The 5 best restaurants in Porto
Every year, we agree (eventually) on the 50 best places in Porto to eat for our annual guide. Then the Time Out critics face the hardest choice of them all: the year’s top five. It’s not just about the food; we think about the service, the atmosphere, the experience. These are the places that have it all. Do yourself a favour and book a table at one (or all) of them. You won’t regret it
The best Porto restaurants
Adega São Nicolau
We don’t hold back about the stuff we love, and when it comes to Adega São Nicolau, we love everything. There’s a menu full of great dishes – chicken bordelaise, octopus fillets with rice, or the perfect appetiser, cod cakes. Then there’s the desserts (all homemade) or the outdoors tables, overlooking the Douro river. Then there’s the great service – António Coelho has been doing this since he was 11 (in a legally okay way, we’re sure).
Time Out tips:
The restaurant is small, the queues are (very) long. Make a reservation or be prepared to wait.
Try the tongue stew. Honestly.
Cafeína
This Foz restaurant has survived for more than 20 years, so it probably deserves a statue or something. Its reputation is based on classics like duck magret or the wellington tournedo, both signature dishes of chef Camilo Jaña. The menu also includes steak and eggs, plus some creative starters such as tuna tartar with avocado and spicy radish mayo.
Time Out tips:
Try the buttery chocolate cake for dessert.
If you’re a member of Client Club, take advantage of the Business Menu.
O Paparico
We don’t often dish out five-star reviews, but O Paparico really earned one. It’s a paean to Portuguese cuisine, with a creative use of produce that cries out for the tasting menu. The experience is organised into five courses, involving more than ten different plates, such as lobster rissoles with fish roe, Setúbal-style red mullet or veal with quince. Save room for dessert. ‘Save room’ – ha ha!
Time Out tips:
There are 1,200 bottles in the wine cellar: try a couple.
Pedro Lemos
Pedro Lemos’s eponymous restaurant is off the tourist trail: up a quaint Old Foz street. It specialises in fresh produce, much of it straight from the chef’s garden on the terrace. There are two tasting menus (either five or seven courses) or you can order à la carte. The staff are friendly and the mood is relaxed – very much like the chef himself.
Time Out tips:
Book: there are only 30 covers.
Tasting menus cost either €100 or €120, depending on the number of courses.
Puro 4050
Portugal’s first mozzarella bar was opened in Porto’s city centre by chef Luís Américo. There are several varieties of the cheese on offer: fresh, bocconcini (ball-shaped, with a little more texture) and affumicata (smoked). You’re encouraged to mix and match mozzarella varieties with vegetables such as purple leaf lettuce, Italian chicory or green lollo lettuce, and Italian deli stuff like Parma ham. If that sounds like a lot of hard work, there are also set dishes, such as chilled tomato cream with burrata, olive oil and basil, or the layered courgette with affumicata mozzarella, pepper jam and boiled pear. Cheese! Sorry, cheers!
