The Best Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants In Porto

Porto honestly blew me away with the vegan and vegetarian food on offer; not only is the food of high quality, but dining out in restaurants is very affordable too.

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Given the struggles I faced finding vegan food in the Philippines on our last trip, this time I researched the eateries I wanted to try on Happy Cow in advance.

Restaurants in Porto are typically very small and require reservations, which we very quickly learnt.

In the evenings, there are long queues outside restaurants and service is pretty slow, in keeping with the laid back vibe of this charming city. While it isn’t always ideal to make a reservation, it’s particularly frustrating as a vegan armed with a well-researched list of suitable restaurants that cater for your dietary needs.

If you’re looking for the best vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Porto, I’ve got you covered with this list of where to eat in Porto!

The Best Vegan And Vegetarian Restaurants In Porto

Kind Kitchen

I paused outside to take a photo and saw 4 couples pretty much running in. Aware that the restaurant might be filling up quickly, I shoved my camera back in my pocket and we promptly followed them in – literally nabbing the last table for two. We got very lucky!

Sadly they’d run out of falafel which meant the Middle Eastern Buddha bowl I would have gone for wasn’t available, so we reluctantly ordered two starters and two sandwiches for our mains.

The shrimp tacos were exceptional – we couldn’t get enough of them. If I never had the tofu nuggets again in my lifetime, I wouldn’t miss them. It was a boring choice.

The sandwiches were excellent, I couldn’t fault them – chickpea ‘tuna’ and a hummus and mushroom open sandwich, but in all honesty, they didn’t blow me away. This is exactly the kind of thing I make for lunch at home and their versions weren’t any better or worse than my own.

I can see how this tiny eatery is so popular – people were queuing outside for over an hour to get in.

Service was a bit slow, but that’s to be expected, given how busy they were. We loved it and I would add this very affordable little gem to your list if you’re vegan.

THE DETAILS

Where | R. do Bonjardim 302, 4000-115 Porto

Opening Hours | 12.30 – 4pm and 6 – 10pm daily

Cost | £

Lazy Breakfast Club

The Lazy Breakfast club is one of the most highly rated breakfast places to eat in Porto. It isn’t a vegan or vegetarian eatery, but I had a couple of options to choose from. Better still, it was just a few doors down from the hotel we stayed at; Chic & Basic Gravity Hotel.

The artsy pink vibe of the restaurant made it immediately feel warm, cosy and welcoming. In true European style, we were seated at a table with another couple, as we noticed many others had been. It’s a small eatery and very crowded – again, we were lucky to have a table we didn’t need to wait for, as we soon spotted a queue forming outside the door.

We ordered oat flat whites and not being a fan of eggs, I went for the only vegan option; a tofu bagel with avocado cream added to it. The bagel was huge, soft and fluffy – more of a soft baked roll with a hole in the middle than a traditional bagel, but nevertheless delicious. The avocado cream was a perfect addition as it would have been too dry without it.

Jass ordered the mushroom & scrambled egg on toast, which he enjoyed.

I’d highly recommend Lazy Breakfast Club for a casual breakfast in Porto; they offer an all-day breakfast, so if you’re like me and prefer to eat a little later, you can take full advantage of this!

THE DETAILS

Where | R. Das Oliveiras 110, 4050-449 Porto

Opening Hours | 8am-6pm daily

Cost | £

daTerra Baixa

This was a strange one as it states they are a vegetarian buffet restaurant on the website, but are actually a vegan buffet restaurant.

Having arrived at 6.30pm as per our reservation (I learnt my lesson about booking from the previous night) we were seated, but the food didn’t appear to be ready. They were slowly bringing the buffet items out, but nobody made a move for it, so we followed suit. At 7pm, there was no announcement that the buffet was open, but one by one everyone formed a queue and so we joined them.

I think it’s safe to assume dinner is served at 7pm. I couldn’t tell you what we ate; the food labels were all in Portuguese and the waitresses didn’t speak a lot of English.

However, the food was phenomenal!

We didn’t love it all, of course. There were a couple of things that I regretted putting in my mouth but on the whole, we were blown away. It felt like such a treat to be at a buffet where I can try a bit of everything.

Now service was a bit leisurely and vacant, and they were very slow at replenishing the buffet but hey, I’m a Londoner and life is fast paced for us so we expect attentiveness and fast service. Dining out in the evenings in Porto, on the whole, felt like a very laid back affair.

We paid approximately £30 for two buffets, two drinks and a pastel de nata to share – not my favourite one, I have to say, but it was vegan, so I couldn’t resist.

THE DETAILS

Where | R. de Mouzinho da Silveira 249, 4050-421 Porto

Opening Hours | 9am – 11pm daily

Cost | €12.50pp excluding drinks and dessert. €1.75 for a vegan pastel de nata

Confeitaria do Bolhão

The stunning Confeitaria do Bolhão is an iconic 120-year-old patisserie, serving up up Porto’s finest Portuguese tarts, along with a plethora of other tempting sweet treats.

Sadly not vegan, but these were the best pastel de nata we have ever tasted. So much so that we had two each for breakfast!

When in Europe and all that..

Add this to your list of things to do in Porto – you won’t regret it.

THE DETAILS

Where | R. Formosa 339, 4000-252 Porto

Cost | € 1.20 each

Espécie

A pricier vegetarian restaurant compared to the others we dined at. I’d read reviews online that warned of tiny portions and high prices – and they weren’t wrong.

With a compact sharing menu consisting of mainly vegan and a handful of vegetarian dishes, we were advised to order 3 dishes between 2 people.

The KFC (Korean fried cauliflower) was the star of the show for us. Perfectly cooked cauliflower that still had a bite to it, fried in batter and covered in a tasty gochujang glaze. It was exquisite, and ironically the cheapest dish on the menu!

I enjoyed the avocado aguachile, but Jass wasn’t wowed by it. It was essentially just half an avocado with finely sliced cucumber and red onion, covered in a tangy dressing and served with nachos.

I thought it made for a lovely, refreshing addition to the meal.

We had high expectations for the Beijing style mushroom pancakes, but they fell flat (pun not intended).

Ironically the priciest dish we ordered; minuscule portions meant more pancake than filling and the date hoisin wasn’t great. It lacked the sweetness of traditional hoisin sauce and so instead we dipped our pancakes into the gochujang sauce which was far nicer.

We loved the concept of this restaurant and didn’t leave hungry, but felt it was a tad style over substance. The menu set high expectations, but sadly the flavour was lacking in some crucial aspects. Beautifully presented but the quality of food was pretty different for each dish and their was no real consistency. Shame, as it has so much potential.

I would still go back for those KFC cauliflower wings though, they were stunning!

THE DETAILS

Where | Rua da Picaria 84, 4050-477 Porto, Portugal

Opening Hours | 12.30 – 11pm Sunday to Thursday and 12.30 – 11.30pm Friday & Saturday.

Cost | ££

The best food tours and cooking classes in Porto

You will absolutely fall in love with Portugal’s national pastry, the pastel de nata – a delicious egg custard tart that they’ve been making for hundreds of years. So if there is one thing you must do in Porto, it is to learn how to make it yourself in the home of a local.

This activity is always highly rated for a reason – and you get a sweet treat at the end of it. What’s not to love!

Alternatively, there are a number of other cooking classing in Porto, if you want to delve more into Portuguese cuisine – and some even include a tour of the local market too.

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I hope you’ve found plenty of inspiration for awesome vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Porto; we enjoyed every single place on this list and I’m sure you will too.

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