Sai Cão — Restaurant in Porto

If you want to know how traditional restaurants in rural Portugal or non/pre tourist areas felt like, then go here quick. The tourist center of Oporto is growing and with it the very thing that people came to Portugal to experience.

You could go to any restaurant close your eyes and be transported to any major city. While good, what's the point?

This restaurant is just far north enough to be a bit to much of a walk for tourists and as such still caters to the local flavor.

The potatoes, salad, and rice were exactly as expected. Super crispy french fries, plain salad, and perfect rice covered in onions to soak up the juices.

Even the meat was like I always remembered, a super flavorful cheap cut that is cooked quick and super tough to chew, so cut into small pieces.

But while I enjoyed this, and recommend this experience; it is a very niche experience. It is poor peoples fancy food.

Although I have been to much fancier restaurants with much better food, this still hits a special spot because it is what I grew up with.

So if you go you will either be like me and love, or you will wonder why you can't...

It was a bustling eatery where locals eat.

I didn’t have great experience here being a foreigner. Wanted to try local Portuguese food, somehow I felt in a way not knowing the language - I got taken advantage of. I pointed at the menu to order, the waiter nodded and walked away. I ordered a 1/2 portion of the veal with rice - I got served a whole piece. I wasn’t sure if that was what I ordered and tried to wave down the waiter - but he ignored me and kept working on other tables. I was served a basket of bread - which I didn’t ask for too.

I ate the meal, so of course I paid for it. I told him while paying that it wasn’t what I ordered. He gasped and told me that he saw wrongly. What was suppose to be a 7,50 dish - I paid 12,50. Well. Costly mistake. Total bill was 18,50 - plus soup and white wine.

Lesson learnt: As a foreigner ordering from a menu, always double confirm that they acknowledge the correct order before leaving the table. If served incorrectly, insist to get it right before eating.

But heck I’m on a holiday. Not gonna let...

Possibly the worst food I've ever been offered! The reviews about the queues are true. I can't think why as I've had better food for less in Porto. I've been eating Cod and Chips for 60 years so was interested in the House Special Bacalhoa, preceded by Vegetable Soup. The Vegetable Soup was tasty and hot. The Cod defied belief. It was wasn't very hot. The old chips were floating in cooking oil. I've had better batter from a frozen packet before it's cooked. The fish was tough and rubbery and tasted of burnt plastic. The kitchen staff thought this was fine. As a substitute I asked for a salad. I have no idea what this tasted like because it was swamped in salt. After one mouthful I could feel my blood pressure rising. I only paid because the beer and soup were OK and they had made some effort, also being English I don't like a fuss. The night before I ate nearby and paid three times as much but got ten times the value :- soup, excellent steak, wine, postre and coffee in elegant surroundings. "Little...