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Petiscos are to Porto what an amuse bouche is to the French or a Portuguese tackle Spanish Tapas. They’re small plates and single flavorful bites made with such high-quality substances to turn out to be a real foodie expertise.
From tascas like Adega São Nicolau to tabernas like Tascö, there are many nice bars, eating places, and wine bars providing must-try petiscos to incorporate your subsequent Porto meals tour.
Adega São Nicolau
Photograph credit score: Adega São Nicolau
Adega São Nicolau options a number of nice petiscos with traditional Portuguese flavors. It’s nestled in Porto’s Ribeira neighborhood, which makes it a terrific cease for a fast chew on a day journey within the coronary heart of the town.
The inside décor has a country attraction with heat picket accents and traditional Portuguese tilework, which creates an genuine environment. Excellent for a relaxed meal with buddies or an intimate household meal.
The preferred gadgets on their petisco menu embody a tasty miniature model of the francesinha sandwich, pica-pau, and bolinho de bacalhau codfish desserts. Nevertheless, my favourite, which I sit up for each time I go to Adega São Nicolau, is the croquetas de presunto.
They’re tiny croquettes with a crunchy, fried breadcrumb exterior. I really like the way in which the creamy béchamel sauce and items of salty presunto ham flood my mouth after I chew into them. I normally have them with a glass of a inexperienced wine like Vinho Verde, which is shiny sufficient to chop the richness of the croquettes.
Adega São Nicolau (€€) – Rua S. Nicolau nº 1, Porto, Portugal – Open Monday to Saturday from 12:30 PM to 10:30 PM.
Tascö
Photograph credit score: Tascö
Tascö’s petisco tapas menu and its general power match the vibe of the encompassing Cedofeita neighborhood. Its eclectic menu and the numerous artistic folks dwelling close by make it a magnet for locals and vacationers who wish to indulge in a really inventive small plates expertise.
The ambiance is a cautious mix of recent and conventional Portuguese décor that could possibly be described as rustic-chic. The aged picket accents, uncovered brick, and smooth lighting are harking back to what Porto regarded like a century in the past, whereas nonetheless giving Tascö a comfortable and alluring really feel.
Tascö is a taberna with a full menu of Portuguese classics with a contemporary twist. Nevertheless, it’s their petiscos that really stand out.
A few of the greatest I’ve tried began with bite-sized parts of smoky, garlic-infused alheira sausage. I additionally discovered the octopus salad petisco to be refreshing and surprisingly tender. In addition they have a petisco of chorizo with honey that’s completely balanced with contrasting flavors.
Nevertheless, my favourite petisco at Tascö is the pica-pau. It’s a miniaturized model of a standard Portuguese dish made with tangy marinated beef. Every chew made my mouth water for extra. The items of meat are stabbed by way of with toothpicks, which jogged my memory a bit of little bit of a saucier, tangier model of South Dakotan chislic.
Tascö (€€) – Rua do Almada 151A 4050-037 Porto Portugal – Open day by day from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM.
Vinum Restaurant & Wine Bar
Photograph credit score: Vinum Restaurant & Wine Bar
Graham’s Port Lodge and its Nineteenth-century wine cellars give Vinum entry to a number of the greatest petisco and wine tastings in Porto. To not point out beautiful river views of the Douro as you take pleasure in a small plate meal with a glass of tremendous wine.
The inside of Vinum is heat and feels a bit of bit such as you’re in an old school taberna that was introduced as much as fashionable specs. Nevertheless, I feel the rooftop bar with all its pure vegetation and spectacular views is the best place to take pleasure in petiscos or sip an after-dinner glass of port wine.
Vinums hottest choices embody grilled octopus, grilled chorizo, and an assortment of meat or seafood croquettes. Nevertheless, my favourite is their pata negra Iberian ham.
It’s one thing you possibly can solely get in Spain and Portugal, the place the pigs are allowed to graze in dehesas oak forests for big elements of their life. This offers the pata negra meat a mild nutty taste that’s accented because the meat is aged.
The final time I had pata negra, I paired it with a tinto Douro purple wine from the Douro Valley. It had an earthy spiciness and tannins that performed completely with the nuttiness of the ham.
Vinum (€€€) – Rua do Agro 141, 4400-003 Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto – Open day by day from midday to 1:00 AM.
Champs da Baixa Bistrô
Photograph credit score: Champs da Baixa Bistrô
Champs da Baixa is an enthralling bistro with a popularity for providing a number of the greatest petiscos in Porto’s Baixa neighborhood. Their menu is essentially Portuguese, and so they have a terrific wine record, in addition to many refreshing craft cocktails to reinforce your small plates expertise.
The inside décor is modern, trendy, and refined with heat lighting to create a welcoming environment. They’re additionally identified for glorious service, which is necessary if you need the petiscos coming scorching and quick.
Whereas they do have an a la carte bistro menu and an occasional brunch service, Champs da Baixa is greatest identified for its petiscos. This lets you take pleasure in quite a lot of small, flavorful dishes in a single sitting. A few of the hottest embody chouriço, bolinhos de bacalhau codfish, pataniscas, and grilled octopus salad.
Nevertheless, my favourite once they have it’s the caldo verde. It’s a classical Portuguese kale soup that’s barely totally different to the chunkier model you may discover within the Azores or Provincetown.
The kale and different substances have been frivolously pureed, which made the broth a verdant shade of inexperienced. But the caldo verde wasn’t absolutely pureed easy, which allowed the potatoes and different substances to be completely toothsome.
Champs da Baixa (€€) – Rua do Gen. Silveira 27, 4050-453 Porto, Portugal – Open 6:00 PM to 1:00 AM Friday to Sunday.
Conga – Casa das Bifanas
Photograph credit score: Conga – Casa das Bifanas
Conga – Casa das Bifanas is a good place to cease for a lightweight meal of petiscos after an extended strolling tour of the close by Bolhão mercado. It’s a full of life tasca that’s much-beloved by the locals for its well-known bifanas sandwich.
Like quite a lot of older tascas it has a easy no-frills décor that I feel provides to its attraction. They’re additionally identified for quick and pleasant service, which is useful because the eating space is commonly packed throughout peak hours.
A few of the different standard petiscos on the menu at Conga – Casa das Bifanas embody pica-pau, alheira sausages, and croquetas. The pickled greens with the pica-pau are particularly shiny, and completely lower the richness of the pork they use.
After all, I needed to order the bifana sandwich that impressed their title. It’s a Portuguese traditional they take to the following stage with a spicy “secret sauce” for the sliced marinated pork. I think it’s made with a heavy hit of paprika and a few African piri-piri pepper. Then the entire thing was served on a pillow-soft bun.
Conga – Casa das Bifanas (€€) – Rua do Bonjardim 318, 4000-115 Porto, Portugal – Open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30 AM to 10:00 PM.
Conclusion
Porto had a number of the greatest petisco small plate experiences on the earth, lengthy earlier than Spanish tapas exploded on the culinary panorama. At the moment tascas like Conga – Casa das Bifanas and tabernas like Tascö are merely taking the small plates expertise to the following stage with tempting culinary delights.
Whether or not you’re on the lookout for a lightweight meal at a bistro like Champs da Baixa or an ideal small plate wine pairing at Vinum, there are tons of nice petiscos to pattern in your subsequent Porto meals tour.
