Pastelaria Vale Doce — Restaurant in Porto

We stumbled upon Padaria Vale Doce while staying nearby, and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It’s a simple, local café with a warm atmosphere, great coffee, and excellent pastries.

We tried quite a few things across our visits: the chocolate croissant was soft and satisfying, the lanche misto (ham and cheese sandwich) was perfectly toasted, and the cappuccino and pingo were both strong and smooth. They use Cimbali machines for espresso, which you could really taste in the quality of the coffee. If you order a cortado, they’ll make you a pingo, which is very typical in Portugal and pretty much the same thing, just a local name for it.

It’s the kind of place where locals come for their daily coffee, and we quickly understood why. No fancy frills, just honest food, friendly service, and a comfortable place to start the day. If you’re staying in the area, definitely worth...

This is a mixed review. I went in and bought delicious pastries: pastel de nana and yummy savory pieces. The girl at the counter was super nice. However, the day before I had passed by on the way to my lodgings and saw a trash can on the corner of the street. Thinking it was public, I threw away a small paper bag. The waiter who was outside enjoying a smoke started to scold me and made it clear he wanted me to dive into the trash can to remove my paper bag. I told him in English that it was his choice to be such a horrible person, instead of calmly explaining that I had made a mistake. When I saw him inside the next day while making my purchases, he clearly recognized me, but he was correct and courteous. I don't think he expected me to call him out on his behavior...

Francesinha is more like old stale bread, unmelted cheese and over-salted meat.

We spent the day in Porto and while walking around they had francesinha (a must have when in Porto) as one of their main dishes. I was thoroughly disappointed.

I have had many francesinhas before, and this was by far the worse one I have ever had. The cheese was not even melted, the bread was stale, the meat was over-salted, and the gravy was runny. The French fries ordered with it were okay though, but It was a big let down.

Staff is sorta off putting, didn’t feel welcome there. Go elsewhere if you want a francesinha, this is not the...