As a truly international city Porto embraces a wide range of cuisines. This includes some of the best vegan restaurants in all of Portugal. From vegan bars like Apuro to fine-dining vegan eateries like Essência Restaurante Vegetariano, if you love veggies, you’ll want to include a few of the following on your next Porto food tour.
Photo credit: APURO Vegan Bar
APURO Vegan Bar is known for their creative vegan dishes and relaxed ambiance. It’s located in the trendy Cedofeita neighborhood, which is about a 20-minute walk from the Douro Riverfront.
The interior ambiance is modern, with touches of rustic design and wooden furniture that’s reminiscent of what Porto must have looked like a century ago. The green touches also add to the relaxed vibe, making it a great place to unwind.
The plant-based menu at APURO Vegan Bar is eclectic and caters to a wide range of tastes. Their most popular staples include hearty vegan burgers, vegan nachos, vegetarian tapas, vegan nachos with vegan cheese, and specialty bowls.
If you’re not a vegan or vegetarian, but you’re curious to get a taste of plant-based cuisine, I think Apuro Vegan Bar is a great place to start. The staff are very friendly and can help you understand the things on their menu that best suit your tastes. You can explore some of their vegan options while exploring their extensive selection of natural wines, craft beers, and creative cocktails.
On my last stop, I tried their vegan francesinha, which is a plant-based take on one of Porto’s most iconic sandwiches. They used a special type of plant-based vegan ham as a meat alternative as well as a surprisingly rich vegan cheese that was subtly enhanced with nutritional yeast. Then the whole thing was topped with a special vegan beer sauce.
Apuro Vegan Bar (€€) – Rua do Breiner 236, 4050-124 Porto, Portugal – Open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 12:30 PM to 11:00 PM. Open Friday and Saturday from 1:00 PM to 12:00 AM. Closed on Wednesday and Sunday.
Photo credit: Essência Restaurante Vegetariano
If you’re looking for a fine-dining vegetarian restaurant in Porto, I suggest starting with Essência Restaurante Vegetariano. While technically vegetarian, the menu has an extensive number of purely vegan options.
Located near the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, the restaurant has an elegant yet relaxed ambiance. The strategic use of warm lighting, modern decor, and organic atmosphere lets you enjoy plant-based fine dining with a casual vibe, whether for everyday meals or special occasions.
The menu at Essência Restaurante Vegetariano includes rich vegan risotto and vegan tapas. They even have occasional specials that focus on vegetarian or vegan small plates and single-bite petiscos. They also have a reputation for great tofu dishes, tempeh, and a spectrum of innovative desserts.
The last time I was at Essência Restaurante Vegetariano I ordered their popular Seitan Steak. It’s made from a special protein-rich wheat gluten product that has a hearty, chewy texture very reminiscent of meat. I was surprised by how much umami it had.
It came with a side of roasted in-season root vegetables, and baby red potatoes. The whole thing was then delicately coated with a bold olive oil sauce with fragrant fresh herbs, and garlic.
Essência Restaurante Vegetariano (€€€) – Rua de Pedro Hispano 1190 4250-368, Porto, Portugal – Open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch from 12:30 to 3:00 PM, with dinner service from 7:30 to 10:30 PM. Open Monday for dinner service only from 7:30 to 10:30 PM. Closed Sunday.
Photo credit: Vegana By Tentúgal
One of the things that makes Vegana by Tentúgal special is the fact that it’s one of the few places that offers truly vegan Pastel de Nata. It’s within reasonable walking distance of Museu Romântico da Quinta da Macieirinha and the Sao Bento train station. Making it a great place to pick up a pastry or a snack before enjoying the local sights. It’s also a great place to buy vegetarian ingredients to add to your own culinary arsenal.
Vegana by Tentúgal’s is minimalist in a cozy, friendly way. The decor is warm with a peaceful atmosphere, which makes it nicely suited for a casual meal with friends rather than getting together for a big social gathering.
