For The Love Of Port

David Spriggs passed along this article on another quest for finding Francesinha greatness: http://www.hioporto.com/search/label/ga ... 7547602368

Roy Hersh wrote:David Spriggs passed along this article on another quest for finding Francesinha greatness: http://www.hioporto.com/search/label/ga ... 7547602368

Hmm... I don't like their rating system. Size, ingredients, and sauce all make at least some sense (size? really?), but space and attendance (which I assume means service) are qualities of the restaurant and not the food. That'd be like rating Port and including the shape of the bottle in your rankings.

Well, i must say that i'm only happy that there are many praised Francesinha joints for me yet to try.

The coma-inducing bliss:
http://www.ozy.com/good-sht/portugals-g ... wich/74795

I stiill have yet to ever find a Francesinha that is better than what I've had at Bufete Fase.

Roy Hersh wrote:I stiill have yet to ever find a Francesinha that is better than what I've had at Bufete Fase.

Me either, those are amazing!

Ditto. And my body probably is grateful lest I eat way to much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bufete fase gets my vote too but hugely popular Cafe Santiago comes close. As with Bufete fase you better get ready to queue for the restaurant tables.

Mika H wrote:Bufete fase gets my vote too but hugely popular Cafe Santiago comes close. As with Bufete fase you better get ready to queue for the restaurant tables.

The restaurant is MUCH larger than it used to be. When I first went in 2007-2008, there were literally only 11 seats in the entire restaurant. Tiny doesn't begin to describe it, because those 11 seats were crammed in tight. But by 2014 they had purchased (or rented) the shop on the corner and expanded into it for seating. That area is probably 3x the size of the original restaurant, so if I had to guess I'd say they probably seat 40-50 now. Still relatively small, but not the problem that it used to be.

Wow that's a lot bigger. I need to swing by next time I'm there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I guess it's not quite as large as I remembered. This is most of the new space, but there are a couple more tables and a bar area to the right of this frame.

I have never seen Francesinha's offered at local Portuguese restaurants locally to me.

"What are the BEST restaurants for Francesinha?"
Well, here's a Porto native Sara's take on that: http://portoalities.com/en/where-can-i- ... -in-porto/

Mika H wrote:"What are the BEST restaurants for Francesinha?"
Well, here's a Porto native Sara's take on that: http://portoalities.com/en/where-can-i- ... -in-porto/

Cool thanks. Always looking for new places to try.

Mika H wrote:"What are the BEST restaurants for Francesinha?"
Well, here's a Porto native Sara's take on that: http://portoalities.com/en/where-can-i- ... -in-porto/

Nice list. Thanks for posting.

Yuko is just a couple doors down from O Paparico.

Side question: Two of the locations are have "cervejaria" in the name, which literally translates as brewery. It sounds like at least one does make beer. Can I expect a place labeled "cervejaria" in Portugal to always brew beer, or is the term used more generally for places that might just have beer? In France a good number of places labeled as "brasserie" don't actually brew. The name is perhaps a carry-over from a time when such places commonly did, but no longer do.

Eric Menchen wrote:In France a good number of places labeled as "brasserie" don't actually brew. The name is perhaps a carry-over from a time when such places commonly did, but no longer do.

In French, "brasserie" when used for an eating establishment just means a more casual setting that serves food at your table and typically also serves a variety of drinks. It's effectively a step up from a bistro. I started to say that it's roughly equivalent to an American "diner" but that's not quite right... at least in my head a brasserie is usually somewhat nicer than a diner, possibly because you'd never sit at a counter in a brasserie.

It does also translate to "brewery" in English, but the two meanings (eatery and brewery) don't appear to be related in French.

Mika H wrote:"What are the BEST restaurants for Francesinha?"
Well, here's a Porto native Sara's take on that: http://portoalities.com/en/where-can-i- ... -in-porto/

Those do all sound tasty! But I'm not sure I can trust a list of the "best" Francesinhas in Porto that includes neither Bufete Fase nor Cafe Majestic!

Glenn E. wrote:Those do all sound tasty! But I'm not sure I can trust a list of the "best" Francesinhas in Porto that includes neither Bufete Fase nor Cafe Majestic!

Bufete Fase is a bit out of the way, so perhaps not considered. But three of the places listed are within a few blocks of the well known Majestic, so I tend to think that was intentionally left out.

Eric Menchen wrote:

Glenn E. wrote:Those do all sound tasty! But I'm not sure I can trust a list of the "best" Francesinhas in Porto that includes neither Bufete Fase nor Cafe Majestic!

Bufete Fase is a bit out of the way, so perhaps not considered. But three of the places listed are within a few blocks of the well known Majestic, so I tend to think that was intentionally left out.

I was about to reply "but Bufete Fase is only a couple of blocks from Cafe Majestic, too!" but then I checked Google Maps and it's actually 1 km. I knew it was a bit of a walk, but never realized it was actually quite that far!

I take it that you gents feel that Bufete Fase is the place for the best Francesinha?