The Vintage food tour in Porto reviewed

Porto is not only about port wine, but also a fabulous city to visit if you are a foodie. I soon discovered just how passionate the locals are about their traditional dishes on a gourmet food tour in Porto with Taste Porto.

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal and is about 320 km to the north of Lisbon. It is also considered to be the capital of the north. There are some similarities like the fact that they are both near the coast and are on the banks of a river. They are also hilly cities, but that’s where the similarities end.

When it comes to the food of the region naturally there are local versions of traditional dishes, but there are also differences and I was looking forward to finding out just how different the food in the north was.

 

 

The  Vintage Food Tour takes you to the hidden corners of the city to experience some of the best food the town has to offer in the space of 3 and a half hours. Don’t eat too much, or on second thoughts any lunch, before you go on the tour, because there is so much delicious food to try and the tastings are generous.

 

Here’s what we did on the food tour in Porto

The tour starts near the Bolhão metro station and our guide for the day was none other than André, who is one of the founders of the company. Not only is he a passionate foodie, but he loves architecture and history as well. It was a delight walking around the city between venues as he pointed out small architectural details and beautiful buildings along the route.

Folar

The first stop on the tour was a short distance away. The shop has been around since the 1800s and it oozes old world charm, with fixtures and fittings from a bygone era. It offers a fabulous window to the past and how things must have looked more than a 100 years ago.

The tasting here was bread called folar which is normally served at Easter. It can be sweet or savoury and ours had bits of chourico and presunto, which is a bit like Italian prosciutto, scattered liberally through it. That was paired with sheep’s milk cheese and sweet jam. Yum!

 

A short break for coffee

Next up was coffee and chocolate at the oldest chocolate producer in the city. André also gave us some great tips on what makes a good cup of coffee. If you have a sweet tooth you will be delighted with the displays and naturally the chocolate.

 

You have to try sardines

The Portuguese eat a lot of tinned fish. I was intrigued by the huge variety of premium products on the shelves. I have previously mentioned how I was delighted by the amazing snacks that are prepared with the fish. Steve could not resist buying quite a few tins to take home with us. I know it might sound odd, but once you have tasted it you will see just how good it really is. It’s also a great gift to take back for your foodie friends. I know that they may think you are crazy, but I am sure that they will become converts as well.

 

Many of the dishes we tried were accompanied by local regional wines. Don’t expect to find a chardonnay or recognise any of the varietals on the labels. There are around 250 indigenous varieties alone. The names are not recognisable as anything you would normally choose from the shelves. The food was perfectly matched with the wines and having an opportunity to taste and enjoy these wines made for an interesting evening.

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Petiscos like tapas but not quite!

Do you like tapas? It’s one of my favourite ways of eating. Portugal has their own version known as petiscos. There is however a subtle difference between the two types of snacks which are explained in detail on the Taste Porto blog, or you could just go on the tour and André can explain it to you.

These little plates of deliciousness are ideal to share and that’s exactly what we did at the next stop. Cod fritters and other tasty snacks with naturally another glass of wine was on the menu.

 

 

A delicious pork sandwich

Next up was very much a local spot with not a tourist in sight. We were here for a special sandwich filled with delicious cured pork and a glass of a light red wine from the region called Espadal.

Andre even went out of his way to arrange for an extra tasting. I had heard about a salad that was a local speciality, made from pig’s ears. As if by magic it appeared for us to taste along with the cod fritters. I must say that I couldn’t see the point of the pig’s ear salad, it was just gristle and chewy, but the dressing was great. We did, however, appreciate the fact that Andre went out of his way to arrange it for us.

 

Wine again!

The tour ended in a stunning wine shop with a tutored tasting of a few local wines with some pastries and sweet treats that we collected earlier from a famous bakery along the way.

 

 

If you want to enjoy the best of local wines and cuisines the Vintage food tour in Porto will tick all the boxes and leave you with wonderful memories of the delicious food and wine of the region.

You can book directly with Taste Porto on their website.

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Disclosure: I was hosted by Taste Porto. My thanks to them for an awesome evening. As usual, these are my own views.

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