeller in the airport in case you weren’t yet convinced it is the best airport ever.
Malmo – Day Trip – Sweden (!) Malmo is the third largest city in all of Sweden but (at least on the Sunday morning we visited) it felt like more of a small town than a major city. Malmo is only a 40-minute train ride away from Copenhagen. Even though the trip is short, make sure to pack your passport (they do check it on the train)!
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Once in Malmo, check out the Malmo Saluhall a great food hall in the center of the town. It was the only spot we found that actually got crowded on a Sunday! Inside, there are quite a few good choices, including wood-fired pizza place, tapas and seafood, but our favorites were Pink Head, the Asian noodle bar and Poms Mackor, a beer and sandwich bar.
Gro Spiseri – Supper Club – Østerbro Tucked on a side street in a neighborhood and up a long flight of spiral stairs is the rooftop farm restaurant, Gro Spiseri. Gro has a gorgeous rooftop farm filled with organic flowers, herbs and vegetables. It even houses some chickens and two rabbits. We were greeted by two big bonfires, the setting sun, sparkling wines, and new friends. There are twenty-four seats at one long table inside of a greenhouse. There are three chefs that talk you through each of the four courses and one person at the front of the house serving great wines. Of course, with any tasting menu make sure to tell them in advance if you have any dietary restrictions, and they are more than willing to accommodate. Gro is just one of those rare, special places where you are able to sit with strangers and have fantastic food and share great conversation with people around the world. The world needs more restaurant experiences like this.
Manfreds – Wine Bar –Nørrebro On one of the cutest streets in Copenhagen, this place was a wonderful spot to enjoy a beautiful farm fresh lunch. We had the Zucchini topped with olive oil, fresh figs and toasted nuts. Chicken sausage with pistachios, street corn with a tomato butter and cheese and a tomato pesto salad. They had beautiful wines to pair with the courses.
Ved Stranden 10 – Wine Bar – Indre By Cute wine bar on the canal. They are also importers are Austrian wines, so they serve a lot of Austrian wines. On Monday nights they have a Monday night meal. Which by American standards is a snack. It apparently rotates every week. When we had it we enjoyed a Roast beef slider with a horseradish sauce, crispy onions and crunchy lettuce and a pork sandwich with a spicy mayo and cracklings. Both were absolutely delish!
Den Vandrette – Wine Bar – Indre By The food is here is pretty hit-or-miss but the wine is for real. Bryn even recognized some industry people on the Monday night we visited, so you know it’s good. They have some communal seating but if you want to be the most comfortable be sure to make reservations. They have a good selection of wines by the glass, but the pro move (as we witnessed firsthand from the pros in attendance) is to go with friends and order some bottles from the cellar.
Nebbiolo Winebar Wine Bar – Indre By This is a cozy, modern spot with great outdoor seating as well. We were there on a Monday night around 10:00p and it was pretty crowded. There isn’t a wine by the glass list at this bar, but the Italian staff is super knowledgeable and let you sample a few wines they think you’ll enjoy because, they want to make sure that you are getting a glass that makes you happy. Bonus – You get a small plate of truffled sausage, cheese, olives, and bread sticks included with your wine.
Don’t Bother
Restaurant Barr – Modern European – Indre By Much ado was made about this place’s beer bar. Well, much ado about nothing, I say! We showed up around 5:00p on a Saturday and somehow there was only a small outdoor section of maybe 20 seats that were being offered for people who just wanted to have a drink. There was no one at all inside the beer bar but apparently all the tables were reserved (even though the website said no reservations for the beer bar are required). At any rate, the beer wasn’t even that good; Bryn’s session pale ale was decent, but my IPA had a definite flaw, a very off taste, somewhat like cheesy old hops. The only saving grace was we didn’t have to stick around that long.
Det Vide Hus – Coffee – Indre By This place came highly recommended from many different and reliable sources, but I thought it was just ok. I only had the filter coffee–I didn’t try the espresso–but overall it was nothing really special. Maybe their breakfast is good? For coffee though, I would much rather walk a few extra blocks to the Coffee Collective in Torvehallerne.
Democratic Coffee – Coffee – Indre By Based on the coffee only it was somewhat disappointing. The flat white was a bit thin and sour. It was drinkable but just not quite what I expected since it seems like a legit coffee shop. Maybe it was just an off day?
OC Depot – Coffee – Torvahallerne I had high hopes for this coffee shop as the underdog in the market, but the flat white was somewhat bitter and thin and lacked the richness that Coffee Collective achieves. If this location were in another part of town, especially a part of town which is a coffee dead zone, it would be worth a visit, but with Coffee Collective less than 100 yards away it is an easy choice to make.
Christiania – Run-down and over-grown nonsense – Christianshavn In case you have done literally no research of any kind on Copenhagen, Christiania is a hippie commune that has been around since the 1970’s. They are “against” hard drugs, but then they “sell” a lot of weed on the one main street. For that reason, they “don’t want you taking pictures”. It all seems made up and kind of fake for the sake of all the tourists. The rest of the neighborhood is just run-down and boring. We could have easily passed on this one, but if you do go, I would hit it up during the day as it’s obviously pretty sketchy.
Stefano’s Pizzabar – Pizza – Nørrebro We ordered a pizza to-go to enjoy with our beers at Mikkeller & Friends, just down the street. Stefanos was the only place (in the whole country!) where we encountered Danish people who didn’t seem to want to speak English to us. The guy at the counter seemed like I was wasting his time by asking him to take my order and in the end the pizza wasn’t even anything to write home about anyway. Skip it.
The worst part about Paris is the flight. Never fly Air France economy class. Never fly into or out of Orly (though Charles De Gaulle is only marginally better). In fact, if possible, just take the train from somewhere else in Europe. You will enjoy your journee so much more. The good news is, though, once you manage to escape the most uncomfortable flight in history, it will definitely be all uphill from there.
Some things to note about Paris, especially regarding eating and drinking, that always seem strange to me:
Restaurants in Paris operate around their lives, not yours. Lunch hours are a tight window from 12:00p to 2:30p and are held very strictly–do not expect to show up at 2:35p and be seated for lunch. Similarly, many of the restaurants you want to eat at will be closed on the days you want to eat at them (i.e. the weekends). There are of course some good restaurants in Paris which have deigned to be open on Saturday and/or Sunday, but be sure to make reservations well ahead of time so you don’t miss out.
Paris has great natural wine. In Paris, “natural wine” just means “good wine that happened to be made in a sustainable and earth-friendly way”, as opposed to “natural wine” in America, which just seems to mean “wine that smells like animal waste and tastes like hot garbage”. Find a wine bar in Paris and it’s a good bet it will be a “natural wine” bar, but that is actually a good thing in this case.
This is not directly related to coffee, food or booze, but it can sometimes be tough to get around Paris (especially if you are from New York) because Google Maps makes all distances in Paris look more walkable than they really are. On top of that, you–being well acquainted with the worst transit authority in history, the MTA–probably have an inherent distrust of taking the subway to go on a trip that covers what seems like short distance and/or requires one or more transfers. Never fear; the Paris Metro is very safe and efficient and trains run almost one after another so that you would rarely wait more than three or four minutes for the next one. Plus rides are cheap–1.50 EUR per ride if you buy 10 tickets at a time. Hence, taking the subway one or two stops is probably actually the most efficient way to get from point A to point B.
Parisian restaurants always seem to want to get your food order first, and then take your drink order. I suppose this actually makes more sense than the way things are done in America because you will probably want to pair your wine (or beer or cocktail) with your food, rather than the other way around, but it always throws me off. Especially since I am always concerned the food will come before the booze (which does happen on occasion and drives me nuts). It is quite possible however that I am the only weird that really cares about this and it won’t matter to you either way.
I think everyone already knows this about Paris (and France, and Europe in general), but it gets me every time: the servers at most restaurants feel almost no incentive to sell you anything. Beyond the initial order of food and drink they will not look at your empty wine glass and ask if you want more wine. In fact they will probably not ask you if you want anything else at all. If you do happen to want something else (say, more water, or wine, or to pay the bill) you will need to flag them down and ask for it. This is perhaps the thing that I have the hardest time with because I feel rude asking someone to basically do their job. It is a cultural difference that I will never understand but as they say, c’est la vie.
One more thing I would be remiss not to mention is how much we enjoyed our Airbnb Experiences in Paris. We took a “Magic French Liquors” mixology class with François and a “Learn to Bake French Croissants” class with Flo and Olivier. Airbnb makes it easy to sign up for these offbeat and interesting experiences and we really enjoyed both of our experiences. I would highly recommend them to anyone else looking for something fun to do in between all the eating and drinking ; )
Ok, that should be enough to get you started. Now on with the show:
Don’t miss
La Maison du Savon de Marseille – Beauty Supplies – 4th Arrondissement It may seem weird for a beauty supply store to be the very first place listed in the blog, but this might be Bryn’s favorite spot in Paris. We measure the time between trips to Paris in bars of this store’s wonderful soap. When we start to run low (only two or three bars left), then it is time to start looking for flights to Paris. There are so many wonderful scents to choose from and each one makes taking a shower like a taking a short, wet little trip back to Paris. There is a second location near the Arc de Triomphe.
