La Salumeria Porto — Restaurant in Porto

UPDATE 2025: STILL AS GREAT AS EVER! La Salumeria Porto has become my go-to restaurant here in Porto. It's nice to take a break from Portuguese food, and the Sicilian food here is simply wonderful. Last night we had the beef carpaccio, and burrata. Outstanding. And we also enjoyed a new dish -- the veggie lasagna, made with mushrooms, gorgonzola, and walnuts. Even if you're not a vegetarian, you'll probably love this recipe. The panna cotta, cannoli, and limoncello were fabulous as always. Gaetano's choices on wines are perfect, as well. Thank you! Here's to your continued success. We can't wait until you open your second location nearby in the coming months.

UPDATE 2024: This restaurant continues to be WONDERFUL! Two years after I posted my original review, I'm so happy to see that La Salumeria Porto is thriving. It's not a surprise -- the owner Gaetano, his wife, and their entire staff share a passion for hospitality, outstanding food and wines. They work very hard so we can have a lovely time. Dining inside is very cosy, creating an atmosphere where you can share stories with fellow travelers (if you want.; - ) At the end of your meal, make sure to ask for the limoncello! (It's not too sweet, and a great alternative when you've drunk as much Port wine as you can ; - )

MY ORIGINAL REVIEW: FOOD: 9 out of 10. We had the charcuterie plate, which had excellent Italian (not Portuguese) cold cuts, cheeses, olives, olive oil and breads. My wife had the restaurant’s signature dish - lasagna – based on the recipe of the owner’s mother. (Always a good way to go! It was fantastic.) I had the salad with tuna – also great. Their desserts were also outstanding – panna cotta and cannelloni. Make sure to ask for the limoncello as a post-dinner dessert drink. Yum!

AMBIENCE: You will enjoy the lovely people-watching on Rua das Flores! We sat outside.

COMMENTS: Not only was the food excellent, but we really enjoyed fun, friendly service by the restaurant co-owner (Gaetano, from Sicily.) and Jonathan (from Rio.) Gaetano explained that he and his wife took over the restaurant from the prior owner and reopened about 7 weeks ago. He is in the process of improving both the food and the service from before, so the current ratings on Google do not reflect the improved quality under the new owners. The prices were very reasonable. We can’t wait to...

If I could give 6 stars I would... the hospitality of the owner was incredible and so warm, and the food was incredible. Best gnocchi and lasagna we've had so far on our trip.

On a busy Wednesday evening, our group of three were looking for a vegetarian friendly non-Portuguese cuisine option and found this lovely restaurant. We asked for a table and saw there was only a table for two, outdoors, that was available. The owner immediately accommodated us and asked us if we were ok with sitting three to the table (which was more than fine), and hurriedly set up the table so we would be comfortable. We ordered drinks (limoncello and aperol spritz), which were very refreshing for a warmer evening, and ordered the gnocchi with ragu, gnocchi with tomato sauce, and the lasagna. The portions were excellent and large, came out fresh and hot, and tasted delicious!! Before our entrees came out, a table of two closer to the street finished up their meal and left, so the owner of the restaurant asked us if we wanted to move to the better table so we could face the street and have more room (instead of facing the wall). Such a kind move and totally unexpected, but we were so grateful as there was live music and it was fun to people watch. I later saw him do the same to another table (where he lifted and moved the physical table so it was in a better spot), so needless to say, the owner was incredible.

Pro tip, the tiramisu was DELICIOUS as well.

Super recommend this place if...

This restaurant is just a few steps down from our hotel, and given the stellar reviews, we stopped by for dinner on a Monday night. We had about a 45 minute wait, which was totally worth it.

We started with the charcuterie board for two, and really enjoyed everything on the board from the olives to the tomato tapenade to the variety of cheeses and cured meats. They were able to accommodate my allergy to nuts by leaving out the pistachios and putting the mortadella on the side, which was very appreciated!

For dinner, my husband and I shared the baked gnocchi with meat ragu. Another great dish! Everything was freshly prepared, and really reminded us of our trip to Italy. The side salad is a must here - it was really good and perfect accompaniment to the meal. We couldn’t bear to leave the leftovers, so we got portions of the charcuterie board and the gnocchi to go (the first on our trip).

Service was really welcoming and had a good pace. We did not feel rushed, although they had patrons waiting. The owner stopped by to engage with us, and the rest of the waitstaff were really attentive and accommodating. If you are in the area and looking for some great Italian food, make...