A foodie friend of mine recommended this spot - it was a recommendation from HIS foodie friend. We…read morehad just been in Portugal for a couple of days and hadn't really had any amazing culinary experiences yet. This restaurant was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel, by the water. In the evenings that walk by the water is pretty busy - we lucked out and there was one empty table for 2 people at this restaurant. We were seated immediately. Our waiter was very warm and friendly. We ordered two dishes - the squid ink risotto which had octopus and the Bacalhau pasta with tomatoes in a kind of saucey broth and some flambeed prawns. The prawns came first and the sauce on it was subtle, very nice. We shared a bottle of dry white wine that was lovely and light - it went down a little too easily. When the mains came, I tried the squid ink pasta first - it was beautiful and buttery. I wouldn't normally order octopus, but that's what the dish came with and it was the top recommend from our friend's friend. The octopus was cooked decently, but I've definitely had it more tender. And then I tried the bacalhau pasta.... The pasta was made in house, the broth that it came with along with the richness of the tomatoes and the saltiness of the bacalhau was just heavenly. I'm going to be thinking about that dish for a long time - it was unique and just absolutely unforgettable and delicious. During our dinner they had to turn quite a few groups away because they were too busy. Definitely worth coming to for that pasta dish!

We ordered octopus risotto, oyster with caviar and cod spaghetti! Foods are average but more…read morepricey. But the view is really good and service is really nice.

So this place showed up on a bunch of lists of places to go in Porto, and for good reason - but I…read morewas having trouble finding the hours, so I figured I'd just get there around noon once I was in Porto, and ask. Around noon, someone did show up briefly to post a sign out front saying they were going to be opening at 12:45 that day (I asked out of curiosity; sounds like it's *often* 12:30, but it's really mostly a "they'll open when they want to" kind of place.) I knew it'd be the sort of place that would fill up immediately, so I got back at 12:30. At least that day, it turns out they still had 1 table left after they sat everyone there before they opened - that last table got claimed at 1, 15 minutes later. It's not a large space, and word is out for good reason. Given it's not a large space, it was also easy for them to have excellent service, which they did. You could tell they were all passionate about the place, and again, for good reason - it was great. Definitely one of the best meals we ate on that trip. Between the two of us, we tried: Complimentary bread and olive oil. One OMG fantastic, wonderful fish soup. The sort of soup you'd want to eat every day if you could. Croquettes that were pretty good. Enjoyable enough, perfectly crispy, a little too salty. Not nearly as memorable as everything else. The seafood rice stew for 2 - a description I always question ("for 2"), but true in this case. It was quite large - and great. Excellent shrimp, which I'm picky about. I'm even pickier about shellfish (clams, mussels, etc). I was expecting to give my wife most of them, but I did *not* do that. They really know how to get and cook the best seafood here. The rice at the top of the stew wasn't anything particular to mention - filling, though, and warming for the drizzly day it'd been that morning. The rice at the *bottom* of the stew, that'd been slowly cooking in hot stew the whole time, was *very good*. :D Wine-wise, they have like a hundred bottles of wine by the whole bottom, some very expensive, some *surprisingly* reasonably priced, but we also didn't need a whole bottle of wine with lunch - by the glass, they just had one red and one white house wine (also solidly priced, though, for a place like this, 6 euros (Be way more than that in the US. I had the red with the stew - solid.) Also a handful of solid-looking ports by the glass, one of which I had with dessert, a reserva tawny for 6.50 euros. After eating the stew, my wife tapped out. I was also pretty full, but I'd spent a lot of effort getting here and I was *gonna* have dessert, darn it. Had what was basically just a whole roasted stewed apple, cooked down until it turned to pudding. Super good. Went really well with a reserva tawny port. This place was great.

This was a low key restaurant located on a small street. The door was closed and locked so I had…read moreto knock before one of the staff came outside. Luckily for us the restaurant was only half full so there was no need to wait (weekday at 3pm). Odd hours for popular restaurants worked out the best for us on this trip. Inside there were just 8 tables so I can see why this place usually sees long lines outside. It was quite cozy. Menu was straightforward with appetizers, seafood and from the country (aka meat). The octopus rice was so good. The strips of sliced octopus were very tender and the flavors of this dish were delicious. It was comforting on that cold and rainy afternoon. The salt crusted seabass selection was delivered the with flare all covered in flames. Our server ignored the flames and proceeded to crack open the salt crust, fillet and debone the fish. Full service! The fish was meaty and perfectly cooked. The side of potatoes and broccoli was addicting and I normally don't eat a lot of potatoes. We skipped dessert but the menu was tempting. Besides the fish service it would've been nice to have a bit more proactive attention from our server. When we requested our check, she pointed out that out that tipping was not included and waited until we completed the transaction. Would return for the food next time in Porto.

