PORTO: 10 Typical Dishes you can’t miss

Porto's Food:

Some might point out that we have the rule of the three F’s in Portugal, being: 
Fado, Football, and Fátima. 

But here we dare say that we have a fourth: Food

If you are unaware of the Portuguese gastronomy and the most typical dishes of Porto and you consider yourself a foodie, then this is the right post for you.
We are going to give you a brief explanation about these traditional dishes and, more importantly, where to find them!

With no further due and no time to waste let us start!

1. Tripas à Moda do Porto - Tripes in a Porto’s Style

The most traditional dish of Porto and it even gave the name to their population - the Tripeiros (click here to learn more).
This is a dish made since the end of the 14th Century and it consists of:
Tripes, stomach, and other internal parts of pork and cow. Accompanied with chickpeas or beans, chouriço, and rice.
The most recommended restaurants are:
  • Restaurant Líder - Alameda Eça de Queirós 120/130 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Everyday 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
  • Restaurant Pombeiro - Rua Capitão Pombeiro 218 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Saturday - 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
      • Sunday - Closed
  • Restaurant A Cozinha do Manel - Rua do Heroísmo 215 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Saturday 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
      • Sunday - Closed

Tripas à Moda do Porto

2. Francesinha - Little French Girl

If you looked into Porto before planning your trip, more specifically, what is a must to have in Porto, you will see Francesinha almost everywhere! It’s a sandwich, but it is in reality much more than that! Breaking it down very quickly: there are several layers to the Francesinha, it has steak, sausages, ham, cheese, and of course 2 slices of bread (one on top and one on the bottom) that therefore gives it the status of a sandwich. 
Covered with cheese topped with a fried egg and bathed (yes bathed!) in special gravy sauce.
The most recommended restaurants are:
  • Café Santiago - Rua de Passos Manuel 226 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Saturday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
      • Sunday - Closed
  • Cervejaria Brasão - Rua de Ramalho Ortigão 28 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Everyday 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
  • Yuko Tavern - Rua de Costa Cabral 2331 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Saturday 12:30 p.m. to 2:30p.m. - 7:30p.m. to 2 a.m.
      • Sunday - Closed
  • Picota - A Mesa do Largo - Largo de São Domingos, nr. 56
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Saturday: 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Francesinha


3. Bifanas à Moda do Porto - Porto’s Style “Bifanas”

Bifanas are more of a snack than a meal itself and it is basically a small pork sandwich. 
Even though you can find this everywhere in Portugal, Bifanas of Porto are made slightly different. The pork meat is cut very thin and they will be boiled in a big pan in a sauce based majorly on beer, wine, and chili sauce (Piri-Piri). 
It is the perfect afternoon snack and pairs nicely with a cold beer!
The most recommended restaurants are:
  • Conga - Rua do Bonjardim 314-318 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Everyday: 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
  • O Astro - Rua da Estação 16 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Thursday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 
      • Friday - 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
      • Sunday - 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.   
      • Saturday - Closed
Bifanas

4. Bacalhau - Codfish

Another thing that the Portuguese are known to eat a lot is Codfish!
The codfish started to be a common enough dish in the 15th century, during the Discoveries.
The Portuguese needed products that could last big journeys by sea. 
We were the first ones to fish cod in the New World, and lead the practice until the 16th century.
Over time the fishing and the costumes of eating cod declined and we mostly got it from England, until the Dictatorship, which during that time 80% of the codfish consumed in Portugal was from internal production.
Is still a tradition to have codfish on every Portuguese dinner table on Christmas Eve.
We say that we have enough codfish recipes in the country to have it twice a day for all year without repeating! So surely you can try at least 2 different ones :)
The most recommended restaurants are:
  • Bacalhoeiro - Avenida Diogo Leite, 74 - Vila Nova de Gaia
    • Schedule: 
      • Everyday: 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
  • Casa Virtude - Passeio das Virtudes 33 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Tuesday to Saturday: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. to 12-.00p.m.
      • Monday 7 p.m. to 12 p.m.
      • Sunday - Closed
  • Bacalhau - Muro dos Bacalhoeiros 153 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Thursday 12 a.m. to 10 p.m.
      • Friday to Sunday - 12 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Bacalhau

