Originating in Porto, the Francesinha is considered one of the best sandwiches in the world. Thus, Porto is the best place to eat francesinhas and where you will find the best francesinhas in the world.
Yet, choosing where to eat francesinha in Porto is not easy, there are hundreds of places to eat francesinha. That’s why we rolled up our sleeves and explored dozens of Francesinha restaurants to find the best Francesinhas in Porto. The final result is the list of the best places to eat Francesinhas in Porto.
The referenced restaurants are not listed by preference, as the goal was not to find the best but to provide a list of restaurants where people will surely have an outstanding francesinha, not a tourist trap. Sometimes, what varies a bit is the sauce’s flavor, the quality and quantity of the ingredients, and the size of the francesinha.
In the end, it all depends a lot on the taste of each one, such as if you like a more spicy or neutral sauce. Nevertheless, you will eat a proper francesinha in any of these restaurants. We will continue to update this list.
We also explored a few vegetarian and vegan francesinhas to provide everyone with a culinary experience. It’s not exactly the same thing, but some are surprisingly good!
What is a Francesinha?
A Francesinha is a delicious sandwich created in Porto. But it’s not just a sandwich. It’s made with toasted bread, ham, fresh sausage, and sausage and steak. Finally, it is topped with melted cheese and a very special sauce.
The secret of the francesinha is in the sauce, which can vary from restaurant to restaurant; each has its own version, but the sauce base is tomato, beer, and Piripiri. The sauce and the quality of the meat make the francesinha perfect. Some francesinhas also have a fried egg or shrimp on top. It’s simply divine.
Francesinha is a recent Portuguese food created in Porto in 1953 by a Portuguese immigrant inspired by the famous French sandwich croque monsieur. Hence its name, “Francesinha.” The original francesinha used roast meat instead of the steak used today. You can still find Francesinha with roast meat in some of these restaurants, but the newer steak version is better.
The first restaurant in Porto to serve Francesinha was called “A Regaleira.” It still exists. However, its management has changed, and its Francesinha is not particularly prestigious nowadays.
Currently, several restaurants in Porto serve good francesinhas. In essence, they are similar, but there may be some variations in the sauce and the type of meat they use.
10 Best Francesinha Restaurants in Porto
#1 Cervejaria Brasão
Cervejaria Brasão (Brasão Brewery) is one of Porto’s best places to eat Francesinha. It’s one of our favorite French restaurants.
It is a more trendy restaurant—it is well decorated, the service is excellent, and the food is really good. The only downside to the restaurants (there are many) is the large number of visitors, often with queues. It’s best to call and reserve a table. Otherwise, you’ll probably have to wait a long time.
The Francesinhas from Cervejaria Brasão are excellent. They are made with toasted bread, steak, paio, ham, fresh sausage, and sausage. The meat is of good quality. Fries come separately and are very good.
The Francesinha sauce is very good; it is not sweet and has a strong and spicy flavor without overpowering the other flavors. However, the Francesinhas are a little smaller than usual, which may be a good thing for many people, as Francesinhas are really filling.
There is a vegetarian Francesinha option (we have not tried it yet), and the restaurant has many other dishes for those who don’t want to eat francesinha. Note that there are several Cervejaria Brasão restaurants in Porto. We like the one close to Aliados and Porto City Hall. The other locations are Coliseu, Foz, Salgueiros, Antas, and Leça.
- Price of Francesinha with egg without potatoes – 13€
- Service – very good and nice atmosphere
- Location: Rua de Ramalho Ortigão 28, 4000-407 Porto
#2 Francesinha Capa Negra II
The Capa Negra II restaurant is one of the most popular restaurants in Porto for eating francesinhas. In addition to being a great place to eat Francesinha, it is a day-to-day restaurant that serves dishes of the day and other types of dishes. It’s a very good lunch restaurant, frequented by people who work in the surrounding area. It is large with a relaxed atmosphere.
The francesinhas at the Capa Negra II restaurant are good, with steak, sausage, ham, and fresh sausage topped with lots of cheese. The meat is of good quality, and the fries are too. The sauce is a little spicy and not too sweet, as we like it. It has little sauce, but you can always ask for more (as everywhere else on this list).
The restaurant serves other dishes besides francesinha, as already mentioned. They don’t have a vegetarian francesinha but have the option of a half Francesinha if you think you can’t take it all. The restaurant is spacious, and there are usually no queues on weekdays. The service is good but not excellent.
- Price of Francesinha with egg and potato – 12.50€
- Service – Good and nice atmosphere, can be a bit noisy.
- Location: Rua do Campo Alegre 191, 4150-177 Porto
#3 Yuko Tavern
Taverna do Yuko is a typical francesinha restaurant. Despite serving some snacks such as steak, pica-pau, omelets, and ham sandwiches, its specialty is francesinha. People don’t go there to have anything else.