I am combining my description of the service and Ambiance as super spectacular and so inviting…read more When we got there around 10:00 p.m. at night on October 15th the restaurant was jumping. There were two other groups before us that were sat pretty quickly within 15 minutes or so. During the time we were waiting the hostess was extremely friendly and kept giving us updates on when the table was going to be ready and was making light conversation with us as we waited. When we finally got seated you could tell that the servers were definitely busy trying to get everyone's food and drinks out and so the same hostess came to us and said don't worry I'll take your order for you and told us the things that were the most popular which from my pictures we basically got everything she said LOL. And we were not disappointed with the food that we chose. Now we know why they are considered the house specialties. The flavors of the potato fish cheesy goodness dish I cannot remember the name of it was just so warm and comforting. I was worried about a fishiness coming through when you took different bites but no all the flavor is harmonized well with each other. The tuna salad that they made was extremely fresh and again was pleasantly surprised that though it was fish the spices and bread/butter combo that came with it really didn't give any fishiness. It was also well balanced. Now I will say though those other dishes were amazing our favorite hands down was definitely the grilled octopus. It was so tender and almost melt in your mouth. We were blown away by how well it was cooked. For sure I would say if you are in the area and have a good amount of time please check this spot out and give yourself at least 3 hours to enjoy the meal because again we sat there laughing eating and talking with the people around us because it was that fantastic of a Time for roughly 3 hours.

Good food, good wine and service. The Douro is across the street, so the views are great. All…read morethe Port houses are within a couple minutes walk. I would have given a (slightly) more descriptive review, but the entire walk along the river is mobbed by tourists, which also makes any place you stop around here for food or drink double price.

Our first night in town, we walked past this little place after a sunset stroll along the river,…read moreand saw that it was packed. Luckily, we got a table the next night. This is a really fun place to try more wines and port, with many different tasting options, or simply go with dealer's choice. One of the servers just had such passion describing the different wines and port, and giving you some history into Portugal's wine production, that it took the experience from just dining at a regular restaurant to truly a wine tasting. Also, the outdoor tables are purposely set to be very close together, and by the end of the night, we were laughing and drinking with our neighbors. There are only a few charcuterie options, no heavier food items to soak up the alcohol, so make sure you come with a full stomach or have a dinner plan after!

Really nice tiny wine café and store. You can do a wine or port tasting. Everything was explained…read morevery nicely and all questions could be answered. Great location right at the bringe and a good start for our first ever glass of port.

We had just arrived from Lisbon and set out to find a bite...up, up up and around a small curve,…read morepassing this unassuming, ity bity shop, we peeked in and saw 2 vacant seats... What a fabulous little place. A list of innovative sandwiches on fabulous Portuguese crusty bread and soup, salads. We shared a salad called Batalha with feta, olives, dates and tomato and a Sao Joao with fresh sardines, tomato, grilled red peppers. I think the soup was cabbage, and was great. Honestly, I am going to keep the menu in my mind and re create the sandies & salads when possible. Cash, no longer is a lunch special offered in case you read some old reviews. We watched as folks were turned away..so, if you pass and are in the mood, grab a seat when you can.

The food is delicious. It's well seasoned and presented…read more The service is kind and excellent. The food is exactly what we were looking for.

Great food and great service. Our waiter shared with us local history and discussed the food and…read morewines with us throughout our meal. Enjoyed every dish. Felt welcomed and will 100% be back.

Lovely couple . We didn't have reservations but got in quickly…read more Great service and attention. The tuna steak was wonderful and the owner is great with wine suggestions!

We stopped here for lunch on our way back from the other side of the river. The location is lovely,…read moreparticularly on a warm sunny day when you can people watch and listen to the various street musicians. The ample outdoor seating also allowed us to bring our dogs. I had arancini, which were tasty and nicely presented. My husband had egg yolk raviolo and he enjoyed it. Prices were reasonable and service was friendly.

We got takeout from here twice as it was super close to our apartment and each pasta dish was good!…read moreWe tried the cacio e Pepe, carbonara, and the bolognese. While we did get takeout, we waited for our food each time with a glass of wine and the space inside is beautiful!