5. Sardinhas - Sardines

The sardines are a common dish in this land even before being called Portugal. It is supposed that the Fenicious already salted sardines, the Romans also fished them and even in the moors era, they would be fished throughout the whole Portuguese coast. 
Having sardines in high abundance it became as traditional as the codfish itself. 
On the popular saints days, it is customary to eat them grilled in a slice of bread. 
This simplistic way of eating sardines started in the 17th century in Lisbon when there were shortcomings of sardines in Lisbon. Poor people would rub the sardines in the bread to give it flavor and eat it to fool the stomach.
The most recommended restaurants are:
  • Adega São Nicolau - Rua S. Nicolau 1 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Saturday: 12 a.m. to 11 p.m.
      • Sunday - Closed
  • Sempr’Assar - Rua Heróis de França 185 - Matosinhos
    • Schedule: 
      • Tuesday to Sunday - 12 p.m. to 12 p.m.
      • Monday - Closed
The whole Matosinhos neighborhood has tons of restaurants specialized in grilled fish and seafood.
Sardinhas

6. Pernil - Roasted Pork Leg

In Porto, we have two very different famous Roasted Pork Legs. 
One is in “Casa Guedes” where you can eat the roasted pork leg in a sandwich with cheese. Important note: this cheese is called “Queijo da Serra” and it’s sheep cheese.
This is more like an afternoon snack if you go there ask it with an “Espadal” - sparkling rose wine!
The second one is in Antunes, and the roasted pork leg is served on a plate accompanied with roasted potatoes and mashed spinach - this is more of a meal, delicious over a red wine!
The most recommended restaurants are:
  • Casa Guedes - Praça dos Poveiros 130 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Sunday to Monday - 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
      • Friday and Saturday - 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
  • Antunes - Rua Bonjardim 525 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Saturday - 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m - 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
      • Sunday - Closed
  • Zé Bota - Tv. do Carmo 16 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Saturday - 12 p.m. to 2:45 p.m - 7:45 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.
      • Sunday - Closed

Pernil












7. Caldo Verde - Green Broth (Soup)

Caldo Verde was made by the Minho (Northern region of Portugal) farmers in the mid 15h century. They would use whatever ingredients they had the most. Originally it was made with Galician-kale but is adapted to each region.
The most recommended restaurants are:
  • Casa Guedes - Praça dos Poveiros 130 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Sunday to Monday - 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
      • Friday and Saturday - 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
  • Casa Ferreira - Rua do Breiner 248 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday - 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
      • Tuesday to Friday  - 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. - 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
      • Saturday - 8 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
      • Sunday - Closed
Caldo Verde

8.Cachorrinhos do Porto - Porto’s Hotdogs 

Casa Gazela was the birthplace for the Hotdogs of Porto in 1962. This is one of the most searched snacks in the city! If you think “I can have a hotdog everywhere” you are right, but not this one! These ones are very special, there are 2 sausages, one fresh and one spicy and cheese, in a toasted baguette (not the buns), and takes a Piri-Piri sauce over it. Goes smoothly with a beer! They were even elected as one of the 5 world’s “house specials” in the prizes of The World Restaurant Awards.
The most recommended restaurants are:
  • Gazela - Rua de Entreparedes 8-10 - Porto
    • Schedule 
      • Monday to Saturday - 12 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
      • Sunday - Closed
  • República dos Cachorros - Praça dos Poveiros 30 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Everyday - 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. to 11 p.m
Cachorrinhos

9. Papas de Sarrabulho - “Shredded Pork in Gravy Thickened with Blood”

Papas de Sarrabulho is from the Minho region, like the Green Broth, but this dish is a little older, dating back to the middle ages, right after the plague black death. In a time of great poverty, the population would eat the bread with the blood of the animals for proteins. Now is seen as a delicacy and they also add shredded pork. 
The most recommended restaurants are:
  • Casa Ferreira - Rua do Breiner 248 - Porto
    • Schedule:
      • Monday - 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
      • Tuesday to Friday  - 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. - 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
      • Saturday - 8 p.m. to 12 p.m.
      • Sunday - Closed
  • Conga - Rua do Bonjardim 314 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Everyday - 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Papas de Sarrabulho


10. Arroz de Cabidela - Chicken Stew with its Blood

Another dish coming from the Minho Region can be made either with chicken or rooster, it is now something that you can find in every part of Portugal but with more frequency in the rural areas of the country. It’s a stew with rice to which is added the blood (with vinegar) of the same animal that is being cooked. 
The most recommended restaurants are:
  • O Buraco - Rua do Bolhão 95 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Saturday - 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.  
      • Sunday - Closed
  • Tia Aninhas - R. Júlio Lourenço Pinto 109 - Porto
    • Schedule: 
      • Monday to Sunday: 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Arroz de Cabidela

So here's our top 10 of the most typical dishes in Porto. 

A good way to learn about these dishes and the stories behind is joining a Free Tour Porto with local guides from City Lovers Tours or even their Food Tour Porto.
They will tell you all about Porto, the food, the culture, and the secrets of this amazing city.


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