4 Best Restaurants in Northern Portugal, Portugal

Amarante is famous (or notorious) for the phallic cakes produced locally---a custom that may hark back to ancient fertility rituals predating the arrival of Christianity---but this, the town's oldest pastry shop, stocks a dazzling array of other sweet treats in more conventional shapes. They're all made according to traditional recipes and are delicious; the terrace, which overlooks the river and bridge from which the confeitaria takes its name, is the ideal place to sample them.

So famous that it was featured on a postage stamp in 2017, this vintage pastry shop is best known for its bola de Berlim donuts, overflowing with pastry cream. Also popular are the cinnamon biscuits, pão de ló à Jorge Amado (a sponge favored by the late Brazilian writer on his periodic visits), and Manjerico de Viana, an eggy tart that tastes like sweet basil. It was originally invented at the nearby Pastelaria Zé Natário, opened in 1970 by Manuel's brother José.

This small café is the perfect place to soak up the Minho atmosphere. The proprietor makes his own pastries, cakes, and croquettes. 

The tibia, a traditional local pastry, takes center stage here, but prize-winning pastry chef João Benjamim Araújo and his team turn out a wide range of other sticky delights, most of which also originated in Braga. Grab a coffee and choose whether to sit inside the beautifully renovated historic building or on the terrace---both of which are great places for people watching.