The sandwich culture of Porto goes far beyond Francesinha. There’s a whole tradition of traditional tascas and snack bars where you can eat well and cheaply, in a relaxed atmosphere that’s perfect for grabbing a bite with friends.
We’ve put together a list of the best sandwiches in Porto and where to eat them, from the city’s most traditional options to other classics that are part of Porto’s food culture. There’s just one rule: we only include places we’ve actually tried and would happily return to.
We’re from Porto and love sharing the best of our city. After a lot of hard work and field research (yes, we really did eat every single one of these sandwiches), here’s the list. Somebody had to do it!
Where to Eat the Best Sandwiches in Porto
| Sandwich | Best place | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Francesinha | Francesinha Café | Rua da Alegria |
| Cachorrinho | Cervejaria Gazela | Praça da Batalha (Downtown) |
| Bifana | Conga | Downtown (near Rivoli) |
| Presunto sandwich | Casa dos Presuntos “O Xico” | Rua do Heroísmo, Bonfim |
| Pernil (Pork knuckle) sandwich | Casa Guedes Tradicional | Poveiros (Downtown) |
| Rojões sandwich | Casa Expresso | Praça Carlos Alberto (Downtown) |
Francesinha
Francesinha is Porto’s most famous sandwich, and that’s more than justified. It’s made with toasted bread, ham, fresh sausage, linguiça, and steak. It’s then topped with melted cheese and covered in a very special sauce. It’s a hearty sandwich that, because of all the ingredients and the sauce, needs to be eaten with a knife and fork.
A good Francesinha needs quality ingredients and, above all, a delicious sauce. In fact, the real secret is in the sauce, which is usually made with tomatoes, beer, chili, and meat stock. Every restaurant has its own recipe and, above all, its own sauce, which gives the Francesinha its own character and sets it apart from the others.
Francesinha was created in Porto in 1953 by a Portuguese emigrant, Daniel David de Silva, who was inspired by the famous French sandwich croque monsieur. That’s where the name “Francesinha” came from. Originally, it was made with roast meat, although today the most common version is made with steak.
Francesinha became so famous that it went on to become a true icon of Portuguese cuisine, and today you can find it all over the country. But for us, there’s nothing quite like eating a Francesinha in Porto, where it was born and where it remains an important part of the city’s food culture.
If you want a complete list of where to eat Francesinha in Porto, check out this article: “Where to Eat Francesinha in Porto? 12 of the Best Francesinhas in Porto”
Where to Eat Francesinha
Francesinha Café
Francesinha Café is our favorite Francesinha restaurant in Porto. For us, it’s the perfect Francesinha. The sauce is delicious, with a traditional Porto-style flavor that’s slightly spicy and velvety. The ingredients are excellent quality, including the steak, which was tender and cooked just right. The whole sandwich is perfectly assembled, and all the ingredients work beautifully together. The egg and fries on the side were also very good.
The main downside of this restaurant is that you need to make a reservation in advance, and it can sometimes be difficult to get a table. It’s a small restaurant on Rua da Alegria. The door stays closed, and only customers with reservations are allowed in.
Lemos Café
Lemos Café is a traditional snack bar in the Boavista area. It’s a casual place, and the staff are all very friendly and attentive.
The Francesinha is made with quality ingredients, and you can taste the difference in every element. The steak was tender and cooked just right, the grilled linguiça gave it a delicious flavor, and the cheese was perfectly melted. The egg and homemade fries served with the Francesinha were also very good. The Porto-style sauce is slightly spicy and very flavorful.
It’s a very good Francesinha, and although it’s very popular for lunch during the week, you can usually still find a table. It’s another Francesinha we really enjoy.
Porto-Style Cachorrinhos
Cachorrinho is an iconic sandwich from Porto, created in 1962 at Cervejaria Gazela. The owner wanted to put a different spin on the American hot dog and came up with cachorrinho: a sandwich made with thin, crispy baguette-style bread, a fresh pork sausage, linguiça, melted cheese, and a spicy sauce.
It’s an ideal snack, perfect for a quick meal or simply as a bite to eat with a cold drink. The sandwich became especially famous after chef Anthony Bourdain visited Gazela in 2017 for his show Parts Unknown.
Today, several restaurants in Porto serve cachorrinhos, and it has become one of the traditional snacks of Porto’s food culture.
