Naval Guest House & Bistrô

After a long day's walk from Porto, we arrived for one night during our camino de santiago. Neto, one of the nicest people we've met so far, took care of our online booking and dinner. He was very helpful, and dinner was nice.

I loved my first night at the Naval, which my travel agent booked while I was walking the Portuguese Coastal Camino. Just to set expectations, it's a “self check-in GUEST HOUSE,” not the Waldorf. The walls are thin, though everyone was asleep by 10pm. The owners need your contact details to send check-in instructions and local information via WatsApp, and I hadn't given them mine. A quick call to the number on the locked door sorted it out, and the keys and host walked me through everything. “tout est bien qui fini bien!” My room was spacious, by European standards ;), and the shower was clean and efficient. Dinner was good, and the staff were kind. Despite their bad English and my terrible Portuguese, we communicated easily. Breakfast was the one letdown. With 25km ahead of me, I would've preferred a granola bar, a yogourt and fresh fruit instead of a soft apple, plus a drink. All in all, I'd recommend the Naval without hesitation.

The food was fine, though nothing memorable for the price. We ended up waiting an hour and a half for two dishes, and there weren't many people there to explain the delay. The waitress was kind and apologized. Honestly, waiting for a table at the restaurant next door would have been worth it.

As a vegetarian, I found plenty to enjoy here. The food was delicious, the server was very kind, and our order came without a long wait. I'd recommend this restaurant.