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.

Pretty good! The restaurant is located inside the Sao Bento train station to the left as you walk…read morein from the tiled entrance. Definitely recommend making a reservation, I found it impressive that the hostess's reservation system was essentially a notebook and pen in this digital age. We did not see much of our waiter, since the restaurant was extremely busy and filled up with diners. Standouts: 1. Razor clams - I'll always get these if I see it on the menu. Cooked in this incredible garlic sauce. 2. Fish and seafood cataplana - delicious, tomato-forward seafood stew; I liked the version that we had the night before more which came with rice and was more filling. But this was basically a never-ending bowl of fish, clams, mussels, and shrimp. Add to that the fact that the restaurant like most in Porto did not have A/C and I emerged feeling like I had been sitting in a sauna. Skipped dessert; I had my eye on the Weeel! froyo truck parked outside. One more nit - the metal chairs are not comfortable at all for sitting a long time in.

I found this place on Google Maps when we were looking for a dinner spot. It was packed and we made…read moreit just on time because there were 2 seats open at the bar! We ordered a few tapas to share: croquets de alheira and croquets de codfish. Both were so good! We loved it. The star of the show though was the pork neck tacos! They were so delicious! So much flavor and perfect. I got the lemonade and it was just okay. Nothing special. Overall, would 100% recommend this place! Make a reservation if you can but if you can't, would still try to stop by!

We went here after we went to Serralves Museum and Gardens since it was nearby. We had a dinner…read morereservation for 7 pm, but that wasn't necessary as there was lots of seating available. We ordered the Mia pizza and it was delicious. Highly recommend this place!

Great little cafe in a nice area! It's cozy inside with only a handful of tables. You can dine in…read moreor take out. We started with the cheese plate, bread, and sangria. The bread was heavenly and came out warm! We had the steak sandwich with egg and the chicken sandwich with vinaigrette! Very reasonably priced. We only spent $31 total for everything. Highly recommend. Would go back!

All of our dishes were super fresh and seasoned, albeit a tad too salty. I really enjoyed the…read moregrilled octopus. It's the best cooked octopus I've tried in Portugal, super tender and a nice char. A little on the expensive side, but great flavor. I wish it had more bell peppers on the side to add some sweetness. We also ordered tuna tartar, burrata with sun-dried tomatoes, and slow cooked veal. The tuna tartar was fresh but could have used some jam or freshness from some citrus. The burrata had a great creamy gazpacho sauce with fresh sun-dried tomatoes. And the veal had a nice tender wine flavor. The dessert was amazing, a trompe l'oiel lemon with lemon sorbet and a sweet cookie crumble. The lemon had a light chocolate crust and was filled with cream and lemon curd. Such a beautiful and tasty end to our meal.

Overall, a lovely place with nice staff and good, solid food, though I found it a tad expensive for…read morewhat I was getting. And there were a series of small, minor issues that detracted from the experience. Bread course came warm, with a caramelized onion butter and some spicy bell pepper mayo that was ridiculously divine. This was my favorite course. Got the Cyber Punk tuna sashimi. Presentation was amazing. The tuna itself paired with the ponzu sauce was quite good. There were other elements like trout roe and crispy chicken skin, but the portions were sparse and I felt like the sauce drowned out their contribution a bit. Still a great dish though. Would order again. My main dish was the Vitela (braised veal). While the menu ostensibly presents these items for two to share, they can make half-portions of certain items, of which the Vitela was one. The meat was wonderfully tender. Flavor was had a slight tinge of bitterness and saltiness that didn't quite agree with me. Good dish overall. Service was kind and engaging. Possibly a bit too fussy over me for my American sensibilities, but they were very nice. The server knowledgeable about wine pairings and helped me pick out some for the courses I ordered. A couple of very minor issues here and there, like spilling some wine when pouring the glass, stuff like that. Also, the server shook my hand coming and going. Nice gesture but all I could think of was germs. Bathroom: Single-occupancy, upscale and nice. Toilet seat wouldn't stay up though. All in all, at decent restaurant but like I said, I had a bunch of small complaints that just added up, and it says a lot that my favorite course was the bread course. I would not repeat personally, but I think it might be worth a try for those that really love what's on the menu.

I am waiting to write this because it was so so. For Porto it's great. It's very touristy and the…read morefood was ok. This reminds me of fast food chains but just a bit more. Nothing stood out and because I'm writing this several months late, I can't remember if anything was good. It wasn't bad, but honestly at this point I can't remember. I think people came here more to drink. I'd have to go back to get a better assessment of this place. It's been so long, I have very little memory of it other than what I started to write and that didn't look promising.

