Porto Antigo Comida Caseira — Restaurant in Vila Nova de Gaia

We were staying just down the road in Vila de Gaia and thought instead of walking towards the river (tourists) we’d walk uphill a little to see if we could find a “local bar”.

We were not disappointed!!

We sat at a little roadside table in the sun and Maria recommended a quick Superbock to refresh before we checked out the Vino Verde and other wines on the table. It was baking hot and as we were 4 pale looking Brits she was exceptionally kind and moved us to a table in the shade so that we didn’t bake in the sun.

The menu was short and sweet - whatever was picked up at the fish market that day. It changes daily, but is cooked by an expert so you will not be disappointed.

We opted for Octopus x2, a Sea Bass and a Salmon steak. We were not disappointed by either portion size, quality, taste or presentation.

Absolutely everything was exceptional. The octopus was cooked perfectly, not chewy or bouncy and soft and tender; the Sea Bass was really meaty and seasoned well and the Salmon was exceptional.

We didn’t do deserts as we were so happily well fed we didn’t need any more.

We were in Porto for 8 days and having lunch and dinner out every day this was the best we ate all week. I would be expecting some significant food critic and food award people arriving soon.

Maria and Sophia - you are amazing and please keep it up.

See you...

I‘m sorry to say I was extremely disappointed with the food, hence the low score. Portugal is known for honest, simple home-cooked food. This food is not typical Portuguese. There are no home-cut chips/fries, just what seems like frozen potato wedges. Salads are full of random fruit and drowned in balsamic glaze. I was horrified to see grapes, nectarines and even strawberries (out of season) alongside olives, and baby spinach. The balsamic even finds its way onto the meat, and then we were forced to add our own salt which in Portuguese cooking is highly unusual. We ordered steak medium rare which was served very well done. We had to send it back. Unfortunately it was replaced by another steak, better cooked but burnt on the underside. Served burnt side-down: cheeky considering the higher than usual price of food. The restaurant is cute and cozy. Alarm bells ring when you notice there isn’t a single Portuguese client: a clear indication that this place is for tourists. The pricing is representative of tourist trap. Better to go for a place that looks less glamorous and eat well-priced good food with the locals. Maria the waitress and Sofia the owner/chef are fantastic: the food...

it looks like this restaurant is famous especially for Korean or Asian people and the owners know about that very well because the way they treat everyone else is completely different.

I was sitting in a table with two Korean ladies that I became friends with and the waiter was treating me like shit compared to them. I was not even offered a smile or a nice word and even when I asked for takeaway of our leftovers, she was asking the other girls in front of me don’t you want to take it away instead? And I said " I want to take it away" in which she responded "yes but let me ask the other ladies if they want it".... I found it very rude. Also when paying I was met with a "for you it's this price" and for the Korean ladies it was more like asking how was the food, asking about their experience in Porto making small talk etx....

also the food was okay I think it's a much bigger hype than what it is and definitely really expensive ...is around €30 per dish which I think for Porto standards you can find much cheaper, much better quality and also much nicer stuff without...