Soap heaven
La Maison du Savon de Marseille
Cafe Mericourt – Cafe – 11th Arrondissement The rare coffee shop that serves great food and great coffee instead of just one or the other. Everyone is very friendly and the flat white is one of the best I’ve had in Paris. Food wise, the shakshuka is off the hook. Like seriously it’s the standard to which I compare all other shakshukas. The only problem is Cafe Mericourt is tiny, so you should definitely plan to be there on the early side because it will fill up fast. We’ll definitely be back every time we’re in Paris.
Waiting for tables outside Cafe Mericourt
What everyone is waiting for: shakshuka!
Golden Promise – Bar – 2nd Arrondissement The bar called Golden Promise is actually a fine whiskey bar downstairs from a Japanese restaurant, but the real attraction here is the “other room” (which doesn’t have a real name as far as I can tell–you can just tell the bartender you’re looking for the other room) where basically every whiskey in existence (I assume based on the length of the list) is available by the ounce. Some (most) are very rare and therefore very expensive, but there are definitely gems in the 15€-30€ range worth seeking out, like Johnnie Walker Black Label from the sixties or a really interesting Berry Bros and Rudd Peated Springbank whiskey from 1992. It won’t be cheap but it will be an experience you won’t forget if you are truly a whiskey lover.
Fragments – Cafe – 3rd Arrondissement A small but cosy cafe near the Chemin Vert metro stop. Delicious breakfasts–avo toast with perfectly poached eggs, homemade quick breads with inventive flavors like sweet potato or banana tahini–and coffee. The espresso is balanced and sweet and they serve raw milk by default in the cappuccino which gives the drink a little added sweetness and roundness (and definitely not something you’ll see in the US). Perfect English is spoken in case you are not up on your French cafe vocabulary. The only drawback is it’s on the expensive side, but definitely worth at least one breakfast as a vacation treat.
Avo toast and sweet potato bread
Outside Fragments
Danico – Bar – 10th Arrondissement A classy bar at the back of the Darocco Italian restaurant. Tell the host you are there for Danico and you can walk back through the restaurant to the bar. The cocktails are really creative–especially with their use of savory and non-alcoholic ingredients–but also delicious (which is not always a given when mixologists get a little too creative). The staff are friendly and speak good English and it’s a great place to have a few drinks after dinner (or while waiting for a table at Darocco, which we have not actually tried).
Au Quai Caviste Vin Nature – Wine Shop – 10th Arrondissement Fantastic little natural wine shop run by a wonderful man named Alain. The deal–to start–is you get one glass per person and a plate of sausage to share. You pick the color of your wine, Alain picks the rest ; ) Don’t worry though, Alain has great taste. I chose red and he brought me a superb pinot noir from Alsace. I never order the same glass twice but I was ready to order that wine again. Luckily he would not let me (or maybe he just didn’t understand me–his English was passable but definitely not his strongest language) and he let me taste 3 other red wines he had open before letting me choose a Rhone-valley syrah for my next glass. If you see a bottle in the shop and want to drink it there, corkage is a very fair 7€ per bottle. Definitely a great place to start your night in the 10th.
Natural wine and sausage at Au Quai Caviste
Roasted squash at Freddy’s
Feddy’s – Wine Bar/Restaurant – 6th Arrondissement Great spot for a slightly later lunch than usual–the kitchen is open until 3:00p (as opposed to the usual 2:30p) and they have a nice mid-day snacks menu in case you can’t make it in time for actual lunch. Small plates are excellent–delicious, creative and beautiful–and pair well with a great selection of wines by the glass and bottle. Go for lunch, afternoon wines or dinner. Just go!
Ambassade de Bourgogne – Wine Shop – 6th Arrondissement A small wine shop on the right bank with a few tables and a bar to try wines by the glass. As the name implies, the list leans very heavily (if not entirely?) towards Burgundy. Bryn had a very nice Nuits-St-Georges from 2015 and I found a wine from 1999 so there is definitely a good range of choices. In case you can’t decide on just one glass they have a few flights you can try too. Also, you can drink any bottle in the store for a 15€ corkage fee. It’s a bit on the expensive side, especially compared to some of the other wine bars in Paris like Au Quai Caviste (above) and La Cave de Belleville (below) but it is Burgundy after all and in Burgundy you tend to get what you pay for.
Ambassade de Bourgogne
Steak and Bordeaux at hugo&co
hugo&co – Restaurant – 5th Arrondissement Here is an example of a great restaurant that is not open on Saturday or Sunday, so make sure you plan on going during the week and make sure you have reservations. It’s small inside but somehow still comfy. The decor and vibe are real cool and the food is super delicious. A small but good selection of cocktails and wines by the glass and bottle pairs well with the menu. If you see the steak on the menu, get it. Served on a bed of smoked hay, it comes with traditional sides (ours were mashed potatoes and French lentils) and the best pan sauce you’ve ever tasted. You definitely won’t regret it.
If you have time/are in the arrondissement
O Chateau – Wine Bar/Restaurant – 1st Arrondissement They have a big bar with lots of seats but on a Friday evening around 6:00p it filled up pretty quick. 50 wines by the glass basically guarantees you’ll find something you like. We drank a glass of 2015 Volnay, 2000 Mersault and 1995 Haut-Medoc when we were there so there are definitely some good choices. They also have a killer truffle ham and cheese board which sounds kind of weird but was actually amazing, especially with the red and white Burgundy. The other meat and cheese boards looked amazing as well, even though we didn’t get to try them. The only thing keeping it from “Don’t Miss” status is the price; it’s not cheap. Still, I would say it can be a very good call for a glass of wine or two before dinner.
Truffle ham and cheese board at O Chateau
“Surf’s up” at Blackburn Coffee
Blackburn Coffee – Cafe – 10th Arrondissement Kind of a sketchy neighborhood, so it’s not too clear why you would “be in the neighborhood” for breakfast, but in case you are be sure to stop in. Solid flat white and perfectly melty, cheesy scrambled eggs. English was pretty hit or miss, so bring your phrasebook : )
Il Brigante – Pizza – 18th Arrondissement Last time Bryn and I were in Paris we met a young guy at a bar who was from Paris but loved pizza so much he once went all the way to New Haven (!) to try some pizza place that was supposed to be really good. That guy told us this place was the best pizza in Paris. I don’t think we’ve ever eaten pizza anywhere else in Paris so it’s tough to say for sure, but it is a really solid thin crust pizza. And Il Brigante is a good (if tiny) choice for lunch before or after Montmartre/Sacre Couer. English is a bit hit-or-miss but if you don’t speak French you can try Italian.
Cassiopee Cafe – Coffee Shop – 18th Arrondissement An oasis of good coffee in an out-of-the-way part of town. The coffee is solid if not spectacular, but it is freshly roasted in house (right in the back patio of the shop!) a couple times a week and there is obviously a lot of love put into the coffee and the shop.
Roasting a la minute at Cassiopee Cafe
Le Syndicat
Le Syndicat – Bar – 10th Arrondissment A speakeasy-style bar with a unique style that is basically hidden in plain sight on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis and only uses French ingredients to make their drinks. Service is friendly, English is well-spoken and while all of the drinks are definitely creative, only most of the drinks are delicious. On the whole though it is a cool experience and a nice place to have some creative drinks in a funky space.
Au Petit Tonneau – Bistro – 7th Arrondissement Friendly, cozy ambiance with simple but beautifully prepared dishes. Definitely go for the wild mushroom saute of the day. Also, it wouldn’t be France without at least one plate of escargots; the snails are particularly good here. English (and Spanish as it turns out) is spoken well so no need to worry about understanding the menu. A fine if not particularly exciting lunch option located in between the Eiffel Tower and Musee d’Orsay.
La Cave de Belleville – Wine Bar – 19th Arrondissement Another cool wine bar/wine shop in the same mold as Au Quai Caviste and Ambassade de Bourgogne (both above). Great little selection of natural wines by the glass and a huge selection of wines by the bottle (and craft beer!) to go with some killer cheese and meat boards. It’s also a pretty big space so there should be room for you and a few friends. The only challenge for us was the language barrier; the only guy who spoke English kept getting pulled in a bunch of different directions and it was tough to get his attention for another glass of wine. Overall though a good place to start the evening with some friends, a nice bottle and some delicious charcuterie.