Excellent all around! Food was phenomenal, fresh, tasty and the accommodated my allergies. The…read moreatmosphere was fun and adventurous. The table next to us had the best looking drinks served in fun and appetizing ways. My tea was served in the best teapot. The salmon and veggies was delicious, perfectly cooked and seasoned. My dining partner had the pork meatballs and he was very happy. We shared the chicken satay, it was perfect! Overall highly recommend this gem in Porto. EVERYONE was speaking English, so that was helpful. Diogo our server was friendly, attentive, and helpful. We will be back again for sure! Eat here!

On time with the reservations. The host was so friendly and he helped us chose just the right…read moreamount of food, which was wonderful!

I met a few people who told me A Despensa was an absolute must while in Porto. I struggled to get a…read morelast minute reservation during my short trip and found the system to be a bit tough, but ultimately I was able to snag one right when the they opened. The wait staff was incredibly professional and knowledgeable. I was told that since I was just one person, they could make me a half size appetizer, which I really appreciated! But unfortunately the few apps I was interested in were not available in half sizes. I ended up going with bread service and the pesto pasta. Both were tasty enough and I left feeling full. I probably didn't order the best, but I didn't find this to be a particularly noteworthy meal food-wise, especially for being on the pricier end. Nice ambiance inside!

Great little place way up on a hill. Drinks and food are very good. Pleasant atmosphere. Very…read morecasual. Fantastic views of the river!

Fantastic location and view. Delicious tuna tartar, sourdough and tempura broccolini. Prices are…read morevery good. Quality of food top notch and friendliness of staff terrific! Highly recommend

Absolutely dynamite customer service and even better food! I can not recommend this place highly…read moreenough! Only suggestion is to make reservations. The Francesinha was good, but unless you are extremely hungry don't order the side of fries. Very nice ambience and decor. I can't wait to come back!

My first day in Portugal we went straight to have the most famous Francesinha…read more The service was excellent. Very attentive wait staff. The bistro was busy and had a queue to get in. The francesinha was very good but HEAVY. it's not for the faint at heart. The sauce was delicious, the pork and beef were cooked well and the egg fried to perfection. If you don't plan on eating the whole thing, think about the sharing one

Porto has no shortage of great food, and Flow is definitely high on the list. The ambiance ended up…read morebeing one of our favorites from all our meals in Porto, and the food was nothing short of extraordinary. We were able to snag a reservation without really knowing what to expect and we definitely were not anticipating this level of elegance! We ended up having a three hour dinner because everything felt so comfortable, peaceful, and lovely. I cannot recommend the sliders with quail eggs on top enough. My husband had the Iberian pork and really enjoyed it, and I absolutely loved my octopus. It was probably some of the best I have ever had. For dessert we had cheesecake and it was just as divine. If you want a dinner you won't forget anytime soon, definitely check out this place.

Wow! What an incredible dinner experience. From the starters to the main course a full 5 star…read moremeal. The hummus was out of this world, never had such a complete appetizer, definitely suggest you start with this, and the charcuterie board was off the chain! So many flavor profiles and unique tastes...the octopus is unbelievable and Iberian pork with grilled pineapple is fire!! Have to check out this place for a fantastic dinner and night out.

Go for the famous "cachorrinhos," aka little sausage sandwiches, stay for the vibe and the rest of…read morethe menu. I'd read about this place online and was glad we went. It's one of those incredibly soulful spots that I feel are, low-key, becoming extinct in big cities, where everything is starting to look homogenized. We queued for about 15 minutes and grabbed seats at the bar. This was with awful weather and before peak tourist season, so I imagine the lines can get quite long. Pro tip: don't head inside just because you see someone leave. I made that mistake and was told to wait for someone to call me over. The people working here have zero sense of urgency, and that's part of the magic. You're in Portugal. Relax. The cachorrinhos were great, but we also had a steak sandwich that was phenomenal. Think greasy street food in a compact, hole-in-the-wall spot. Pair it with a beer and fries, and you've got the perfect lunch. They take cards!

Local favorite no frills meal spot…read more Cervejaria Gazela is not only where the local crowd gathers for cachorrinhos & beer, it's also where many tourists including Anthony Bourdain have come for an affordable bite. Cachorrinho (€4.70) is essentially Porto's version of the hotdog, featuring a thin Portuguese sausage served with melted cheese in a long toasted baguette. It's worth the long lines outside. We arrived at 8:30pm to find a lively crowd gathered outside the packed restaurant. The line moved quickly and we were seated by the bar within minutes. While you can order local favorites like the Francesinha, there's nothing more exciting here than seeing cachorrinho efficiently cut to bits by the kitchen staff, and then drenched with spicy piri-piri sauce. It's a greasy goodness that goes down easy with a cold sip. We made sure to make another order of this crunchy addictive bite. While the food is good and the staff seem to have a good time among locals, they did appear to have a slight disdain for tourists like us crowding the establishment. But as long as you can put up with the attitude, you can still enjoy the popular food and have a good time. It's a quick meal stop if not just to complete the Porto itinerary. Skip it or hit it? Cachorrinho is a local bite you'll love especially if you enjoy the hotdog.