The nine best cachorrinhos you absolutely need to try in Porto

This snack-bar has been improving the art of making cachorrinhos for more than 50 years. Fine and crispy bread, sausages of great quality, and cheese melted to embrace them. Everything brushed with butter and spicy sauce. Customers? Many. On a normal day 300 of these are served, usually accompanied by one or two cold beers.

There are those who say that the best French fries in town can be found here. And of course, to accompany there are the famous cachorrinhos that give the place its name. They are the star of the menu and are made with bread from local bakery Padaria Oriental. They have cheese and sausages from the also local Leandro do Bolhão, and hot sauce to taste.

Dedicated to alheira, a typical Portuguese sausage, this restaurant serves it in the most varied forms: on boards, hamburgers, açorda, risotto and so on. Of course, there are cachorrinhos here, but instead of sausage, the main ingredient is the star of the house. You can pick one of the two: alheira de Mirandela or vegetarian.

Sold since the they opened in 2010, the B-side cachorrinhos are on the podium of the restaurant's most popular dishes. The recipe is simple and, perhaps so, successful: cachorrinho bread, sausage, of course, and cheese. After being toasted the house’s francesinha sauce is spread on top of it. Be ready for a bit of a spicy punch.

Having friends around is good. Having them around the table to share good food is even better. In this restaurant there are snacks to meet every taste (well, almost): Camembert with pumpkin, tuna tataki, stuffed mushrooms and, of course, cachorrinhos. The bread is from local bakery, Bakery Formosa, in Foz, and the sausages are also from Leandro, at the Bolhão Market.

Cufra's younger sister is now in Poveiros and the cachorrinho, which can be devoured as an entrée or main dish, is a specialty of the house. Served on rustic bread, it has Flemish or sheep cheese and is topped with a tomato sauce and spices.

Crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside, it was christened by the owners and customers as Invicta's Cachorrinho. It is pressed, so that the bread is golden and crispy, and inside it brings fresh sausages from, that’s right, you guessed it, Leandro. Oh! It has Flemish cheese, of course, and is lightly brushed with spicy sauce.

Yes, it's true: Santiago’s is not just for francesinhas. Just to give you an idea, 60 cachorrinhos are sold a day. The bread comes from the Oriental Bakery in Bonfim, and the fresh sausages come from the mythical and contested Salsicharia do Bolhão. It also has Flemish cheese and spicy sauce inside, to give it that final special touch.

It is impossible run from the facts: the francesinhas and the pregos (steak sandwich) have some competition going on in the snacks championship, when it comes to cachorrinhos. The Dog - Casa do Cachorro, in Boavista, serves them inside a thin baguette with fresh sausages – again, from Leandro Salsicharia, in Bolhão - cheese, and a spicy homemade sauce to top it off.