Charcuterie at La Cave de Belleville
Game meats and old Beaujolais at Le Clown Bar
Le Clown Bar – Restaurant – 11th Arrondissement I had high hopes for Clown Bar even though the chef that made it famous had moved on. To be honest, the food was not as exciting as I had expected. It was still very good but ultimately some dishes felt like they were trying too hard (like the fish fried in a black (squid ink?) batter. It was good because deep fried fish is delicious, but I really couldn’t understand why it was just some black pieces of fried fish on a plate. Bryn’s pigeon was definitely the star of the show–a balanced, composed, interesting dish that was perfectly cooked. Plus they have a pretty good selection of natural wines by the bottle so your confusion over some of the food will be easily forgotten ; ) I would go back for the wine and some of that pigeon, but I can’t say I would go out of my way to make it back, especially if I am on a short stay in Paris.
Don’t bother
La Bourse et La Vie – Bistro – 2nd Arrondissement Don’t get me wrong here, this was a very solid–though not mind-blowing–central option. The food is very good and very classic French bistro food. There is also a small but good selection of wines by the glass, but it is a very expensive meal–especially for lunch, which is when we went. You will definitely have a good meal if you choose to go but personally I would not go back with my own money; I just don’t think it is worth the price.
Saturne – Restaurant – 2nd Arrondissement Maybe we were there on an off night. (I know Valentine’s dinner is a disaster in the states but is it also a thing where restaurants mail it in in Europe too?) Either way, it just felt like the kitchen was trying too hard. Some of the food was good, but other bits were head-scratching and some–like our amuse bouche of oyster and green pea foam–were downright despicable. Also the wine pairings were very hit-and-miss, with no real stars to speak of. I think for the money I would have expected to have a more delicious, well-curated and better-executed experience; I can’t really recommend it based on our experience.
Ellsworth – Restaurant – 1st Arrondissement I have to admit I’m a bit torn about Ellsworth. On the one hand, it’s small (“cramped” doesn’t really do it justice) and full of tourists. The vaunted fried chicken was moist but ultimately nothing to write home about, and the other dishes we tried were also fine but not ground-breaking. The service was also very disjointed (though maybe they were just having a bad night since they seemed to be aware of the fact that the service was not great).
On the other hand, they do have a very good–if small–selection of natural wines by the glass and by the bottle, so maybe sitting at the bar for a drink and a snack would be the move here. I would not go back for the whole dinner thing though.
Cafe Spoune – Cafe – 11th Arrondissement I only tried the coffee, so maybe this is a bit harsh, but the coffee was only ok. Double-shot of espresso with milk (like basically a 6-oz) was quite bitter (though it did get the job done). I might come back to try the filter coffee and some for the food items but for sure there is a better flat white in the area (see especially Fragments and Cafe Mericourt, above).
Marché aux Oiseaux – Market – 4th Arrondissement Umm, I’m really not sure what this is all about, but it’s pretty weird. I don’t know why anyone would want to buy a bird from a random outdoor market on a Sunday morning on Ile de la Cite but somehow this place is still going strong. Bryn insisted we check it out for nostalgia’s sake; I insist you do not waste your time.
For as long as I can remember one of my main items on my bucket list was heading to Africa and going on a Safari. So, when my mom declared that she wanted to take a break from vacationing in Europe and wanted to go on a safari, I knew we were in for an adventure.
We knew that in order to make my parents comfortable with a trip so outside of their comfort zone, and if we’re honest, a Safari was outside of ours as well, we would need to join a tour group (yup, I said it). If you know Matt at all, you know that “tour group” is a dirty word to him. There is nothing he hates more than being herded around with a large group of people and being told what to do and where to do it. But this Gate 1 eight day tour for less than $2500 including airfare was just too good for even us to pass up. As a compromise, we went a few days early, so that Matthew could do a little of his own thing before being herded into a group setting.
We went to South Africa in late June of 2017 – Sorry, this post is a little delayed, but I’ve been getting requests for what we did in Cape Town. So…. here we go!
Don’t miss…
Test Kitchen –Cape Town – Dinner – Test Kitchen is in the Woodstock neighborhood of Cape Town in the Old Biscuit Mill, it is basically Williamsburg, Brooklyn 15 years ago before it became full of hipsters. This is the most amazing restaurant experience that I have ever had in my life. We had 8:30pm dinner reservations and they only allow you into the restaurant at your exact reservation time. When we entered we were escorted over to a dark room with low bar seats. There you were treated to two complimentary cocktails and ticket around the world on a culinary adventure.
We were given a map of the world ……ceviche from Peru, fois gras “candy” with gold on it from Scotland, and pork cracklings in a cheddar beer froth that I will never forget to name a few.
Then, when we were done with our cocktails, we rang a bell and went through a door into the “light” room. There we were greeted with a 10 course tasting menu with wine pairings.
Matt and I shared two different wine pairings the Gourmand and the Iconic – in order to maximize our wines that we would try. My dad was super excited because they curated a beer pairing for him, which was just a dream. We didn’t order it, but I thought that it was really cool that they had a tea pairing menu as well for people that don’t drink. The pairings they did with these drinks and the food were exactly what Somms around the world dream to create. They were the perfect pairings of fat and acidity, smoke and mirrors (literally) and above all else balance. It did not disappoint. There is a reason that this place is one of the 50 best restaurants in the world.
At the end of the night a big, bronze, brandy cart rolled over to our table. At that very moment the song from Netflix Chef’s Table was playing in the background. It was one of those unforgettable moments, well at least for my mom and me. Matt greedily accepted the brandy, hearing the song playing and my dad was more interested in what beer the people that work in the kitchen drink than accepting a glass of complimentary brandy. We closed the restaurant down that night, talking our waiter Dowd’s ear off and loving every moment of this night we continue to talk about over a year later.
Chef’s Warehouse – Cape Town – Lunch – We enjoyed an 8 course tasting lunch at the Chef’s Warehouse. The exciting thing about this place is that the food changes everyday! This is a cozy little restaurant in the heart of Cape Town. They have a few outdoor tables and on a gorgeous late July day, it was the perfect setting for our lunch. They have a cute kitchen store with books inside. They don’t take reservations at the Chef’s Warehouse, but they do have a little, and I mean little (hope you’re not tall, because these ceilings are low) bar next door called, “No Reservations.” No Reservations is the perfect place to get a wine and relax while you wait for your table to become available at Chef’s Warehouse.
Chef’s Warehouse – 8 course tasting lunch….
Boulders beach – Simon’s Town –Animal Watching – This was seriously one of the highlights of the trip and one of the coolest thing that I have seen in life. It is about an hour drive from downtown Cape Town to Boulder beach (we took an uber and the driver stayed to bring us back). Upon arriving, you pay a small fee to the national parks department to enter and then walk down a large boardwalk surrounded by sand and brush. Immediately, we started to see little penguin heads popping out from the sand only a few feet away from us. As we continued to walk down the path the beach stretched out with hundreds of tiny, teetering African Penguins. We could have watched these little guys splash and bob in the water for hours.
Boulders Beach
District Six Museum- Cape Town – Museum – My parents and I went on a tour of the districts and made a stop at the District Six museum. Housed in an old Methodist church, this museum is full of recreated homes, pictures, artifacts and real life stories of what happened during the apartheid of the 1960’s and 1970’s and the impact that it left. I really wished that I had done more reading and research on South Africa prior to taking this trip.
aMadoda Braai and Restaurant – Cape Town – Dinner – For a local experience, go to a braai (a local barbecue spot). aMadoda has since closed, but you can find similar restaurants (to use the term loosely) all around Cape Town. This is a no frills eating experience where you eat with your hands (sorry Dad) and there were no vegetables in sight (sorry Mom). We went on a Friday night and the music was pumping from a DJ booth and locals dancing, singing and just having a good time. We had our meat cooked by the braai professionals, but the locals seemed to enjoy cooking their own meat on big open grills. We sat at a large table and made some new friends from Zimbabwe while we drank local beers and ate steaks and sausages.
Origin – Cape Town – Coffee & Breakfast – We are constantly on the hunt for a breakfast spot that can not only get the coffee right, but also has a well rounded breakfast. This place nailed it! Any place where you have shakshuka and an avacado smash on the menu and also have quality single origin coffee & espresso is a win in our book.
Mulderbosch – Stellenbosch – Winery – One of Matt’s friends is in the South African wine business, and we were lucky enough to spend our morning in Stellenbosch, with the very talented winemaker of Mulderbosch, Adam Mason. I always have a bottle of their rose on standby for drinking on our terrace all summer long. It’s the best! But Adam also shared with us some other projects that he is working on like their Raised by Wolves label and lucky for us they sell it at our wine shop around the corner from our apartment, Winfield Flynn. Woohoo! They have a gorgeous shaded patio overlooking the vineyards and amazing gourmet pizzas to munch on at lunchtime. Make sure to book ahead.
Kleinood Wineries – Stellenbosch – Winery – This vineyard is open by appointment only, but it is definitely worth stopping by this absolutely breathtaking estate. Their wine label is called Tamboerskloof and the estate is filled with outdoor art and gardens as well as the obvious, vineyards. They make some great wines and olive oils here and was well worth the visit.