The restaurant has very characteristic decorations, like a modern tavern or an old rural house, which gives it a rustic atmosphere. It’s a very nice and stylish restaurant. It has the same owners as Brasão.
The Francesinha is good. The quantity and quality of meat are excellent—steak, sausage, ham, and good fresh sausage topped with cheese. The fries were adequate, too. Unfortunately, the sauce doesn’t have a strong flavor, is very neutral, and isn’t spicy. So, it was what we disliked the most, but that depends on each person’s taste. Some people enjoy it, exactly for it.
It offers half Francesinha and vegetarian Francesinha (we haven’t tried the latter yet). The restaurant is not very spacious, so reservations are highly recommended.
- Price of Francesinha with egg without potatoes– 12,00€
- Service – Very good and nice atmosphere
- Location: Rua de Costa Cabral 2331, 4200-232 Porto
#4 Casanova – best vegan Francesinha
Casanova Restaurant has the best vegan francesinhas in Porto. If you are vegan or vegetarian and want to eat a good Francesinha, the Casanova restaurant is the place for you. Even though it is not a vegan restaurant, the vegan and traditional Francesinha are very good.
It is an unpretentious restaurant—more of a snack bar—that serves meals and francesinhas. Note that it is not a vegan restaurant and, therefore, does not have other vegan dishes.
The traditional Francesinha is appetizing, too, and would make the list even without mentioning the vegan Francesinha. It has good-quality meat: steak, sausage, and sausage with lots of cheese topping. The sauce has a strong beer flavor, slightly spicy but good. The fries are homemade and very good.
As for the vegan francesinha, it is very good and reproduces most of the flavors of the francesinha well. It takes seitan, vegan chorizo, and vegan sausage. It comes topped with delicious vegan cheese and a very good herb tomato sauce. The set is very similar to a francesinha. Very good and satisfying. It was our favorite vegan or vegetarian Francesinha.
The restaurant doesn’t usually fill up on weekdays, but it accepts reservations, so it’s preferable to book. The only drawback of this restaurant is that it doesn’t accept cards (or at least it didn’t the last time we went there).
- Price of Francesinha with egg without potatoes or Vegan – €10.00
- Service – Very good and nice atmosphere
- Location: Rua da Constitution 691, 4200-200 Porto
#5 O Afonso – the Francesinha Anthony Boudain ate in Porto
Afonso is one of the most famous Francesinha restaurants in Porto. It was always popular, but it became even more famous after the chef and presenter Anthony Bourdain ate at the restaurant for the CNN show – Parts Unknown.
Needless to say, this restaurant is busy, very busy at times. They do not accept reservations, so it is recommended to go during the week and preferably come early at 12h or 19h. Otherwise, there will be queues. It’s a brewery/snack bar-type restaurant. It has a distinctive decoration related to Formula 1 and several photographs of Ayrton Senna.
The Francesinha is very good and has fine ingredients. The meat is of good quality, with the typical steak, sausage, ham, sausage, and fresh sausage. It’s covered with a good amount of cheese. The sauce is quite unique, with a strong and spicy flavor and a substantial alcoholic aftertaste. It is said to take several types of alcoholic beverages. The fries are also good.
In short, the francesinha is good, especially for those who like strong flavors. If you don’t like a strong flavor with a hint of alcohol, maybe this francesinha isn’t for you. If you do, this is the one to go!
The restaurant serves other types of francesinha, such as the francesinha with roast meat and the vegetarian francesinha, but we only had the traditional ones here. They also have other types of traditional Portuguese dishes.
- Price of Francesinha with egg without potatoes – €13.00
- Service – Very good and nice atmosphere
- Location: Rua da Torrinha 219, 4050-610 Porto
#6 Café Santiago – the most famous francesinha restaurant
Café Santiago is one of the most famous francesinhas restaurants in Porto. Possibly the most famous and popular lately. It is a snack bar-type restaurant that also serves dishes of the day. It has a very relaxed atmosphere that many people from Porto used to eat daily.
As for the Francesinha, it’s good overall, as they do everything well. The quality of the meat is good; it has an excellent sausage. There is plenty of cheese to cover it. The sauce is nice, a little spicy but not too intense in flavor. The fries are reasonable but not the best, as they are sometimes a little sticky.
They don’t have a vegetarian francesinha, but they do have other types of dishes, including the dish of the day. There are three Santiago cafes, two on Passos Manuel Street and one on Poveiros Square. The original restaurant is on Rua de Passos Manuel, but we have also tried the one in Praça dos Poveiros too, and it was as good as the original.
