As part of its head-to-toe design overhaul - which included the addition of 50 rooms and suites earlier this year - hotel Pestana Vintage Porto just unveiled a marquee restaurant: Rib Beef & Wine, a stylish steakhouse that is hoping to lure more locals to the Ribeira, the riverfront neighbourhood of touristy eateries and the embarkation point for many of the Douro River cruises.
To do that, Rib, which is housed on the ground floor of one of the centuries-old homes that Pestana Vintage occupies, foregoes typical Portuguese visual flourishes in favour of a contemporary decor scheme dreamed up by Cristina Matos, a Lisbon-based designer whose portfolio includes Lx Boutique Hotel and Pestana Alvor South Beach in the Algarve. Eyes are immediately drawn to the graphic palm tree wallpaper that covers most of the restaurant. Surprisingly, it complements the contrasting textures found throughout such as the bright blue chairs, the black-and-white plaid carpeting in the private dining area and the studded leather panels on the bar.
Most of the furnishings are auction-sourced vintage and then restored specifically for the project, like the Midcentury Modern chairs in the private dining room that were reupholstered in tweed. They orbit around a custom-made table on which to enjoy award-winning Portuguese chef Rui Martins’ meaty dishes such as a 14-month-old smoked Cecina and Black Angus Tomahawk steak.
ADDRESS
Praça da Ribeira 1
-
Behind the design of national pavilions in Venice: three studios to knowDesigning the British, Swiss and Mexican national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 are three outstanding studios to know before you go
-
Premium patisserie Naya is Mayfair’s latest sweet spotHeritage meets opulence at Naya bakery in Mayfair, London. With interiors by India Hicks and Anna Goulandris, the patisserie looks good enough to eat
-
Discover midcentury treasures in Marylebone with Álvaro by AppointmentLondon is full of sequestered design havens, and Wallpaper* knows them all. Allow us to point you in the direction of Álvaro González’s shop window on Nottingham Place, home to a bonanza of beautiful 20th-century antiques
-
Wallpaper* checks in at MACAM Hotel: a night at the museumPortugal’s first hotel-museum is home to 600 pieces of modern and contemporary art and 64 rooms for the ultimate artistic immersion
-
Sun-soaked European destinations to visit in springDreaming of Florentine palazzos and Greek islands now that the weather is starting to turn? Check into one of these beautiful European hotels and holiday homes
-
The world's most heavenly destinations for astrotourism in 2025We're in for a big year for celestial events. These are the world's best hotels to see the cosmos as you've never seen it before
-
Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025: meet the travel winners transcending destinationsDiscover the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025 travel winners – the year’s places to stay, dine, drink and join – and watch our video to find out why they won
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
-
Find serenity at Casa Fortunato, a Portuguese bolthole filled with lightDesign-savvy duo Antonio Falcáo Costa Lopes and Filipa Fortunato chose Alcácer do Sal as the perfect setting for the second iteration of their original Casa Fortunato
-
Lisbon hotel Locke de Santa Joana wins Wallpaper* Design Award 2025Born from the restoration of an old convent, Locke de Santa Joana receives our Best Opening award for its design inventiveness and sunny disposition
-
The Rebello is a chic hotel with an industrial past on Porto’s riversideTransforming industrial buildings on the Douro river, The Rebello is a new hotel ‘with an old soul’