Glenelly Estates – Stellenbosch – Winery – This had the most contemporary tasting room of any of the vineyards we visited in South Africa. I remember walking up a large flight of stairs to a modern glass filled room overlooking the vineyards and it was just stunning. We sat out on their extensive patio taking in the sunset and their delicious wine tasting. The good news is that they also sell Glenelly Estates wines around the in New York at Winfield Flynn.
Mabula Game Lodge – Limpopo Province – Lodging & Animal Watching – We had to fly to Johannesburg in order to make our way to the game lodge (2 and a half hour drive from Jo-berg).
Upon arriving for our Safari, we were hoping to see some giraffes, zebras, and maybe a rhino or two. We went into it having low expectations on the big game front and thought we would be lucky to see one of the infamous “Big Five” that everyone talks so much about. Just as a refresher, because I knew I needed one… the big five includes: lions, leopards, buffalo, African elephants, and rhinoceros. We were lucky enough to see four out of the five up close and personal. The leopard was the only one of the big five that hid from us. Along with those, we saw giraffes, warthogs, and zebras and some of the most beautiful birds that I have ever seen in my life. These birds were just gorgeous and were as colorful as a rainbow. Seeing them made me see understand the draw of bird watching.
It was mind blowing how close we were able to get to all of these wild animals and the most surprising was how close we got to the lions. They were so strong, muscular, and fierce and only yards away from where we were sitting.
We went on two early morning game drives with stops for coffee, snacks and snuggling under the blankets before dawn. In the afternoon, we would head out again and have wine/beer and snacks. Every time we went out it was a new adventure.
Every time we went out it was a new adventure the sunrises and sunsets were like nothing we had ever seen before. The red-est reds, most orange oranges and deepest purples you have ever seen in a sunset before.
Horseback Riding – Mabula Lodge – Animal Watching – On our free morning at the lodge the four of us went on a tour of the safari on horseback. We all had a little bit of nervous energy about riding in the wild, mainly because it had been years since we had all ridden. Well, as they say, you just got to get back on the horse. They seemed to pair our horses with our personalities. In true from, Matt got the wild one, my dad got the one that is named after a beer, my mom had a horse name Carlos who didn’t want to listen to anything she said and mine was nervous. They hit the nail on the head.
Being on a horseback safari gives a completely different vantage point of the amazing landscape around us. We were able to get a few feet away from the giraffes, warthogs, and even the rhinos (this was a little to close for comfort for me). I will never forget the moment when the rhinos started to charge at my mom’s lazy horse Carlos and she started to give him a speech about how even though everyone thinks he’s lazy, she believed in him, oy!
BAD Ready to charge….
If you have time/ are in the neighborhood….
Robben Island – Cape Town – Sightseeing – Heading to Robben Island was a highlight for many of our friends who have previously visited South Africa. However, most of them came to South Africa during their summer, when the water is flat and the sun is out. We however, took the ferry over to this island in huge 15 feet swells (they hadn’t been running the boat the two days before) and honestly they probably shouldn’t have been that day either. The boat was rocking so hard that people were fainting and getting sick all over the boat. I also don’t think it helped that we didn’t have the most engaging tour guides. I would say if you have time, check it out…. it’s an important part of history… however, I would definitely check the weather report prior to boarding.
Tribe Coffee – Woodstock – Coffee & Breakfast – In a house that is set back off the road in the trendy Woodstock neighborhood it has a rustic surfer vibe going on inside. They make a mean flat white here and have delicious pastries and breads.
Fairview Vineyards – Suider-Paarl – Winery –This vineyard features the wine label, “Goats Do Roam” a cheeky play on words. We stopped at this vineyard on our tour with my parents and were greeted by a super friendly staff. There we enjoyed tasting 6 different wines and cheese pairings (with both goat and cow cheese). Next time I would stop at this vineyard after lunch, we went right after breakfast and it was a little early to have that much wine and cheese. I know, I know…it’s five o’clock somewhere.
Spier Wine Farm – Stellenbosch – Winery – This winery had beautiful grounds and a farm house modern feel inside of the large tasting room. It almost looked like it was one of Joanna Gaines creations from the show, “Fixer Upper.” It was adorable, and it also had a great gift shop too. This was our last stop on our organized vineyard tour and it ended on a high note with 6 wines paired perfectly with 3 different gourmet chocolates. Our offerings included some of the following: the Signature Pinotage paired with a dark malted cherry chocolate. A vintage Riesling paired with a white cardamom and passion fruit chocolate and a Method Cap Classique paired with a white peppered plum chocolate.
Boschendal – Franschhoek – Winery – Beautiful dutch architecture was everywhere in this stunning vineyard. We took a very informative tour of the entire vineyard before sitting outside and having our wine tasting. This vineyard was closely surrounded by mountains and absolutely lovely company. We sat at a large table outside in the garden with a French couple who made the mistake of telling my dad he looks like a super famous French actor, Fabrice Luchini (big mistake, my dad still hasn’t stopped talking about this).
The V & A Waterfront – Cape Town – Sightseeing – This place is a bit touristy, but if you have a little time I would venture down there for a little bit. I am always a sucker for a beautiful waterfront. It’s a great spot to take a few pictures. The VA waterfront, is like NYC’s South Street Seaport. It has a lot of different local boutiques and a local food hall including local jerky’s (like kudu, similar to antelope and ostrich) and African stews.
Lion’s Head – Cape Town – Hiking – Lion’s Head stands proud 2000 ft high above the coast in between Table Mountain and Signal Hill. This is an hour-and-a-half to two-hour upward spiral to the top of the mountain. The hike was a bit longer for me since Matt neglected to tell me that the last quarter mile of the hike is super strenuous, steep, and you have to use a chain ladder (yes, chain ladder) to get to the top. We made it up in about 2 hours and then probably another 1 and a half hours to get back down again. The views were all worth it in the end, but I won’t pretend there wasn’t any whimpering and evil eyes thrown when I saw that chain ladder hovering over the ocean and the city dangling below me.
View from the top of Lion’s Head
Don’t Bother…
Be aware of yourself & your surroundings – We had a little bit of a scare, when my dad’s debit card got stolen and Matt chased after the people onto the hood of the getaway car. I’m not telling you this to scare you. I’m just telling you so that you are aware. It honestly could have happened anywhere. It was just one of those moments where you let your guard down and your instincts kick in. It definitely wouldn’t keep us from going back to South Africa again.
To Sum It All Up….
South Africa is a dream vacation. True paradise for lovers of food, wine, and hiking. If you love animals and unbelievable landscapes this place is for you.
How long did we go for? Matt and I are big on making sure we utilize a long weekend. People can really underestimate the power of a long weekend! We left on the Wednesday night before Labor Day weekend (and so arrived on Thursday morning) and we left on Tuesday morning post-Labor Day.
Could we have stayed longer? Definitely! Iceland has so many landscapes–geysers. volcanos, waterfalls–and we were right outside of Reykjavik. And on top of all that this is just a very small part of the country. Unless you are *very* outdoorsy, more than a week might be a lot, but with five to seven days you will definitely not get bored.
What’s the weather like? Cold, windy, rainy. Definitely rainy. One second the sun was out and the next it was pouring. Definitely pack a raincoat and boots. Even though it was the end of August winter gloves and hats came in handy.
Language? Icelandic and English – Since there are only 350,000 people in the world that speak Icelandic, everyone is required to learn English in school. So, you are in luck, everyone speaks English, which in this case is good because even though we always try to speak the language when traveling, Iceland even telling people which sites we traveled to, we were nowhere close to pronouncing anything correctly.
Currency? The Icelandic currency is called the krona. The krona trumps the good ‘ol dollar these days, so just be conscious of what you’re buying especially while shopping. Most places take credit card and lucky for us most even took AMEX (woohoo!).
Car Rental? we rented a car from Blue Car Rental at the airport. We waited for the shuttle to take us there, but it’s really a stones throw away. We got opted to get the Wi-Fi for the car for an additional $14/day which I think was well worth it.
THE SCOOP ON THE BLUE LAGOON!
Make sure to book it in advance since they can’t guarantee you a spot without advanced booking. We booked the comfort package which includes a towel, a face mask, and drink. They had lots of drink options from prosecco to beer and smoothies -fruit juices. We got ginger mango smoothies, which were delicious. The premium package also includes a robe, which we would have sprung for had it been any colder (it’s an extra $20/person).
Our flight was delayed 4 hours getting out of JFK due to some mechanical problems, so I was in panic mode about missing the Blue Lagoon. When you book your ticket, they give you an hour window to get checked in. We were scheduled for the Blue Lagoon at 10 am and we didn’t arrive until noon. Luckily they were able to squeeze us in. Whew!
Biggest tip for the Blue Lagoon? – conditioner is your best friend! They have free conditioner so don’t be afraid to use it! Lather your hair before and after the lagoon and try to avoid getting your hair wet at all costs unless you like the scarecrow look!