Where to Eat Porto-Style Cachorrinhos
Cervejaria Gazela
For us, the best cachorrinhos are at Cervejaria Gazela, near Praça da Batalha in Porto, where they were created. Served in crispy bread, they’re long and narrow, with a fresh sausage, linguiça, and melted cheese on top, covered in a spicy sauce. They’re lightly pressed and simply delicious. It’s best to order more than one!
But Gazela serves much more than just cachorrinhos. It’s a traditional beer hall that also serves Francesinha, pica-pau, and prego sandwiches, all best enjoyed with a cold drink.
Gazela has since opened another location near the original one, in Praça da Batalha. We haven’t had a chance to visit it yet, but it should be quite similar.
The Dog
The Dog is a snack bar specializing in cachorrinhos, located near Casa da Música. It has a fairly large space, with counter and table service. The atmosphere is relaxed, although it can get quite noisy, which is typical of snack bars. Service is very fast, and the counter staff are friendly and fun.
As for the cachorrinho, it’s served in crispy baguette-style bread with a very flavorful, slightly spicy sausage and melted cheese. It comes sliced into small pieces. It’s served with very thin, crispy homemade fries.
Besides cachorrinhos, the restaurant also serves different types of prego sandwiches and steak dishes, which we also recommend.
Alma do Cachorro
Alma do Cachorro also specializes in Porto-style cachorrinhos. It’s located near Avenida da Boavista, in a somewhat out-of-the-way spot. It’s a typical snack bar, with counter service and a few tables, where locals stop for a quick lunch during the workday.
The cachorrinho is good, but a little different. It uses a German-style sausage, grilled bacon, and cheese, with a slightly spicy sauce. Another thing worth mentioning is the fries: they’re excellent and perfectly cooked. The restaurant also serves very good pica-pau.
The restaurant can get a little noisy when it’s busy, but it has a lively, popular atmosphere, along with good, fast service, as you’d expect in places like this.
Bifanas
Bifanas are one of Portugal’s most traditional sandwiches, but Porto has its own version. Porto-style bifanas are made with very thinly sliced pork cooked in a generous, spicy sauce. They’re served in a small pão bijou and generously soaked in the sauce.
Bifanas are considered a snack or even street food, and are especially popular during local festivals such as São João. But they’re also a staple of traditional tascas and snack bars, making for a quick lunch or snack. There are many restaurants in Porto that serve them, but a few places really stand out and are worth a visit.
Want to make Porto-style bifanas at home? Try this recipe: Porto-Style Bifanas – Homemade Recipe
Where to Eat the Best Bifanas in Porto
Conga – Casa das Bifanas
Conga is one of the most famous restaurants in Porto and one of the city’s go-to places for bifanas. It has been around since 1976 and is a large, unpretentious snack bar in downtown Porto, near Aliados. It’s easy to recognize: at the entrance, there’s a window with a huge pot where you can see the bifanas being cooked.
Conga’s bifanas are the classic Porto-style version, made with a small pão bijou, generously filled with very thinly sliced pork and soaked in plenty of sauce. Eating just one would be a sin.
Besides bifanas, Conga serves other traditional snacks, such as papas de serrabulho, caldo verde, Francesinhas, and several other classics.
Casa das Bifanas
Casa das Bifanas is an excellent place, with bifanas that really stick in your memory. Although it’s located in Valongo, we couldn’t leave it out because it’s one of our go-to places for Porto-style bifanas.
It’s very popular and almost always packed, even during the week at lunchtime. There’s usually a line outside, and reservations aren’t possible. The service is very fast, though, as is the food, and the staff are very friendly.
The bifanas are delicious. They’re Porto-style, served in a pão bijou, with very thin slices of pork and a spicy sauce, exactly how we like them. You can also order your bifana with cheese. They also serve a very unusual soup: a vegetable soup made with the bifana sauce, which is surprisingly good. Besides the bifanas, they also have excellent fried quail served with the same sauce.
The restaurant is very affordable. And besides being an excellent place for bifanas, eating here is a really enjoyable experience.
Sandes de Presunto
As sandes de presunto são um petisco típico das tascas do Porto (e de Portugal). São perfeitas para petiscar e conversar com os amigos, acompanhadas por um copo de vinho tinto da casa. São servidas num molete, com uma generosa quantidade de presunto, (por vezes têm mais carne do que pão) e podem ainda ser acompanhadas por queijo da Serra.