As I said, it’s a very popular restaurant, so there will be queues. We advise you to go early, around 12:00. They do not accept reservations, but as they have several locations relatively close to each other, you can always try each one to see if any is not filled yet.
- Price of Francesinha with egg and potato – €12.00
- Service – Good and nice atmosphere
- Location: R. de Passos Manuel 226, 4000-382 Porto
#7 Cufra – the best francesinha in Boavista
Cufra’s restaurant is a seafood restaurant. So, francesinhas are not their main specialty, but they are great. It is a large restaurant with different types of dishes, including dishes of the day, but the seafood is its strong point.
The francesinha is quite good, very filling, and has good quality ingredients. As usual with the great francesinhas of Porto, it takes several cold meats and is topped with a good amount of cheese. However, this one also takes mortadella, which we rarely see. The sauce tastes spicy but too strong. The fries are good.
There are options for other types of francesinha, such as francesinha with shrimp or giant shrimp, which can make the francesinha a little more expensive. There’s also francesinha with roast loin instead of steak if you want to try the old version of Francesinha.
One of the advantages of this restaurant is the large covered car park next to the mainland supermarket, so it’s great if you are driving.
- Price of roasted sirloin Francesinha without egg – €11.00
- Service – Good and nice atmosphere
- Location: Av. da Boavista 2504, 4100-119 Porto
#8 Santa Francesinha
The francesinha from the Santa Francesinha restaurant is also one of our favorites in Porto. The restaurant’s specialty is francesinha, although it serves other dishes such as pregos, bifanas, and dishes of the day. It is a snack bar restaurant with a lot of space. There are usually no queues unless it’s really peak season.
The francesinha has a good quantity of meat and is of good quality. It takes steak, ham, fresh sausage, and a linguiça (It could have more). It is topped with a good amount of cheese. And the sauce is good; it’s a little spicy but not too strong. It is generally a respectable francesinha, with everything right but nothing extraordinary either.
There is also a vegan francesinha option with portobello mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, grilled onions, seitan steaks, soy chorizo, courgette, and vegan sausage. The sauce is vegan, too. It’s good, but it’s not up to Casanova’s level.
In addition to the traditional francesinha, there are francesinhas of various tastes and shapes, such as chicken, shrimp, and minced steak in bijou bread. We’ve never tried any of these, so we can’t rate them. Some sound really weird, honestly.
- Price of Francesinha without egg or potatoes – €12.00
- Service – Very good and nice atmosphere
- Location: Praça dos Poveiros 72, 4000-032 Porto
#9 Lado B
The Lado B restaurant is another traditional francesinha restaurant in Porto. There are other types of dishes, but francesinha is the specialty. The francesinha on Lado B even has a registered trademark. There are two Lado B restaurants, one near the Coliseum (the original) and the other in Mercado Bom Sucesso.
As for the typical francesinha on Lado B, it’s quite good. It has a good quantity and quality of meat, including steak, sausage, ham, and fresh sausage. The last time we went, the bread was a little more soggy than expected, but it was topped with a generous layer of cheese. As for the sauce, it’s a little spicy, as it should. The francesinha is a little smaller than the usual ones, but it is also one of the less expensive ones.
There are other types of francesinha, like the original with roasted meat and vegetarian. The vegetarian francesinha was OK, nothing extraordinary. Casanova’s vegan francesinha was much better. It’s made with smoked tofu sausage, eggplant, and vegetable sausage. It comes with an egg if you want. The sauce is very different from the traditional francesinha, it has a tomato flavor and a little flour.
The restaurant is very popular so there may be queues. They do not accept reservations but add you to the waiting list.
- Price of Francesinha with egg without fries – €9.75
- Service – Very good and nice atmosphere
- Location: R. de Passos Manuel 190 Front, 4000-382 Porto
#10 Café Onital – local francesinha restaurant
Café Onital is a snack bar that serves quick meals and the dish of the day. It’s a simple local restaurant that most tourists usually don’t go to, but it has one of the best Francesinhas in Porto, at least for us.
The francesinha is generous and has good quality ingredients. It has steak, fresh sausage, and ham and is covered with a very generous amount of cheese. If you are a cheese lover, you will love this francesinha. The sauce stands out, with a strong and pleasant flavor (but doesn’t taste too much alcohol), and is quite spicy, maybe the spiciest francesinha on this list. As for the fries, the francesinha is the worst aspect; they aren’t anything special.
This restaurant does not have vegetarian Francesinha. You can eat half a Francesinha if it is for two people. It isn’t busy, especially at night, so you don’t need to book. It’s the ideal place to eat an excellent francesinha in a place without crowds.
- Price of Francesinha with egg and fries – €11
- Service – Very good and nice atmosphere
- Location: R. de Latino Coelho 5, 4000-315 Porto
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