I need to preface this by saying that we were in Porto during the airshow and Festa de São João. I…read morecan't imagine the pressure that puts on a staff with how much traffic is going by. On the 23rd, we both ordered the squid ink pasta. The waiter apologized that it was taking too long. It didn't seem long to us. We just ordered more Super Bock and waited an incredibly reasonable amount of time given the holiday and the meal. We were pleased. We just knew that when our food arrived, that when our food would arrive that it would be amazing. Your next question might be, how did two tourist know the meal would be so good? We ate there the day before! It was that good both days! Amazing food. Amazing staff. Amazing location.

They say when you're trying to figure out where to eat in a foreign country.. you choose the one…read morewith lots of people. I must've walked by this place a couple of times before deciding I wanted to check it out on my trip in Porto. Best decision ever! They are known for seafood in porto. I was able to try the cod risotto and a glass of wine (naturally in Europe) I'm still dreaming of the risotto to this day! This cute restaurant was in a little alley close to the main streets so it's pretty easy to find. It's always packed full of people. The staff is very attentive. They even have blankets to keep you warm if you're sitting outside. I recommend this place if you're in the area!

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner here. Highly recommend this place for a delicious meal.read more

Wow, incredible!…read more If you're in Porto, Postigo do Carvao has to be on your list. We were lucky enough to get a table without a reservation for dinner- and it was such a lovely evening. The ambience is relaxed and semi casual. Come with two or with a small group. Service was great, friendly, helpful and attentive. I had a wonderful meal that included Pratinho Polvo Vinegrette (6 e) a delicious appetizer with octopus in a vinaigrette sauce. Super tasty. Naco Especial de vitela (22.5 e) generous portions of tenderloin, made exactly to my liking medium rare. We also got the. Bacalhau com natas ( 16.5 e), A wonderful mixture of cod, fries, potatoes in a very delicious cream sauce. Overall, five star meal, I would definitely wanna come back here again. If you just got to Porto, you need to be on the phone right now making that reservation because this place is that good! Feel free to follow me on Yelp, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube as I travel the world in search of the best food experiences. Instagram : noodlesoupr

We had high hopes for this restaurant after it was recommended by our hotel.  I think the place…read moregets a lot of hotel-referred traffic as the side street located restaurant was full tourists.  The cramped quarters are fine and it will give you the NYC village feel. We liked the creativity of the menu and some of the chances they took with ingredients.  When service is slow and unsteady, it always impacts the experience and the way the food can be enjoyed.  Waiving down waiters for drinks is always a buzz kill before a buzz,  as is watching diners arrive later and get theirs first.   The tuna tartare was fresh and tasty when it did show up. I am not a big capers fan so i was pleasantly surprised when it had none.  The crunchy rice strings added some  texture and made the presentation at the table a photo shot (not shown here). I was slow before they mixed it table-side with a fresh quail egg.  I had high hopes for the shrimp dish.  The presentation was great but the tiny shrimp were overwhelmed by the crunchy, but oil soaked outside shell.  Maybe we drew a bad batch.  The sea bass was sad.  When a fish is served skin side up it needs to be crispy and ours was soggy and tasteless.  We love pasta so were hoping the tortelloni would save the dish. It did not but could have. One of them had unfolded and they were too al dente. The price to servicing size to quality were off balance.  There were other dishes that may have been better but we will not know since we would venture to other places before we returned.

A beautiful tapas restaurant with truly unique flavor combinations for some of the best fusion…read morecuisine I've ever had! Every dish had a unique flavor element that excited my pallet. The only downside was that we were seated in the corner of the restaurant so there was no light on our table. I had to hold my phone's flashlight up to the food for the entire meal. What we ordered Salad with duck in hoisin sauce, sweet and salty forward salad, paired with thinly sliced apples, pine nuts, pomegranate, and peanuts. Familar flavors that taste like a Chinese chicken salad's cousin. Tagliatelle pasta in a light cream sauce with mushrooms and pine nuts. The folds of the tagliatelle perfectly soaked up the sauce. Nice al dente with some cheese and onion shavings on top. Duck breast in a djon mustard sweet gravy paired with an assortment of vegetables. I enjoyed the rich gravy with the duck. Salmon ceviche paired with mango mouse. A bright creamy flavor, fresh fish, colorful with crostini. Butterfish from the azores, grilled foie gra, topiko. Butterfish is light and clean with a sugar caramelized top, loved the crunch of the bonito, went with a shoyu based sauce. Very little foie gras. Grilled octopus slices with edamame, roasted sweet potatoes, and a poached egg. The octopus was perfectly cooked and lightly smoky, some chili oil in the edamame added a light kick. Nice light dish that emphasized the octopus flavor.