Geralmente, as tascas típicas são pequenas, com muita gente a comer ao balcão, muitas vezes de pé. O ambiente pode ser barulhento e um pouco escuro, e é comum terem em exposição uma variedade de enchidos e outros petiscos. São dos melhores sítios para comer estas sandes e experimentar outros petiscos tradicionais. E o melhor é que são bem baratas e fazem parte da história da cidade.
Onde Comer Sandes de Presunto?
Casa dos Presuntos O “Xico”
A Casa dos Presuntos O “Xico” é uma típica tasca do Porto e as sandes de presunto são divinais. Afinal, é a Casa dos Presuntos. A sande vem recheada com uma grande quantidade de presunto. Tinha quase 3 cm de presunto, de muito boa qualidade. E, apesar de ser pequena, enche bastante. É extremamente barata: uma sande de presunto custa 3,50 € (2025), preços difíceis de encontrar hoje em dia.
Além das sandes de presunto, tem sandes de outros enchidos, como salpicão e chouriço. Tem também outros petiscos típicos, como moelas, tripas, iscas e orelha, mas estes variam consoante o dia. A sopa de caldo verde e as bifanas também são muito boas.
O espaço é muito pequeno e não tem lugares para sentar, por isso é preciso comer ao balcão. Além disso, encontra-se fora do centro do Porto. É um sítio onde os locais vão petiscar, não havendo praticamente turistas.
Um pormenor caricato do restaurante é que tem merchandising próprio e uma imagem de marca muito vincada. Além de gostarmos muito da comida, adorámos a experiência.
Tasca da Badalhoca
A Tasca da Badalhoca, na zona da Boavista, é um daqueles lugares que, apesar da popularidade, ainda conserva grande parte da sua identidade. É sobretudo frequentada por locais e conhecedores, e mantém uma atmosfera e decoração rústicas que lhe dão um ambiente muito próprio.
Quando enche, o que acontece quase sempre, cria-se um ambiente vivo e bastante ruidoso. A localização, numa zona menos turística do Porto, ajuda a manter este espírito mais autêntico.
As sandes de presunto, ou de queijo e presunto, são a principal razão pela qual esta tasca se tornou numa das casas mais emblemáticas do Porto. As sandes são feitas com molete fresquinho, várias fatias finas de presunto e duas fatias de queijo. O presunto é de excelente qualidade, pouco salgado e desfaz-se na boca.
Além das sandes de presunto, também já provámos as de rojões e as bifanas, ambas de bastante qualidade. As bifanas estão mesmo entre as nossas favoritas à moda do Porto, e os rojões são tão tenros que quase se desfazem no pão. Uma verdadeira delícia. Tradicionalmente, as sandes são acompanhadas do igualmente famoso vinho verde espadal da casa.
Presunto Sandwiches
Presunto sandwiches are a typical snack in Porto’s traditional tascas (and throughout Portugal). They’re perfect for grabbing a bite and chatting with friends, especially with a glass of the house red wine. They’re served on a molete, generously filled with presunto (sometimes with more meat than bread), and can also be served with Serra cheese.
Traditional tascas are usually small, with lots of people eating at the counter, often standing up. They can be noisy and a little dark, and it’s common to see a variety of cured meats and other snacks on display. They’re some of the best places to eat these sandwiches and try other traditional snacks. And the best part is that they’re very affordable and part of the city’s history.
Where to Eat Presunto Sandwiches
Casa dos Presuntos O “Xico”
Casa dos Presuntos O “Xico” is a typical Porto tasca, and its presunto sandwiches are absolutely delicious. After all, it’s literally the “House of Presunto.” The sandwich comes loaded with a generous amount of presunto. Ours had almost 3 cm of presunto, and it was excellent quality. And despite being small, it’s surprisingly filling. It’s also extremely cheap: a presunto sandwich cost €3.50 (2025), a price that’s hard to find these days.
Besides presunto sandwiches, they also serve sandwiches with other cured meats, such as salpicão and chouriço. There are also other traditional snacks, such as moelas, tripas, iscas, and orelha, although these vary depending on the day. The caldo verde and bifanas are also very good.