Where can I store my luggage? – we drove directly to the blue lagoon from the airport, however they do have buses that will bring you from the airport to the blue lagoon and they have a luggage storage center right up front.
Where can I put my stuff while I swim?– the blue lagoon does a great job of providing locks that are connected to wristbands you can wear in the water. You can go back there as many times as you need to get things out of your locker worry free.
IPhones in the water? lots of people had water free cases or pouches and had their phones in the water. I was afraid my phone would get messed up, so I made Matt run through the cold to his locker to get a few water shots.
Cafe Bryggjan (Lunch) After the Blue Lagoon, we were hungry and a little jet lagged and drove about 10 minutes to Cafe Bryggjan for their famous soup. In Iceland, especially out in the countryside they are big on refillable soup bowls and bread that you serve yourself. We both got the lobster soup, which was creamy, peppery, and delicious and served with fresh bread. It was delicious, but in retrospect, since it was refillable, maybe only one of us had to get it and we could have shared a grilled cheese too. FYI… in Iceland, what they call lobster are what we in the US would call langoustine (basically big shrimp). Still delicious though.
Lobster soup at Cafe Bryggjan
Btw, can I drink the water? Umm, not the blue lagoon water, no. But everywhere else in Iceland they have the purest water on earth, so you definitely don’t need to buy bottled water. At almost all of the restaurants we went to they had large glass bottles of water and glasses, so you didn’t need to worry about being thirsty.
Ok, but did someone lay a rotten egg? Yeah…that’s one thing no one told me about visiting Iceland; it can be a real stinker. Their sulfur levels are a lot higher than in other places and well the water and the air can sometimes be stinky. At least you don’t have to worry about what happens if your stomach doesn’t like something you ate!
THEN, THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
Frost & Fire Hotel, Hveragerdi – As a home base for the Golden Circle, we stayed in this hotel which overlooked hot springs and the river. It was lovely hearing the water run by us as we were laying in bed at night. The hotel offered a complimentary Icelandic-style continental breakfast that included smoked fish, veggies and the bread they make on site. They also offered skyr, Icelandic yogurt and flat Icelandic waffles you could make yourself. Every day they make their own rye bread in a hot spring in the ground.
Geysir – Golden Circle stop #1 for us. Although it’s pretty touristy, it’s still pretty cool! It’s pretty amazing to see what nature can do. It starts off just looking like a pool of water and then kaboom, the water shoots 150 feet in the air, only a few feet away from you. Plus it’s free and we didn’t even have to pay for parking at this stop.
Thingvellir National Park – Golden Circle stop #2 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a gorgeous park that really shows off all that Iceland has to offer in one spot. There are plenty of hiking trails, waterfalls, it overlooks a picturesque church and cottages.
Gullfoss – We actually skipped Golden Circle stop #3 because it’s a good distance farther than the other two and frankly it’s just a big waterfall. Having already seen a few of those (Seljalandsfoss, Oxarafoss) we figured we wouldn’t die if we didn’t get to see it.
Restaurant Varma (Dinner) Is the restaurant at the Frost & Fire hotel. We enjoyed their tasting menu which really highlighted rustic, Icelandic cuisine. Matt had the lamb and licorice to start (they love anything and everything licorice in Iceland) this dish might sound strange, but it was delicious). It tasted almost like a lamb jerky with pickled fennel, onions, fresh blueberries, and croutons made out of the bread from the hot springs out front. I had the lobster soup, which was cooked in the hot spring, it was an amazing, perfectly seasoned soup, but I knew what I was getting into a little more than with Matt’s first course.
Lamb & Licorice
For the entree Matt had the lamb once again (lamby night!). His lamb was cooked for 12 hours in the hot spring and was served along with potatoes and a thyme sauce. While his was delicious, it was much heavier than my entree of lightly cured cod that was served with Jerusalem artichoke puree, picked Jerusalem artichokes, and a lemon dill sauce.
Lamb Shank
Cured Cod
WHAT ABOUT NOT-GOLDEN-CIRCLE STUFF?
Solhestar – One of the highlights of the trip for me was riding the Icelandic horses at Solhestar. Icelandic horses are adorable, they have shorter legs then regular horses and absolutely gorgeous manes. We took a two hour tour in the red lava fields on horseback which overlooked Reykjavik. We were paired up with a family with three little girls that actually live on the Upper East Side. We had two guides that were both personable and informative. Note there are 2 locations, one out in the Golden Circle and one fairly close to Reykjavik. I thought I had booked the one close to our hotel, but I actually booked the one that overlooks Reykjavik. Oops…that’s what happens when you can’t read or pronounce anything : )
The stupid-looking plastic suit came in handy when it started pouring rain…
Seljalandsfoss – Don’t Listen to TLC; chase those waterfalls!This one is particularly cool because you can walk behind it. Just to be clear you might get soaked. But the view is awesome. Make sure to check out a small path off of the right and apparently there are some hidden waterfalls. Unfortunately, we didn’t hear about this secret path until after we visited the site. There is a cute drink and snack cart near the parking lot in case your get hungry. Fyi, parking is a bit madness at peak times and you will have to pay for it. 750 ISK if I remember correctly.
Seljalandsfoss
Mt. Esja – Mt. Esja is the dark and brooding mountain that can be seen towering above Reykjavik. Awesomely, it is not only possible but surprisingly easy to take the bus out from Reykjavik to the Mt. Esja Hiking Center at the bottom of the mountain. From downtown Reykjavik you can take bus No. 5 (eastbound) to Ártún. At Ártún, take bus No. 57 (eastbound) which takes you straight to the mountain. Going by bus to Mt. Esja from downtown Reykjavík takes 45 minutes.
There are many different trails you can take and although Matt told me the trail we were doing was easy, ugh… not so much. Even though I work out 4-5 days/week I must be honest, i was huffing and puffing a lot on this vertical trek up mountain. We took a 3 1/2 hour hike straight up the mountain at the peak the mountain is 914m (2,999 ft). Even though it was a tough slog, the view from the top was breathtaking. On the way up we saw lambs climbing the mountain as well as little surprise waterfalls. I don’t think I have ever been surrounded by such lush greenery.
There is really no shortage of amazing things to do and see in just this one little corner of Iceland. Hopefully this article will give you a good head start on planning your own amazing outdoor adventure in Iceland!
What beer didn’t we drink I guess is a better question! In a country where brewing didn’t become legal until 1989 …. These guys are all killing it! There are now 21 craft beer breweries/bars in Iceland.
The key to affordable drinking in Iceland is happy hour. Grapevine–a local Reykjavik magazine (think like Timeout NY) has a app called “Appy Hour”. Before you leave for your trip, download this friendly app that gives the low-down on happy hour specials in real time. Since beers in Iceland run about $ 15 a pop this will help you to save some scooties (*Hartzell-ism for money).
MUST GO
Ölverk Pizza & Brewery – Hveragerði – Good luck pronouncing that town’s name correctly, but the effort is worth it for this place. Three-and-a-half stars for the beer, plus one-and-a-half stars for the delicious food. Don’t miss the fantastic za’atar bread with beer cheese app (they should definitely make that combo into a pizza!) and the devils on horseback were excellent too. We also tried the pizza with pepperoni and bacon and hot chili sauce which was amazing. FYI – the pizzas are on the small side but two appetizers plus one pizza and a few beers was a perfect amount for two people. I would definitely come back next time I’m in or near Hveragerði.
Skúli Craft Bar – Reykjavik – Solid selection of craft beers, mostly Borg on the day we were there but that’s okay because Borg makes great beers. Best happy hour specials of the craft beer bars we visited. Borg has an amazing beer called Snorri Nr. 10 that has arctic thyme in it which was included in the happy hour special. This beer is awesome and can be found in the duty free store at the airport (we were super happy we were able to take this baby home with us)! The bartender in our case was very friendly and the place was relatively empty for a Saturday afternoon during happy hour. Bonus points for the card games inside and food trucks outside that are a pretty great combo with the beers.
Kex Hostel Reykjavik – Reykjavik – Didn’t stay here but did have happy hour drinks and dinner at the bar. A totally great atmosphere to meet other travelers plus a great food and drink menu. The beers are evenly split between guest taps and Kex’s own brews. I’m not normally a big IPA guy but the Kex Thunder Session IPA was my favorite; it is a great beer. I’d definitely be back for happy hour. Plus they had great chicken wings that were a happy hour special for $6.50.
KEX Hostel – Reykjavik
IF YOU HAVE TIME / MAYBE NOT FOR EVERYONE
RVK Brewing Company – Reykjavik – Sick beers. The Smoked Gose is perfectly balanced between sour and smokey and the stout is light-bodied and bitter enough to hide the alcohol but still roasty and delicious like a good stout should be. Balance is the name of the game here, super well-made beers. Minus one star for being pretty small, out-of-the way with weird hours and no great food options, but the beers by themselves are definitely worth the trip.
