De Lemos Restaurant, at the Parador de Monforte

De Lemos is the dining room of the Parador de Monforte, which occupies the Benedictine monastery of San Vicente do Pino and the palace of the Counts of Lemos, at the very top of the hill on which the town grew. The dining room has wooden ceilings and windows onto the keep and the rooftops of Monforte. It is open to anyone, not only guests, and serves lunch and dinner every day.

Cooking from the land of Lemos

The menu is inland Galician cooking and changes with the season. Paradores highlights three dishes: pulpo á feira, the home-made empanada de raxo and, for dessert, caramelised filloas. It has a wine list, and in a mencía area like this it is worth asking about those from the Ribeira Sacra. The Paradores website does not publish prices on the restaurant page.

At midday, at night or in the café

Lunches are served from 13:30 to 16:00 and dinners from 20:30 to 23:00, every day of the week. If you only want a coffee or something light, the Parador's café is open from 11:00 to midnight. Book on 982 418 484 or at [email protected]; at weekends, better in advance.

Check the calendar before going: the Parador closes from 3 January to 1 March 2027, and the restaurant with it.

Going up to San Vicente do Pino

The Parador is in Plaza Luis de Góngora y Argote, at the summit. By car you drive right up and park outside, free. On foot, from the centre, you climb the steep streets of the old quarter. From the esplanade you see the whole Lemos plain. The keep, next to the Parador, is temporarily closed to visits according to the tourist office.

What to do before you sit down

Down in the town, the Colegio de la Antigua shows its two Grecos on Friday afternoons and at weekends, and the Ribeira Sacra Wine Centre has tastings with booking at 12:30 and 18:00. All of that, with the Railway Museum and lunch up here, is in the plan Sunday in Monforte de Lemos. If you sleep at the Parador, you dine without taking the car.