When it comes to the menu, the pastel de nata aren’t their only vegan pastries. The menu at Vegana by Tentúgal also includes a wide range of vegan-alternative desserts and gluten-free pastries. Not to mention some delicious vegan versions of other Portuguese classics.
Of course, I had to try their vegan pastel de nata, which used all vegan-friendly ingredients to recreate the iconic Portuguese custard tart. It had a crispy, flaky pastry shell, with a rich, creamy filling. If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed it was the non-vegan pastel de nata.
Vegana by Tentúgal (€€) – Rua de Santo Ildefonso 412, Porto, Portugal – Open from Wednesday to Monday from 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM. Closed on Tuesdays.
Photo credit: Em Carne Viva
Em Carne Viva is best known for putting creative Portuguese twists on gourmet vegan and vegetarian dishes. They’re also within walking distance of Rotunda da Boavista, and Igreja do Santíssimo Sacramento, which makes them a convenient stop after taking a walking tour in that part of the city.
It’s built into a renovated, charming historical building with a peaceful garden. This gives Em Carne Viva an inviting old-world ambiance that manages to be cozy and elegant at the same time. There’s also a fair amount of intricate architectural detail that you can take in while you wait for your meal.
Em Carne Viva’s menu offers a wide range of creative, plant-based dishes that put the richness of Portuguese flavors on full display. While also modernizing them to suit the tastes of vegetarians and vegans.
They’re known for having an eclectic tasting menu that changes with what’s in season. They also have a reputation for making a great vegan-friendly alheira sausage, and a vegan seitan steak with a vivid wine sauce.
If you’re the type of person who likes to skip dessert, this is the place to break that habit. Em Carne Viva’s dessert menu includes some lively vegan and vegetarian must-try options. Especially their Almond and Pumpkin Cake and the Chocolate Mousse.
On my last stop, I ordered their mushroom wellington. It had a dense mushroom filling that was rich with umami, encased in a flaky, golden vegan pastry crust, just like a classic beef Wellington. It was even accompanied by a selection of flavorful vegan sauces.
Em Carne Viva (€€€) – Av. da Boavista nº868, 4100-112 Porto, Portugal – Open Tuesday through Saturday from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Photo credit: Época
Located in Porto’s vibrant Bonfim neighborhood, Época is a charming café known for its commitment to organic, seasonal, and locally sustainable ingredients. While they aren’t 100% vegan, they do have a wide assortment of vegetarian and vegan-friendly items on their menu.
Época’s interior takes a minimalist, Scandinavian-inspired approach to the décor, which exudes a peaceful, clean, and welcoming atmosphere. The wooden furniture, with the combination of soft overhead lighting and natural light from the large windows, makes it great for enjoying a relaxing meal.
Of their vegan and vegetarian options, Época’s hearty vegetable bowls stand out for being popular with locals and tourists. They’re typically loaded with fresh greens, roasted vegetables, and wholesome grains that are lightly smothered with one of their flavorful house-made dressings. They’re also known for creative, seasonal vegan soups and salads.
They occasionally offer brunch which features a wide assortment of vegan options. I went with a granola parfait that used plant-based yogurt, topped with in-season strawberries and a vibrant squeeze of lemon. I also took a few slices of their freshly baked sourdough bread and then dressed it with avocado and flax seeds.
Época (€€€) – Rua do Rosário 22, 4050-522 Porto, Portugal – Open Monday to Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. It is closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Porto has some of the best vegan restaurants in Portugal that don’t always appear in all the vegan food guides. Yet once I really got to know the city, I learned that they have eateries capable of meeting the needs of any plant-based palate.
Even if you’re not vegan, but you just want to get a taste of the lifestyle, you can search out a vegan buffet, or try a sampling of foods at a vegan bar like Apuro. If you’re looking for some fine dining options, a vegan restaurant like Essência Restaurante Vegetariano or Em Carne Viva might better suit your tastes.
Though truly, any of the vegan restaurants on this list deserve to be a part of your next Porto food tour.
The post The 5 Best Vegan Restaurants In Porto appeared first on Eating Europe.
