November | 2014 | The Foodoir of a City Girl

Francesinha originates from Oporto (Porto), and is the Portuguese version of the French dish, the croque-monsieur. Sure, it may be a sandwich; however what makes this a pretty special sandwich is that in between the slices of bread, there is an indulgent combination of steak, cheese, ham, and sausage. The sandwich is then covered in melted cheese and placed on a base of beer sauce. To meat-lovers (and fans of beer), who can say no to this?

I actually first tried Francesinha when I went to Lisbon a few years ago. However, with this being a Porto dish first and foremost, I had to try it again in Porto. Sadly for me, this dish at this particular cafe was not as nice as the one I tried in Lisbon, and the fries were a bit too salty. To put it bluntly, I honestly think that there are other restaurants in Porto which do a better Francesinha. One word of advice, it may be best to split a Francesinha between at least 2 people as it is so filling!

I wasn’t a fan of the Gooseberry drink as well – a small measure of Gooseberry flavoured squash in a glass which came accompanied with a bottle of water. Let’s just say it’s an overly sweet version of Calpol – a children’s medicine. Don’t get me wrong, I love Calpol (one of my favourite medicines haha), but this drink was just too much.

On a positive note though, Café do Cais have their riverside location going for them – the view overlooking the River Duoro is pretty amazing, especially on a hot day. My dining companion and I spent a couple of hours there, but I could’ve easily spent a whole day basking in the view (and sunshine if it were not for the fact that we wanted to explore this city.

So when it’s a nice day, go there for a drink (or two) at least!