Don’t Leave Porto Without Trying These 5 Iconic Sandwiches

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5 Porto Sandwiches You Cannot Miss

Northern Portugal’s unofficial capital city Porto is an unexpected treasure trove for any lover of a humble (and not so humble) sandwich.

Who needs a bar crawl when you can join us on a sandwich crawl around Porto?!

1. Francesinha — Porto’s Most Famous Food

The francesinha is arguably the least humble of the sandwiches on this list.

It even wears a presumptuous little dippy egg hat, if you’re into that sort of thing (we definitely are).

Take a look:

It’s heavy, decadent, and layered with every kind of meat.

Seriously.

Inside a Francesinha “Sandwich” in Portugal

You’ve got fresh sausage, linguiça (smoked cured pork sausage), wet-cured ham, and a beef steak.

If you want to go really crazy you can order a francesinha com bife do lombo and then you have yourself a sandwich with a beef sirloin as seen below.

The francesinha is topped with cheese and swims in a rich sauce of beer and tomato which is perfect for dipping your side of fries into…

Batatas Fritas (French Fries) alongside your Francesinha

…assuming the sandwich hasn’t already soaked it all up.

Tip: Split your first francesinha with a travel buddy if possible. It’s heavy and decadent and if you love it and want more then you can try more than one of the best francesinha restaurants in Porto! 😉

Trying a francesinha at Brasão in Porto, Portugal

Our full Brasão review with photos, menus, and ordering tips ->

2. Bifana — Porto-style

You know we love bifanas. But we’ve mainly had bifanas in the south, Algarve style.

We absolutely loved our first meal in Porto after a loooong train ride (7-ish hours). We slammed a couple bifanas each.

A little pac-man sandwich – Bifana Astro Cerveijaria in Porto

This Portuguese sandwich consists of a lovely fresh roll filled with simple, thinly sliced pork which has been marinated and cooked in incredibly flavorful broth/jus/sauce. Not even sure what the right word for it is.

Delicious.

Oh and you can also order an egg. They won’t put it on your sandwich as it’s not traditional on this style of bifana, but you can put it on yourself.

Even if you don’t want it on your sandwich, just look at that. It’s a perfect fried egg! Looks way better than the one on top of the francesinha, doesn’t it?

Eating Northern-style Bifana Pork Sandwiches at Astro Cervejaria Petisqueira in Porto

Check out our full photo review of Astro Cervejaria in Porto along with beer recommendations ->

3. Presunto Sandwich

If you’re looking for a charming experience with simple, quality ingredients, make your way to this spot for a presunto sandwich piled so thick you almost can’t get your mouth around it.

Presunto Sandwiches at Casa dos Presuntos in Porto

You can also try it com quiejo (literally with cheese) and have some sheep’s milk cheese from the mountain Serra da Estrela.

Presunto sandwich with Serra da Estrela cheese at O Xico

Eating Presunto Sandwiches at Casa dos Presuntos “O Xico”

See our full photo review of Casa dos Presuntos in Porto with photos, menu recommendations and a little tip about wine ->

4. Cachorrinho — Porto’s Infamous Fried Hot Dog

A fried hot dog you say? Yes. I say.

But this isn’t just any hot dog. In fact it’s really not a hot dog at all.

It’s a grilled sausage (sliced in half so it’s thinner) with a Portuguese spicy cured sausage called linguiça on top, followed by melted cheese, in a crispy roll, sliced in bite sized pieces.