Porto Restaurants

  1. A Tasquinha

    Tucked inside a rustic house, this touristy but pleasant place offers cask wines, garlicky appetisers and good northern specialities. The tourist menu includes three courses, coffee and drink.

    Read more about A Tasquinha

  2. Abadia

    It's gotten a little touristy, but this rather cavernous backstreet place serves up very good northern dishes, including excellent porco preto (flavourful grilled pork) and tripas (stewed tripe).

    Read more about Abadia

  3. Boa Nova Casa-Chá

    Designed by famed Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza and completed in 1963, this cliff-side tea house and restaurant is set alluringly above a crashing sea. Massive boulders frame the white, low-rise building, while inside the Zen-like design continues as light floods the wood and stone interior. The restaurant is 20 minutes north of Porto along the coast. It's also accessible by bus 44 and 76 from Porto.

    Read more about Boa Nova Casa-Chá

  4. Café Embaixador

    A perennial favourite of everyone from suits to construction workers, this double-decker Art Deco restaurant provides good standards at excellent prices. Skip the upstairs buffet - it's overpriced cafeteria fare.

    Read more about Café Embaixador

  5. Casa Filha da Mãe Preta

    Set smack on the Ribeira's riverfront, this is the most congenial of a long line of touristy riverside restaurants. Go early to bag an upstairs front table for views of the Douro. Don't confuse it with the old taverna of the same name, one street back.

    Read more about Casa Filha da Mãe Preta

  6. Don Tonho

    Built into ancient riverside ramparts, this elegant restaurant serves traditional Portuguese fare prepared with a contemporary twist. Opened by Rui Velosa, crown prince of Portuguese pop, it serves up superb seafood, including fine bacalhau (salt cod), and also boasts one of Porto's most extensive wine lists.

    Read more about Don Tonho

  7. Mariazinha

    This snug but rustically elegant eatery, run by an enthusiastic husband-and-wife team, serves creative haute cuisine based on market-fresh ingredients. You must order from the prix-fixe menu. In fact, each course comes as a surprise, along with a different Portuguese wine. Reservations recommended.

    Read more about Mariazinha

  8. O Comercial

    Hidden at the back the stock-exchange building, this one-of-a-kind restaurant boasts towering arches, old-world service and a stylish, fireside lounge. At dinner, the food has been known to disappoint, but the three-course lunch menu is a great value, especially when you factor in all that atmosphere.

    Read more about O Comercial

  9. Pedro dos Frangos

    This simple place draws the crowds with its very good frango no espeto (spit-roasted chicken) and other cheap grills, all served with heaps of chips. Join the good old boys for a meal standing at the bar or upstairs in the no-nonsense dining room. There's talk of expanding to new location across the street.

    Read more about Pedro dos Frangos

  10. Simbiose

    On two floors in an airy, quayside townhouse, this new spot serves up decent traditional cuisine and lovely river views. But the real deal is the very good, weekday lunch buffet.

    Read more about Simbiose

  11. Advertisement

  12. Tromba Rija

    Porto's branch of Leiria's famous eatery offers a huge, soup-to-nuts buffet of classic, well-prepared Portuguese dishes - plus all the wine, port and homemade liqueur you can drink. Tromba Rija is great introduction Portuguese cuisine - and always festive thanks to all that free booze.

    Read more about Tromba Rija