Taberna do Doutor — Restaurant in Porto

No frills but full on flavour and homestyle warmth!

We found this restaurant just be simply looking on Google Maps to see what was walking distance to where we were staying, and we wanted somewhere tasty but low key... and Taberna do Doutor did not disappoint!

We were treated really warmly by a gentleman with great English and service skills, he truly is a natural at hospitality and made us feel like we belonged.

We went not long after it opened during mid week in June, without a reservation and were seated but throughout the night it did fill up - perhaps on a Friday or Saturday you might need to make a booking.

It was all typical Portuguese fare but nothing super fancy and everything was really well priced.

To start we went for what we call the flaming chorizo, you see it a fair bit around Porto, I believe it's their local thing but I'm always up for a bit of theatre and drama at the table and it was fun to watch it set alight and then we had to keep turning it with the tongs provided! Really delicious though with that lovely bbq flavour on it.

We each got a main and then ordered an extra one - the famous Francesinha that we kept seeing on menus around town and couldn't work out exactly what it was - looks a bit like the French food "Welsh" if you've ever seen that in Northern France, and to be honest it was quite similar! It was basically bread with two types of cooked sausage in the middle, steak, ham, chorizo, then a fried egg on top, then covered in cheese and served in a tomato and beer broth with a load of what British people would recognise as chip shop chips.

And. It. Was. AMAZING! I mean carb and high cholesterol overload for sure but what a meal. All the flavours seemed familiar, the broth tasted like a thin tomato soup but it just all worked. I can imagine in winter it's extra delicious as proper hearty cold weather stodge food.

We also had picanha steak, the Bacalhau à Brás and another salt cold dish and all of it was just solid and tasty. Can't fault it at all. It's just proper local no fuss food done very very well with great service, and Super Bock Stout on tap? Brilliant.

If you're looking for a solid dinner choice that isnt fancy and you can just go as you are - then you have to give...

We were randomly walking around the neighborhood after the place we wanted to eat at was too full to fit us in. It was already 9:30 PM, but luckily this tavern was open and still bustling. We walked in and asked for a table for two.

The waiters here were very efficient, no nonsense, but still friendly, zipping around the tables to accommodate everybody. They also spoke multiple languages to cater to tourists.

We ordered the grilled cod and grilled salmon plates. They both came with the boiled potatoes, olives, raw onions, and tomato. The cod also came with a boiled egg. The salmon with boiled broccoli. The waiter automatically brought bottles of olive oil and white wine vinegar to the table.

The food was cooked well, and we finished everything with a glass of House white wine and a glass of Super Bock beer.

Once our plates were taken away, dessert menus were presented. We ordered the Bolo brigadeiro, a Portuguese chocolate cake, with a shared port wine. The waiter recommended a 10 year old port wine as the ports were not on the menu. They do have a large selection of wines at the bar though.

We asked for the check and took it up to pay at the register with our credit card. Diners were still coming in as we...

This restaurant was nearby our apartment and we enjoyed it so much we ended up eating there three of the five nights we were in Porto. The place is attractive inside and the tables well spaced. There are two tellies but fortunately these can be ignored as the sound is off and pleasant music played. Service is professional. We ordered a starter to share each time and left ordering main courses until we had eaten the starter. This was a good decision for us as we noticed the mains quickly following starters on other tables, we prefer a slower service. We tried the cod balls, chorizo and cured ham starters, all good. For mains I had sea bream and baby squid. Both came with boiled potatoes and broccoli. The latter was the only let down, overcooked. My husband had pork chop, francesinha and steak. The meat was all very good and served with chips or fried sliced potatoes. We tried two puddings, again sharing: biscuit cake and chocolate mousse, both are highly recommended. With a litre of house red and coffees the bills were consistently between 34 and 36 euros. Good...