Food in Porto

Salmon steaks

I know I touched on food in previous posts, but figured I’d make one dedicated to just the tastiness in Porto. In a nutshell, the food in Porto was excellent. Didn’t have a meal that I didn’t like, and I had a ton of great seafood. 

Day 1, we just grabbed  pastry and coffee near our hostel for lunch (we had a late train, so we didn’t get in until a bit too late for lunch). I had a flaky pastry stuffed with custard and coated with chocolate. Quite tasty, and quite cheap too.

For dinner, we walked down to a restaurant we had passed on the way from the train station (didn’t catch the name), which had some very tasty fish. I got a “grilled” salmon steak, which was more sautéed that grilled, but very tasty.

Francesinha

Day 2, we had a MASSIVE sandwich that would put the Coronary Bypass at the Vortex to shame. After our tour ended, Sean and I got a Francesinha at Café Santiago. The Francesinha is two pieces of bread, a grilled steak, two slices of ham (like from a ham at Thanksgiving, not deli ham), and two hunks apiece of two kinds of sausage. Dip it in the secret sauce, melt four slices of cheese on top, and serve with French Fries. We weren’t hungry for a loooong while after that.

Dinner rolled around eventually, and Sean and I found a place on the waterfront. I got something our tour guide had recommended, but is guaranteed to gross out my Aunt Ivery: tripe and bean stew. Even our waiter made a face when I got it, but it was good! It was like very mild red beans and rice from New Orleans.

Day 3, we built up a bit of an appetite hiking to the port cellar (and, you know, drinking port), so we grabbed lunch across the river in Gaia. I got the grilled sea bass (which was tasty, but a little too bony, so it wasn’t quite my cup of tea), and Sean got the grilled chicken. Oddly enough, the potatoes were the best part; a little vinegar and olive oil can make plain boiled potatoes quite tasty. We also stopped at a café on the way back for coffee and a pastry (but mostly to escape the rain). After that, we met up with Anita, and eventually ended back up at the waterfront, where we split some sangria, and I got a dessert made with ice cream and espresso.

Fried peppers, olives, wine and fried sardines

Anyway, dinner that night easily took first prize for best meal so far in Europe. We got a recommendation for A Casa dos Brenlhas from our hostel, and figured we’d give it a shot. I mentioned this place in an earlier post (which they apparently saw and liked on their FB page. Hi guys!), but I’ll go a bit more into detail here.

Anyway, Sean, Anita, and me all split a carafe of wine (it evolved into a carafe and a half, but who’s counting?). We all got a small plate and a big plate, and figured we’d share everything. For small plates, we got some small fried sardines (which were MUCH better than the large ones in Lisbon), fried peppers (not spicy, but quite tasty), and grilled chorizo (my personal favorite; Sean laughed when I lunged for the last bite).

Tasty, tasty stuff

These were all excellent, and we could have made an easy meal out of those, but we still managed to save room for the main course. I got the bread stew with seafood (clams and shrimp) which was excellent, though I could easily have split that alone with someone and been stuffed. Sean and Anita both got the grilled beef and fries, and polished their plates, if I remember correctly (and Anita tried to help me polish mine, too!).

After that, the extra half-carafe of wine made an appearance, and we got dessert. Sean and I got a custard tart of some kind (think flan, but cut from a cake) and Anita got a slice of very tasty-looking ice cream cake. Somehow, Anita sweet-talked a bit of mine out of me. I’m a sucker for a pretty smile, what can I say?

After that, we finished the meal off with a glass of port, and paid the (astonishingly low) check. Total damage for dinner, dessert, and drinks was 33 euro, which was a steal! I’ve seen individual meals in the States go for that much, wine and dessert not included! For how great the food was, I’d say that’s definitely worth the cost! Definitely give Brenlhas a try if you’re ever in Porto!