Ölvisholt Brewery – Selfoss – It is located in a weird place and definitely has a feeling from the outside like you’re not supposed to be there, but inside the taproom couldn’t be more different. They have a warm space with books and games and picnic tables to enjoy the eight excellent beers on tap plus more by the bottle (if you like stouts, definitely don’t miss Lava, their Smoked Imperial Stout). The staff is also friendly and welcoming, especially Stein, and may even give you a tour of the brewery if you’re lucky : )
My only two complaints are the off hours (I get that it’s a working brewery and they are not trying to stay any later than they have to but midday only is kind of weird) and there is no food at all anywhere around. Those two are a bummer but the beers and people alone would make me come back any time I’m in the area (at the appropriate time of course ; )
Session Craft Bar – Reykjavik – Solid if expensive beer selection. Happy hour beers were ok but just kind of the most boring options they had available. Happy hour or not though, this is the place to taste Malbygg beers, which are some of the best in Reykjavik. I tried the Pale Ale which was very delicious and super drinkable and straddled the bitterness line between piney and tropical very well. Plus on a Saturday afternoon during happy hour when we were there the place was barely half full. P.S. In case you are not a beer person, they have a couple actually decent wines on the happy hour specials as well.
Bjórgarðurinn – Reykjavik – Fairly big “beergarden” space inside the Fosshótel Reykjavík. Pretty good happy hour specials and a large, good selection of craft beers (mostly Borg, which is not a bad thing) plus Stella and Guinness for some reason. Friendly bartenders and on a Sunday afternoon during happy hour we basically had the entire place to ourselves. They have food too but we didn’t try any of it. Would definitely go back for a drink at happy hour.
DON’T BOTHER
Bryggjan Brugghús – Reykjavik – Didn’t try any of the food, but the beers brewed here were nothing special—the best choices on tap were all guest taps, especially the Mango Pale Ale and Icelandic Ale from Borg (which is pretty awesome). It was pretty crowded on a Saturday night and had much more of a club/bro bar feel than a brewpub feel, which is obviously a turn-off (for me). Minus one star for the creepy old guy at the bar who hit on my wife like basically the entire time.
SUPER BUMMED THAT WE DIDN’T GET TO GO
Mikkeller & Friends – Reykjavik – They share the same space as Hverfisgata 12, right around the corner from Dill Restuarant. Even though Mikkeller is Danish and there is one in NYC we heard really good things about the beer and the pizza and wanted to go. Unfortunately they were closed for a private event and since we saved this spot for our last night we were out of luck. I would definitely try to go back if I were in Reykjavik again.
WANT TO DRINK SOMETHING OTHER THAN BEER?
Port 9 – Reykjavik– This cozy spot had pops of a rich emerald green that was very relaxing and inviting! We had a great time talking to the owner of the bar. His passion for good wine and food really showed in the products he was serving. They had good wines by the glass for happy hour and he was happy to accommodate Matt’s finicky tastes in wine as well. The brie with mango chutney and cashews was the perfect balance of salty, smoky, and sweet. It’s going to be in my new dinner party rotation when we entertain!
Port 9 – Reykjavik
As we mentioned at the beginning, drinking in Iceland is not cheap. It’s important to make sure you choose wisely and plan ahead. Hit up the happy hours, drink local beers as much as possible and enjoy yourself–after all it’s vacation, right?
Matt went to Iceland by himself about 10 years ago before Iceland really became the “it” tourist destination. From that trip Matt (who normally picks up languages super quickly) only came back with one phrase… eina með öllu… that means one with everything. Well, sorry babe, I really messed up your phrase since you don’t know how to say, “I’ll have 2 of everything”. Anyway I thought he was exaggerating when he told me that this lamb hot dog would change my world. He was right… that darn thing was so good we had 3 of them as a “snack” during our time in Reykjavik. What’s so good about it? Well… they put a combination of raw onion and crispy onions (like from thanksgiving green beans) on the bottom of the roll. Then on top of the lamb dog is a remoulade and a honey mustard. The best part is the place is open from 10am – 4:30am. This place is a small stand with no seating and usually a long line. Don’t worry though, the line goes by quickly since they only sell two things: hot dogs and sodas. Don’t miss this one!
STARTING THE DAY OFF RIGHT:
Reykjavik Roasters – Coffee – The secret about this place is out, it was packed! It has a very hipster cool vibe in here. They have small nooks and tables with antique chairs and tables and the key to any hipster coffee shop… a record player and avocado toast. With said record player, they encourage people to switch the records to whatever tunes you want to listen to. They made a good flat white and have a friendly staff. We also went to their second location which had more of a Scandinavian vibe to it with a lot more seating. At both locations, they have a small assortment of pastries – Matt had one of the pastries, it was good, but wasn’t in the same league as Braud & Co. or Sandholt (see below).
Reykjavik Roasters hipster vibe
Bismut – Coffee – Is a small coffee shop that overlooks Hverfisgata. It has a more modern flare to it with a long bar overlooking the street and there is a great view of the harbor. They display local art in the space and seem to have a following of regulars. It was a very friendly environment with great single origin pour overs and flat whites.
Bismut: Cup of Joe
Braud & Co – Bakery – This tiny local spot has amazing pastries, one the weekends locals line up for this buttery goodness and I know why. I think that they used all of the butter in Iceland and I’m not complaining one bit. As the “salty” one is our relationship, I went with the ham and cheese croissant (watch out Paris you’ve got some competition). Matt the “sweet” member of our duo of course over ordered his pastries. He had one of the local favorites – the vínarbrauð a flat pastry with almonds and cream filling. Yummy. You know this place is good if I got Matt to leave the hotel at 6:15am in order to pick up pastries for the road before leaving for the airport. And they have pretty good drip coffee to boot. There isn’t any seating in this spot, but there’s nothing like walking down the street eating a warm pastry while exploring.
Sandholt – Bakery – This place has a very Parisian upscale patisserie feel to it. It has a beautiful glass pastry case lined with freshly based pastries beautifully displayed and warm bread straight from the oven behind the counter. You can take your pastries to go or they have a large seating area to have table service. On the weekends it gets really crowded, so be prepared to wait.
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH?
Flat White at Te & Kaffi in the Grandi Matholl Market
Grandi Matholl Market – Lunch/Dinner – While walking along the waterfront, we stumbled upon the Grandi Matholl Market. This place was adorable and had about 9 food booths overlooking the harbor. They have a Te & Kaffi (which is gasp, a chain) – but I must admit they had a good flat white. They also have a fish and chips spot, a Korean taco shop (KORE), and a local Icelandic food spot. We shared a lamb hot dog which was a more “foodie” version of the infamous Icelandic hot dog. It had a salad on top and was paired with potatoes and a garlic mayo. This place is a great spot to take some pictures, relax for a little and use a super clean bathroom.
Hlemmur Matholl – Food Hall – Lunch/Dinner Spot – This place used to be the old bus depot and now it’s a food hall. It has a ton of different options including a Vietnamese sandwich shop (which needed more pickled veggies and less mayo) and the bar Skal that had amazing buffalo cauliflower on top of goat cheese with picked veggies on top. It paired beautifully with the Borg Chocolate Porter that they have on tap. Skal!
Icelandic Street Food – Lunch – This place had heart. Matt and I were never backpackers, but this place had the fun student vibe where everyone was friendly and wanted to share their stories. The place was very crowded, but the staff continued to keep you engaged. For about $15 they have unlimited bowls of soup. They have both seafood and lamb soups and you can switch it up to try both. While you are waiting they give out free Icelandic waffles and chocolate coconut macaroons.
Flatey – Pizza – Lunch/Dinner – On our last night in Reykjavik, we had planned on going to Hverfisgata 12 and have beers at Mikkeller, but when they were closed unexpectedly for an employee training, and we were still jonesin’ for some pizza, we headed over to Flatey. The only thing on Flatey’s menu is thin artisanal pizza and it was delicious. Matt had the pizza of the day which had Korean short ribs from (a KORE, the Korean taco shop across the street at the Grandi Matholl) on it and mine had pepperoni, spicy peppers, and honey. This meal did not disappoint and bonus – was one of the most cost-effective meals of our trip.
If you have read our guide to Porto, the Douro and beyond, you already know that Portuguese people are some of the most friendly and helpful people you will come across in your travels. They all seem to speak good to excellent English and are almost always trying to help if they are trying to get your attention. Use that to your advantage instead of fighting to do something yourself. Even in a city like Lisbon where it sometimes feels like tourists outnumber the locals, it seems Portuguese people are just as friendly and happy you are there as can be.
Especially important in Lisbon in the fact that when it comes to CFB, Portugal is a lunch country. On Saturday or Sunday especially if you don’t have a reservation for lunch then you will be waiting for a table. Also there are not really any “grab-and-go” type places for lunch; almost everywhere worth eating lunch will be a proper restaurant with table service and everything. This was a very difficult reality for me to grasp so don’t fall into the same trap I did—plan where you want to eat lunch (especially on or around the weekends) and make reservations.
