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Renaissance Porto Lapa Hotel prepares the Festive Season
One of the most iconic hotels in Porto has launched a special program for the festive season - a market with Portuguese products, themed dinners, and brunches are some of the initiatives of the Renaissance Porto Lapa Hotel.
The Christmas spirit is already beginning to be felt all over the municipality, including in hotels. For example, with Christmas just around the corner, the month of December will be filled with activities for guests and visitors to the Renaissance Porto Lapa Hotel. Christmas Carols, a market with Portuguese products, a Lapa Church made of ginger, themed dinners and brunches on Christmas and New Year's Day, are some of the reasons to celebrate, with family or friends.
Most of the initiatives will take place on Sundays before Christmas and the first takes place on December 1, with the inauguration of the hotel's Christmas lights, at 6 pm. The moment will be accompanied by Christmas carols, in partnership with the Orfeão Universitário do Porto.
On the following Sunday, December 8th, the Lapa Gingerbread Church will be inaugurated in partnership with the Brotherhood of Lapa. It will be produced by the Renaissance pastry team and will be on display throughout the month at the hotel's reception. The initiative, scheduled to start at 4:45 pm, will culminate with a guided tour of the Church of Lapa and a recital of the exclusive pipe organ, guided by the titular organist Filipe Veríssimo. On December 15, the hotel opens its first Christmas Market. Between 3 and 7 pm, the ceramic pieces by Lagrima Studio or the author's illustration by Camila Senna are some of the proposals to cross some gifts off the list. These proposals are free of charge.
Christmas dinner will be served on December 24, at L'Égoïste Bar & Restaurant, starting at 8 pm, with a menu specially prepared for the occasion. In the starters, you will find octopus carpaccio, roasted pepper coulis, and garlic puree, as well as duck pie, girolles, ham, and cauliflower puree. In the main dishes, there would be no shortage of fish dishes, this time a cod with mussels, coriander miga,s and stew sauce. This is followed by the low-temperature roast veal with pumpkin puree and sautéed romanesco.
To end the meal, there will be a rice pudding parfait with almonds, paired with Port wine. The price of dinner is €85 per person, with drinks included. Kids from five to 12 years old have a 50 percent discount. Admission is free up to four years old.
On Christmas Day, the 25th, there is a brunch for the family. From 1 pm, the difficult thing will be to choose between a series of sweet, salty, hot, and cold proposals. For starters, there are green eggs, cod fritters, meat ball à transmontana, and a selection of national cheeses and sausages. There are salads with various combinations such as quinoa, chili, chorizo, and mint, or octopus, grapes, almonds, toast, and sweet potato. Hot dishes include partridge soup, roast turkey, kid with wild mushrooms, confit shallot, or cod à lagareiro. The kids have a selection of mini pizzas, burgers, chicken nuggets, and pasta bolognese.
In the sweets there will be no shortage of the traditional Ovar sponge cake, French toast, queen cake, or Christmas log, however, there is also room for French sweets such as Paris-Brest with hazelnut cream and salted caramel or flan pâtissier.
On the last night of the year, the Renaissance will become a stage where flamenco and Iberian culture become protagonists. The Seville Fair is the main motto for the New Year's Eve party, with a welcome drink accompanied by canapés from 7 pm. Dinner begins an hour later and will be marked by several dance performances, guitar solos, taconeo, and live flamenco, curated by the MXM Art Center.
The first moment at the table will consist of bísaro pork, crayfish, and yuzu, followed by ravioli with lobster, beluga caviar, and bling blossom and, finally, the piece of matured Minho veal with balsamic caviar, rutabaga, and jus. Dessert is presented in a very Iberian trio: dark chocolate, turrón, and sherry, a fortified and liqueur wine typical of Spain. At midnight sharp, champagne flutes are raised to toast the New Year and, after a few dance steps, the traditional supper is served with an open bar.
Caldo Verde, bread with chorizo, mini preguinhos, a selection of pintxos, fish paella, and seafood are some examples that make up the savory offer, while the dessert section includes seasonal fruit, almond tart, mini custard tarts, and even an orange cake with chocolate. Similar to what happened on Christmas Day, the hotel hosts another exclusive brunch on the first day of 2025. In addition to a selection of breads, croissants, custard tarts, and chocolate Neapolitans, the welcome is given with a trilogy of Portuguese snacks, gyosas, and clams à Bulhão Pato, but also salads with ingredients such as salmon, lentils, octopus, mushrooms or egg.
The main dishes are divided between octopus à lagareiro with sweet potatoes and kale, pork presa with mashed potatoes, shallots, and mushrooms, and Pata Negra ham, Wellington steak, wild sea bass in papelota or gnocchi with mushrooms and cheese sauce, with lighter and more fun options for the kids. On the tables dedicated to desserts, the temptations range from caramel and dark chocolate mousse to meringue passion fruit pie, passing through the mango and coconut Entrement or the almond Baklava with lemon.
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