Soul Senses — Restaurant in Porto

One of a kind experience - you can feel the love when you walk in, and in every bite!

We had the good fortune to stumble down the stairs from our Airbnb after checking in, drawn by the delicious smells from the kitchen. As soon as we walked in, we could tell this place was something special. From the warm greeting of the staff, to the cozy yet elevated environment, the stress from our journey quickly melted away.

You can tell that the team that runs the restaurant is like a family, and impressively seemed to communicate easily with anyone that came in. As the night went on, we got to know our server who spoke with such kindness and warmth to our young daughter and recommended a perfect meal that warmed our hearts and our bellies (the steak and cod were perfectly prepared)!

Our daughter said, “I don’t even miss home here!”

Indeed, coming to Soul feels like the best idealized kind of home.

And so we returned for a second time just days later. We received a warm welcome and a special treat from the chef to begin. Our server this time was so kind and generous to keep our daughter (who was quite sleepy and tired when we arrived) entertained and happy throughout. After our meal, the chef came over to welcome us back, and then invited our daughter to be a little chef in her kitchen and help prepare dessert.

Wow, the unbelievable kindness and incredible service are permanently etched in our hearts! Team soul will always be part of our family, and we can’t wait to see what this sparks in our daughter.

So much love...

I’m basic my review on six separate experiences at soul senses. The first two times I had their special veal and it was absolutely extraordinary. I’ve been recommending this as the best restaurant in Porto and I’ve taken a few friends there who loved it. The best experience was sitting outside and having a waiter who was incredibly enthusiastic about the food, and the menu and the seemed to know everyone walking by this kind of service experience, can’t be overstated. The last time I went, I took two restaurant owner friends. Three of us ordered the veal and my wife ordered a fish dish which they came back and told her they were out of so she said she would have the veal as well. The server once again returned to say that there were out of the side dish for the bill and would be be OK with something else. We all said sure, and then all of us received a different stake, tough flavorless, and actually shocking after the incredible experiences I had had here before. I thought about bringing it up with the manager, but did not want to embarrass my friends, but I think it’s important that people understand that the restaurant needs to be consistent to be considered great and unfortunately I’m not really inclined to return even though it’s a two minute walk...

We came here at S. João and had a quick bite with some drink without sitting inside. When we found it had some promotions, we decided to properly try their food. So we booked and had a nice experience. Welcomed by some of the nicest waitresses 😊 we found a dj set and out table was very large on the ground floor. Really, a great praise to the staff who kept smiling and introduced us to the menu. The atmosphere was pretty enjoyable too. We started with couvert including cheese, chorizo, bread, olives and butter. Then we ordered a pastel de nata cocktail that was sweet and very pleasant. A simple yet very tasty salad and for main dish we took roasted veal and sea bass. Both were good and well prepared. For dessert we ordered the baked apple with port wine reduction. Overall a nice experience. In my opinion this place has the potential to become one of the best in town, given the ingredients, the staff and the location. But I encourage the chefs to push a little more and find the perfect harmony in the combination of the flavors together with the presentation. There's room for improvement to achieve the perfection in every single...