O'Porco - Wine & Tapas Bar — Restaurant in Alijó

A wonderful one-man band!

Eating options in Pinhao are somewhat limited, and those down by the river are a bit faux fancy and la di da with bigger meals and linen table cloths... And we just wanted somewhere we could sit with a drink and share a few nibbles, and were so glad we stumbled upon O'Porco!

It was a not so busy Wednesday lunch time which is probably why we got a table - it's a very small place and there is one very lovely gentleman, Jorge, doing it all - seating you, menu, taking orders, preparing the food and drinks, taking payment, clearing awag... So dont come here if you're in a rush to catch a train in half an hour or are the sort of person who gets tetchy if you're not served within 5 minutes. It's a welcome slow place.

The menu is small but perfectly formed, between three people we shared bread and olives, house salad, mixed platter (meats and cheeses, always pleases), and a beautiful orange salad, as well as local wines which we also ended up buying a bottle of.

This was enough for us for a light lunch but there's some more substantial dishes too - but it's all sharing style.

Jorge was absolutely lovely and once it started to empty out was chatting to us about where the wines come from, the microclimate Pinhao has, and sharing some life stories.

You can tell all the dishes are crafted and prepared with love, with as local ingredients as possible.

We really rate the orange salad - really juicy sweet oranges with good quality sea salt and olive oil. It was incredible and definitely one to try at home if we can find such good quality ingredients!

Just really nice homestyle dishes in a casual setting with a lovely owner. An absolute must...

Got tricked by the reviews to eat here, as the options in Pinhao are quite limited.

This was the worst experience that I had in Portugal, maybe in my entire life. We ordered the Camarão (shrimps) for 16€. After a few minutes we received a handul microwaved, previously frozen shrimps with no seasoning or sauces. Paired with the worst wine of the Douro region out of the 5 liter bag for 3.50€ a glass. After "serving" us the food and drinks the guy behind the bar went outside with his buddies to have a smoke.

Just down the street past the train station is a little place where we had great service, a ham and cheese board, bottle of wine, water, olives, onions and bread for the same price, the day before. These are honest and hard working people who promote local food and produce.

Oporco on the other hand is a scam. Run by a crook. It really makes me feel disgusted to think back to what we encountered there last Friday night. Whenever you are in Pinhao be wise about where you spend your money. Places like Oporco should naturally vanish due to their...

Not friendly for foreigners. 🙄️😡☹️

The female server was very impatient and rude. For example, when we were asking how did they cook the shrimp since we only saw “shrimp” on the menu board without any explanation, she answered: just shrimps! She even hadn’t basic service for the customers.

We saw the female server treating another couple of foreigners in the same way. At the beginning, we thought maybe she was not comfortable or any other reasons. But when locals entered the restaurant, she was very friendly to them. Wow, how amazing the difference was! 🙄️

I suggest that the owner of the restaurant to make a T-shirt with “I don’t welcome foreigners” and let the server wear it :)

The food was common, the price was expensive (based on the quality of the food). Not...