Enoteca De Belém – Lisbon – Restaurant/Wine Bar Definitely go here if you like wine and elevated food and service. It’s small so make reservations or be willing to walk around for a while, especially if it’s the weekend, but the food is awesome, the wine is excellent and everything about the service is perfect, including their English. It’s a wonderful choice in otherwise touristy Belém.
Alma – Lisbon – Restaurant Legitimately one of the best meals of my life. The only miss was this weird shrimp appetizer that tasted like it was made from three-day old shrimp. Other than that the food, wines and service were all amazing and the meal—while very expensive if you spring for the big tasting and wine pairing—was well worth the price paid.
A
Cevicheria – Lisbon – Restaurant Totally delicious and worth the wait (for about 45 minutes or
so, anyway). Small settings and small portions to match but the food is extra
delicious. The host is very friendly and you can have a drink on the sidewalk
(lol, Europe) while you wait. Plus your wife can get that Instagram shot of the
octopus hanging from the ceiling that she has been dying to get, so that’s good
too.
Gaspacho
Ceviche
BBQ Pulpo
REAL Slow Retail Concept Store – Lisbon – Shopping Put your name on the list for A Cevicheria and head on over to check out this haunt. An adorable concept shop with everything from shoes and beach bags to jewelry and sunglasses. Everything is well merchandised and their price points are all realistic (woohoo!). I got an amazing pair of suede espadrilles for around $50 USD.
Manteigaria Fábrica de Pastéis de Nata – Lisbon – Pastry Shop I figured they would not live up to the hype…I was wrong! These pasteis are the best I have tried in all of Portugal, including the Pasteis de Belém. Fresh out of the oven they are basically heaven and they seem to always be fresh out of the oven. Unlike the Pasteis de Belém, these are worth waiting in line (at least for a little while) for.
The Wine Cellar –
Lisbon – Restaurant/Wine Bar No relation to the Wine Barrels in Porto (see above), but still have a good
selection of wines from Portugal including many choices by the glass. Some can
be a bit on the expensive side but the staff is friendly and helpful and will
try to get you what you are looking for at any price point. They also speak
excellent English. No matter what you’re drinking, order the cheese board; all
six cheeses (all from Portugal) were fantastic. It’s small so come early or
make reservations.
FÁBRICA COFFEE ROASTERS/FÁBRICA COFFEE SHOP – Lisbon – Coffee Five stars for the coffee—one of the best shots of espresso I’ve had in a long time was pulled from their black La Marzocco. All the flavor components of the coffee were noticeable and harmonious; very well done. I do wish they had a stronger savory breakfast game; some toast and jam with poached eggs would be perfect. The roastery location (on R. das Portas de Santo Antão) was a bit better than the shop (on R. das Flores) in my experience.
AMO Brewery – Lisbon – Brewery/Tap Room Super low-key spot to hang out on Thursday or Friday nights. There are literally just like two tables but basically everyone kind of makes it work; it could not be more chill. It’s in a very residential (i.e. not touristy) area of Lisbon which is a nice respite. The people who work there are also awesome—super friendly and chill. Plus the beer is legit, especially the Chocolate Porter if they still have any left.
Dear breakfast – Lisbon – Breakfast/Brunch The coffee is solid but NB for Americans a “cappuccino” here (and I guess elsewhere in Lisbon?) has chocolate in it. Not bad, but if you want something like what you get at home when you ask for a cappuccino then ask for a latte. The food is also solid if not amazing, but I think the real draw for most of the people here is the beautiful, Instagram-worthy interior. Staff is really friendly and speak excellent English. Makes it into “Don’t Miss” because of the strong coffee game.
Wish Slow Coffee
House – Lisbon – Coffee Five stars for the flat white—probably the best I had in Lisbon. Did not
try the food but the espresso from their Kees Van Der Westen is definitely
legit.
bikeiberia Tours
& Rentals – Lisbon – Bicycle Rentals Very friendly and helpful service to rent some bikes for the day to cruise
along the river. Reserve ahead or show up early, especially for the weekend.
Cash only.
Lisbon Bike Rentals –
Lisbon – Bicycle Rentals Nice bikes, friendly and helpful staff that speaks great English. This is
place to rent a nice road bike for a ride to Sintra or Cascais (as opposed to
bikeiberia above for just tooling around the riverfront for the day).
If you have time/maybe not for everyone
Livraria Sá da Costa
– Lisbon – Bookstore Cool old with old books and an interesting selection of very old (though
possibly fake, based on google maps reviews?) maps. I would probably not buy
anything here but it’s a cool place to wander around.
Bistro 100 Maneiras – Lisbon – Restaurant/Cocktail Bar I’m very torn about this place. On the one hand, excellent cocktails as well as delicious and creative elevated bistro fare. On the other hand, the service was very weird with long pauses in between drink orders but almost no time in between courses. The servers themselves seemed competent but it just seemed like maybe they were short staffed and maybe the kitchen was overstaffed or something? It was a very weird experience to get the main course so quickly but to have the second round of drinks to go with the main course take so long. I would go back since there is a lot of promise, but I would make sure to arrive 30-45 minutes early to have a cocktail at the bar and just order a bottle of wine with dinner ; )
Azul – Lisbon –
Restaurant Good place to get your gooseneck barnacle fix! Conveniently located in the
TimeOut market. They were pretty cool and actually quite delicious. I can’t say
for sure about the quality or deliciousness of anything else they serve but I’d
go back for more barnacles.
Pasteis de Belém – Lisbon – Pastry Shop The pastries are good and this place is a sight to behold in just its sheer size but honestly they are not so special you need to wait a long time for them. Plus if you are like me then the chaos inside this place will drive you crazy. Note there are lines for take-away that snake outside and a different line way inside the dining area for table service. Apparently the table service line is usually shorter.
Instituto dos Vinhos
do Douro e do Porto – Lisbon – Wine Bar Don’t come here expecting help (or any form of service) from the servers,
but do come here hoping they have a glass or bottle of a port you love because
if they do then it will be available at the best possible price. Maybe the only
place in all of Portugal where we got some attitude for not speaking
Portuguese.
Ze MOURARIA – Lisbon
– Restaurant I guess this is a traditional Portuguese restaurant, so if you want to experience
what that is like then this could be your place. The food is fine: tasty but
nothing to write home about (except that the portions are obscenely large).
Very friendly and accommodating staff with at least some servers speaking good
English but if you are trying to come on a weekend at prime time (around
1:00p-2:00p) then make sure you have a reservation.
Duque Brewpub –
Lisbon – Brew Pub Good selection of beers on tap but only one was brewed in house? I thought
this was a brewpub : ) Anyway, the beer I tried was a bottle of bourbon vanilla
porter but it was pretty lackluster. The meat board was solid though. All in
all a solid if unspectacular place to get some craft beer in Lisbon…I’d just
recommend sticking to what’s on tap.
Garrafeira Alfaia –
Lisbon – Wine Bar Fairly touristy-seeming, small wine bar of no major interest. Nothing bad about this place just nothing
outstanding either. Could be a good place to drink a bottle while waiting for
something else (a table somewhere maybe)?
Lisbon Winery – Lisbon – Restaurant/Wine Bar Decent wine bar with large list of bottles though a little on the expensive side. Food was lackluster, I would just drink here or maybe go for something safe like a meat and cheese board.
Don’t bother
Boi Cavalo – Lisbon –
Restaurant Maybe this restaurant is an elaborate practical joke on foodies? If so,
then bravo. Not only was the service so disjointed that it was uncomfortable,
but the food coming out of the kitchen was totally lackluster and almost
non-sensical. The first course tasted like nothing because the two components
themselves tasted like nothing. The second course tasted like nothing because
the three components had nothing to do with each other and all the flavors just
got muddled together. The main course was rabbit chops, which are exactly as
tiny as they sound like they would be and exactly as annoying to eat as you
would assume. Not only that, but they were paired with whole beans (similar to
favas), snails and a fried dough kind of thing that is apparently traditional
in Portugal (?) There was nothing tying all these ingredients together, just
four ingredients on a plate, arranged somewhat artistically. It was just a
disappointment, from start to finish, which is sad because there is a lot of
potential here but it just seems like the kitchen is trying too hard to be
creative with flavors and ingredients instead of focusing on the things that
make a restaurant successful: delicious food and strong service.
Loja das Conservas
Petiscos – Lisbon – Tapas Creative idea, but just not hitting on the execution. It wasn’t bad—in fact
some petiscos were enjoyable (tuna pate, samosas) and the staff was very
friendly and spoke very good English—but overall it was just not anything
special, and it’s not like there is a shortage of better places for a drink and
a snack in the area.