The place is very small and has no seating, so you have to eat at the counter. It’s also outside the center of Porto. It’s the kind of place where locals go for a quick bite, with hardly any tourists.
One amusing detail about the restaurant is that it has its own merchandise and a very distinctive brand identity. Besides really enjoying the food, we loved the experience.
Tasca da Badalhoca
Tasca da Badalhoca, in the Boavista area, is one of those places that, despite its popularity, has managed to retain much of its identity. It’s mostly frequented by locals and people who know the area, and it still has a rustic atmosphere and decor that give it a character of its own.
When it gets busy, which happens almost all the time, it has a lively and very noisy atmosphere. Its location in a less touristy part of Porto also helps preserve this more authentic feel.
The presunto sandwiches, or presunto and cheese sandwiches, are the main reason this tasca has become one of the most iconic places in Porto. They’re made with fresh molete, several thin slices of presunto, and two slices of cheese. The presunto is excellent quality, not too salty, and practically melts in your mouth.
Besides the presunto sandwiches, we’ve also tried the rojões sandwiches and bifanas, both of which are very good. The bifanas are definitely among our favorite Porto-style versions, and the rojões are so tender they almost fall apart in the bread. Absolutely delicious. Traditionally, the sandwiches are served with the equally famous house Vinho Verde Espadal.
Pernil Sandwiches
The Porto pernil sandwich has become a true icon of Porto’s food culture. Reinvented by the Correia brothers in 1987, when they bought the former Snack Bar Guedes, it became increasingly popular from the 1990s onward and has since become a Porto classic.
The sandwich is made with lightly toasted carcaça bread, filled with pernil that has been slowly roasted for hours until the meat is so tender it falls apart. It’s topped with Serra sheep’s cheese and covered with plenty of the roast juices, which add even more flavor. You’ll want to have it again and again.
Where to Eat Pernil Sandwiches in Porto
Casa Guedes Tradicional
Casa Guedes started out as a very small traditional tasca in Praça dos Poveiros, serving inexpensive meals, but its specialty was the pernil sandwich. The place was so small that lines would form outside to try this delicious sandwich.
Over time, as they became increasingly famous, they opened four more restaurants, where they serve Francesinhas and other traditional Porto dishes alongside the pernil sandwiches.
We haven’t tried the newer locations yet, but a pernil sandwich at the original restaurant is well worth waiting in line for. It’s pure comfort food: the roast juices and tender meat inside the bread are simply fantastic.
Rojões Sandwich
The rojões sandwich is another classic from Porto’s traditional tascas. Rojões are a traditional dish from Minho made with chunks of pork that are marinated in garlic, wine, and paprika, then fried in pork lard. The dish is traditionally served with potatoes fried in the same lard as the meat, but rojões are just as good served in bread. The meat is juicy, tender, and full of flavor, making it perfect for eating in a sandwich.
The sandwich is made with a small molete or cacete, filled with one or two pieces of rojões and generously covered with the sauce in which the meat is cooked. It’s absolutely delicious.
Where to Eat the Best Rojões Sandwiches in Porto
Casa Expresso
Casa Expresso is a tasca in central Porto that serves delicious rojões sandwiches, one of the house specialties. It has a simple but welcoming atmosphere that’s perfect for grabbing a bite and hanging out, and the owner is very friendly.
The rojões sandwiches are seriously addictive. The meat is so tender and full of flavor that it practically melts in your mouth. You can also order the sandwich with Serra cheese, which makes it even better.
But there’s plenty more to try: snacks such as moelas and iscas, which we haven’t tried but looked very good, as well as excellent presunto sandwiches with Serra cheese and salpicão. They also serve a daily special.
It’s a very friendly, simple tasca, where food is all about sharing and good company. And all of this comes at very reasonable prices and with great quality.
Tasca da Badalhoca
If Casa Expresso is our first choice for rojões sandwiches, Badalhoca is an excellent alternative, especially for anyone already going there for its famous presunto sandwiches. The rojões come with plenty of sauce and practically fall apart in your mouth. Delicious.
Conclusion
Porto’s food culture is about much more than Francesinha. From bifanas and cachorrinhos to presunto, pernil, and rojões sandwiches, there’s a whole tradition of tasca sandwiches waiting to be discovered.
This is a constantly evolving list: as we discover new places and new sandwiches, we’ll keep adding our finds to the article. Now all you have to do is choose where to start!
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