Porto's food is unapologetically heavy and deeply satisfying. The city is famous for the francesinha — a tower of meat, cheese, and bread drenched in a spicy beer-and-tomato sauce — and for bacalhau prepared in ways you did not know existed. The locals are called tripeiros because of their fondness for tripe stew, and that is not a joke: tripas a moda do Porto is a genuine point of civic pride. You will eat well here, and you will eat a lot.
Tripeiro
This casual three-floor restaurant on Passos Manuel Street serves what is widely considered the best tripe in Porto. The Porto-style tripe — a slow-cooked stew of tripe, sausages, and white beans — is the house speciality and the most ordered dish. Tripeiro's recipe has won awards at international cooking competitions, and given how popular the dish is, you will not wait long for it despite the elaborate preparation.
Chez Lapin
An attractive restaurant on Rua de Sao Nicolau with an excellent waterfront location on the Ribeira. The fish dishes are consistently good, but the reason to come is the Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa — salt cod baked with potatoes, onions, and soaked in milk, named after a Porto chef who invented the dish in the early twentieth century. Chez Lapin claims to follow the original recipe, and the result is convincing.