Portuguese people are almost impossibly friendly and helpful
and they all seem to speak good to excellent English since I think it is
mandatory in schools. So if someone is trying to get your attention it is way
more likely that they are trying to help you than scam you…unlike in some other
countries [cough, Morocco, cough]. I would suggest using Portuguese people as a
resource rather than fighting to do something yourself.
A very important fact when it comes to CFB: Portugal is a lunch country. On Saturday or Sunday especially if you don’t have a reservation for lunch then you will be waiting for a table. Also there are not really any “grab-and-go” type places for lunch; almost everywhere worth eating lunch will be a proper restaurant with table service and everything. This was a very difficult reality for me to grasp so don’t fall into the same trap I did—plan where you want to eat lunch (especially on or around the weekends) and make reservations.
As an added difficulty for someone like me, Portugal does
not seem to be the most technologically savvy country. You will be extremely
lucky even at the most sophisticated restaurants outside Lisbon to find some
sort of online reservation capabilities. In some cases you won’t even have an
email address, only a phone number to call. In these cases, see above regarding
the friendliness and general proficiency in English of the population, and make
the call to make sure you have a reservation (though it probably wouldn’t hurt
to learn how to ask in Portuguese if someone is able to speak English). N.B.
Just because Portugal is a lunch country that doesn’t mean you won’t also need
reservations for dinner at fancier/popular restaurants like those you are
likely to want to eat dinner at while on vacation.
One unfortunate thing about Portugal from a CFB perspective is the coffee is generally terrible. Even in Porto specialty coffee is scarce, in the Douro and beyond it is non-existent. I do not have a solution for this problem, I just want to make sure you are prepared : )
Finally, another unfortunate thing about Portugal that we
learned the hard way that you may find useful if you plan on driving: they have
a product at gas stations called “gasoleo simples”. Do not be fooled by the
name; this is a kind of diesel fuel. Do not put it into a car that needs
gasoline. Always look for “sem chumbo” on whatever fuel you are going to put
into a car that needs gasoline. Trust me.
Anyway, on with the show…
Don’t miss
Quinta Nova Nossa Senhora do Carmo – Douro Valley – Hotel/Restaurant/Winery If visiting the winery, be sure to book a tour as far in advance as possible, especially during the summer. The wines are very good and even if you don’t get on a tour you can still sit and look out over the beautiful vistas onto the Douro valley while tasting some of the wines. Just fyi, it’s a long drive to get here, from either direction, so take that into account if you’re planning to visit other wineries.
Quinta Santa Julia –
Douro Valley – Hotel Perched at the top of the hill, the views are amazing. The vines and
gardens are beautiful and the house is charmingly old (i.e. dark and slightly
claustrophobic) and giant and you can just feel the history. Staying here is
more like staying with an old relative than at a hotel, and Eduardo, the owner
of the house, is an absolute joy to sit and talk with the way you might enjoy
sitting and talking to your grandpa who lived an awesome life.
View from Quinta Santa Julia
Restaurante Castas e
Pratos – Douro Valley – Restaurant Huge wine list with excellent selections by the glass in both table wines
and dessert wines as well as solid, composed food.
DOC – Chef Rui Paula
– Douro Valley – Restaurant Costs and arm and a leg but the food (and wine) was so good. I had the
roast baby goat with oven rice and it was so perfect. I could eat it every day,
especially paired with the Rebolar tinto by the glass. Plus the view is amazing
from the deck across the river and the valley. Make a reservation.
Al fresco dining at DOC
The Wine Barrels –
Porto – Restaurant/Wine Bar Legit wine professionals here (surprisingly, since it feels like a pretty
touristy place). They take their wine and your experience drinking it very
seriously; I really appreciated the dedication to the craft, as well as
championing the small producers of the Douro Valley. Plus the meat and cheese
board was pretty dope and they have
vintage port by the glass! Check out their sister wine bar The Wine Box, as
well.
Cafe Progresso –
Porto – Coffee Genuine La Marzocco so you know the coffee is legit. The scrambled eggs and
toast breakfast combo was good if a bit plain (could use some jam for that
toast). They have single origin espresso options and speak very good English.
Combi Coffee – Porto
– Coffee Best coffee that I tasted in Porto. They roast their own beans and have
multiple single origin options for espresso. Plus their Pastel de Nata is the
best I tried in Porto. Very cool/hip ambience and perfect English is spoken by
all the staff.
Casa Guedes – Porto – Sandwiches Don’t be fooled by anything else on the menu—the sande com pernil e queijo is the way to go. They are small though so maybe get two per person or some fries or soup. But man those pork sandwiches are basically perfect
Época Porto – Porto –
Breakfast The sourdough bread and eggs with Turkish spices is so good it makes me
upset. I could probably eat that every single morning. Plus, really good
coffee, cute and cool decor, and English-speaking staff; I loved this place.
7groaster – Porto – Coffee Solid coffee and a very cool ambience. They roast their own beans and have multiple coffee options (espresso and brewed coffee). They have food as well which—except for the so-so pastel de nata—we did not try, but as far as acceptable coffee goes in Villa Nova de Gaia I’m sure this is your best bet.
If you have time/maybe not for everyone
Quinta do Vallado –
Douro Valley – Winery/Hotel The winery tour is decent and the winery is beautiful but the wines you taste
at the end are mediocre. Personally, I would probably choose a different winery
to tour if I were to do it all over again.
Offley – Porto –
Winery Next time I would probably just skip the tour and the lackluster tasting
(even the Barão de Forrester tasting was lackluster) and go straight to the
tasting room on R. Costa Santos for either the €15 flight of aged tawnies (10-,
20- and 30-year old) or a €7.50 glass of one of the vintage ports.
Caves São João – Aveiro – Winery Great wines, especially the Poco do Lobo wines (both the Arinto and the Cabernet Sauvignon) from the 90’s make it worth seeking out. Your guess is as good as mine as to where you’re supposed to park, but assuming you do find somewhere then you should know that tours are given every weekday at 10:30a and 3:00p. If you happen to show up at a different time they will still sell you wine and they have a huge list of current as well as older vintages for very reasonable prices. It would be nice if the website were more up to date and the entrance was a bit more…welcoming, but I guess that’s Portugal for you.
Quinta do Noval –
Porto – Winery No tours here, just tastings. The ports are good but there are no options
for just a glass of vintage port; you have to buy a bottle or do one of the
tasting flights in order to taste a vintage port. They did however have a
colheita by the glass and their 20 year old tawny is very nice indeed, with a
wonderful cocoa and leather nose, at a fairly reasonable price of €8.50 a
glass.
Caves Vasconcellos –
Porto – Winery I really wanted to like this place because the tour is private and it is a
small producer of port and our guide Jorge was very passionate, but in the end
I just found their ports to be a bit too thin and racy for my tastes, and there
was kind of an awkward, simultaneously hard and soft sell to get us to buy
something—seemingly anything—at the end of our tour and tasting that I was not
a fan of.
ODE Porto Wine House
– Porto – Restaurant Four stars for the creative, artistic and (most importantly) delicious
dishes and delightful Portuguese wine pairings. It would be a very good choice
for a special occasion but it’s way too expensive to be a regular visit. Minus
one star for being so expensive and not accepting credit cards; two people will
need at least €200 in cash and most
likely more if you really want to enjoy yourselves. [Update: apparently they
now do take credit cards, which would take it up a notch in my book, but I have
not verified this.]
ALOJAMENTO BATATA –
Nazare – Hotel I would not necessarily recommend Nazare overall, but in case you are there
or want to go there for some specific reason, this is a wonderful space to stay
with modern but comfortable decor and very welcoming staff! Apartments are
perfect for a beach vacation in Nazaré; good location and value.
Fishing boats on the Nazare beach
Casa Pires – A
Sardinha – Nazare – Restaurant If it’s not sardine season, go for the fish stew with potatoes. Heck even
if it is sardine season maybe still go for the fish stew—it’s so delicious.
There seemed to be a healthy mix of tourists and locals and the waiters speak
good English in case you don’t speak good Portuguese : )
Queque de Cenoura –
Nazare – Pastry Shop Tooth-achingly sweet (in a good way!) pastries, and a super-duper pão com
chouriço. The coffee is miserable, but I think that’s pretty standard for
Portugal? Good luck finding a proper flat white in Nazaré. Perhaps most
importantly though the staff is very friendly and helpful even though they
don’t speak English; take your Google Translate app and you’ll be fine.
Taverna do 8 Ó 80 –
Nazare – Restaurant/Wine Bar Excellent tapas and very good steak (N.B. “veal rump steak” aka alcatra in
Portuguese is much more tender than beef rump steak, so it is actually their
best steak as the menu says). Good, extensive wine list. My only (admittedly
snobbish and very minor) complaint is they have a lot of newer vintages, not
very much that is more than just two or three years old. The staff is very
friendly and helpful, especially in helping select a wine to drink, and they
speak very good English.
