Porto Food Tour: Taste the Local Specialties

Food can shape a destination’s culture, so I always feel like it is important to try the local specialties when I travel.    In Portugal and Porto more specifically, food plays a significant role in everyday life.  It is not uncommon for dinner to last hours because it is an event.  Our first dinner in Porto lasted from 8:00 pm until almost 1:00 am! 

While I had been to a few Portuguese restaurants, I knew there was so much I had not tried. I wanted to experience more of the local food culture so we decided to try a Porto Food Tour.

Let me tell you about our experience doing the Porto Walker’s Finger Food Tour.

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Our Food Tour in Porto

The Porto food tour we took was the Finger Food Tour with Porto Walkers.  According to the website, we would have eight snacks and three drinks.  The tour runs from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm and they suggest you come hungry.  

We were also warned that we would be going to very local spots and might run into some rowdy locals.  I was excited to try some new dishes and see more of the city.

Note: The Finger Food tour is now called the Tapas & Vinho Verde Experience.

We met our guide at 11:30 am, GB, outside the Mercado Do Bolhao, the iconic food market in Porto.  It’s always great when you can have a local show you around, it’s the best way to learn interesting facts about Portugal.  He was easy to spot in his red shirt.  Two lovely ladies from Switzerland would also be joining us on the food tour.  We all hit it off right away and I could tell it was going to be a fun time.

Visiting Mercado Do Bolhao

To start our food tour in Porto, GB walked us through the market.  I always love going to local markets when I travel (Riga Central Market or La Boqueria in Barcelona for example) and it was even better having a local guide.  

GB walked us down the aisles and pointed out some of the interesting stalls.  One that caught my attention had chickens in one cage and pigeons in another.  It’s more like something I would expect to see in Asia than at a market in Porto.  

We stopped at another stall and GB got us some snacks: olives and Lupin beans.  The olives were milder than kalamata olives and to me tasted similar to the black ones we put on nachos.  I had not tried Lupin beans before but they reminded me of edamame.  You are supposed to take off the outer shell and then you can just eat the bean like a snack.  

I was excited to find a tasty new healthy snack.  If you want to try them, you can find the Lupin beans on Amazon here.

More Porto Food Specialties

Our next stop was a small restaurant to try salted dried cod.  Since the cod eaten in Portugal comes from Scandinavia, it is typically dried.  

We went upstairs and GB brought us some vegetable soups, fried cod sandwiches, and a bottle of Vinho Verde (my favorite Portuguese wine).   I had cod several times already in Portugal and didn’t even realize it was dried because it was still moist and flavorful.

Next up on our Porto food and wine tasting tour, we tried what I would describe as something similar to an empanada.  I love empanadas and enjoyed this one too.  The Portuguese know how to make pastries.  We had a beef one, but they also had a vegetarian version.

Then we went to another small local place to try the ham and brown bread.  As you can imagine the ham was delicious.  The brown bread tasted different yet familiar.  

I asked GB about it and he told me that it had cornmeal in it.  Then I realized it tasted like cornbread, which went well with the ham.  We also had a pitcher of Vinho Verde which we drank out of ceramic cups.  That felt a little weird, but the wine still tasted great!

Our next stop was to get the famous pulled pork sandwiches with Serra da Estrela cheese from Casa Guedes.  Depending on when you go, you may have to wait in a long line as the sandwiches are very popular.  We only waited a few minutes.  

I am not used to having cheese on a pulled pork sandwich.  The cheese has a strong flavor but it works.  You just have to be careful because it can get messy! We paired the sandwiches with a nice rose wine and sat at the tables outside.

Dessert Time

We chose to end the tour with something sweet.  Portugal makes amazing pastries.  GB brought us natas, the most famous pastry in Portugal, another dessert, and some coffee.  It was a great way to end our Porto Food tour.  

We were having so much fun, we sat for a bit and chatted.  At this point, it was almost 4 pm, but GB still stayed and gave us some suggestions for other places to see in Porto.

Francesinha

I can’t write a post about the food in Porto without mentioning the famous Francesinha sandwich that Porto is known for. 

Francesinha means Little Frenchie in Portuguese.  It is a sandwich with lots of meat covered with melted cheese and a hot thick tomato and beer sauce served with french fries.  You are supposed to dip the french fries in the Francesinha sauce. 

It was the Portuguese way of making the croque-monsieur fit the Portuguese taste.  Sometimes, they will serve the Francesinha sandwich with a fried egg on top.

We did not get to try the Francesinha during our tour.  We had planned to have it for dinner that night but we were actually too full.  Next time I am in Porto, I must have one!  I’m told Santiago f makes the best Francesinha in Porto.

Other Tours with Porto Walkers

Unfortunately, the Finger Food tour is not suitable for vegetarians, but Porto Walkers also offer a Pastry Tour, Port Tour, Douro Valley Tour, and a Free Walking Tour. 

If you are looking for a fun night, they also have a pub crawl which starts at 11 pm and goes until the wee hours of the morning.  I was tempted to join for the pub crawl but decided since I had a full day of driving ahead of me, I should probably take it easy.

Porto Finger Food Tour Review

I enjoyed getting the local experience on our Porto tour, we had so much fun.  Our guide, GB, was knowledgeable and very friendly.  For €30 per person, I think you get your money’s worth with Porto Walkers.   

Note: The Finger Food tour is now called the Tapas & Vinho Verde Experience.

We had so much delicious Porto food and wine, plus saw the city and some local spots, and made new friends.  I loved everything that I tried on my Porto food tour, but I think my favorite thing was probably the nata.  I hope to do more Portugal food tours on future trips. 

For more pictures, check out our video.

Have you tried any Portuguese food specialties? What has been your favorite?

-Anisa

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Last Updated on August 10, 2022