Jardim do Trás — Restaurant in Porto

We had just been searching for anywhere to eat cos we were hungry but very little was open. Wandering around, we saw the lights of this tiny little hole in the wall. Seemed promising enough and we weren't very picky at this point.

It was so much better than expected! And not just because we came in starving, I swear. The empanadas were so perfectly cooked. Beautiful flaky pastry and hot, flavourful filling. The star for me was the Prego em Bolo. The bread was perfect, the cheese melted wonderfully and not too much of it (so many other places give you too much cheese), and the meat... oh, the meat! It was SO, SO tender. Lots of juicy flavour. One of the best sandwiches I have had in Portugal, tbh. It puts even the best bifana to shame.

Staff were also lovely and very hard-working. Very nice Spanish-Portuguese fusion in a very casual atmosphere, like a fancier snackbar...

Phenomenal find. Looks modest and unassuming, the service is great and the food is exceptional.

Chef came out to talk to us casually and was genuine, humble and excited to talk to us. He recommended we order less food because the portions were significant.

Padron peppers were perfect and the octopus main was easily above the level of most “fine dining” establishments in the area. Napoleon Cod was excellent and, according to the chef, his own creation.

Everything is affordable, genuine, delicious and with excellent service.

The only small note is that it’s not a grand location, it’s very low-key looking, which only adds to the character.

100% recommend and will come...

Very nice and fast service from the English-speaking waiters. Food was enjoyable but some dishes like the veggie risotto were salted too much while others were not seasoned enough (at least for our taste). The worst part was the music tho. We sat directly under the speaker and for anyone who has a bit of musical taste and knowledge it will be just boring and non-heartly pop music without soul. Some chill Jazz or even local Fado would be so much better!

But still the staff was so nice, I'd come again and try a...