The best restaurants in Porto for group dining

Brasão is a proper Porto success story. It’s the ‘son’ of O Paparico in Areosa, which has got to be a good thing. It brings a degree of quality to snacks, offering hardcore ‘francesinha’ sandwiches (plus lighter options) as well as rump or sirloin steaks. The menu is simple and hearty, and they cater brilliantly for larger groups (book ahead). Take your meat mates along. ‘Meat’ is an anagram of ‘mate’, after all. 

Time Out tips:

Try the special Brasão by Sovina beer.

Start with fried onion in black garlic mayo, and go for the hazelnut chocolate mousse for dessert.

Matosinhos is the land of fishermen, and naturally it has some of the finest seafood specialists in Porto. Shellfish is the Antiga’s forte, and has been since 1957. They serve shrimp, oysters, crayfish, crab, clams, lobster, gooseneck barnacles and comfort food such as seafood rice or shellfish ‘açorda’ bread soup. Nothing beats a platter of top-quality fresh shellfish for a group dining experience. In the summer, try and bag a terrace table.

Largo São Domingos is Porto’s food mecca, and Traça is one of its culinary prophets: it was the first one there. It brought a new concept to the city, of mixing Iberian snacks and great cuts of beef. Take a posse and order the foie gras blades over caramelized apple, the deer rump carpaccio or the charolais ribeye. The in-house desserts are worth a flutter too.

Time Out tips:

From Monday to Friday, set menus cost just €8.50.