Every time I speak to foreigners they praise us for the amazing quality of Portuguese bread (even the French people are impressed, even though they do not care to admit it :P).
Therefore, I decided to make a list of the best bakeries in Porto, including a couple of them where you can find slow fermentation bread. I hope you like it!
Check below the best bakeries in Porto:
Padaria Cristal
Rua de Cedofeita, 585 | Porto
Having grown up in Cedofeita neighborhood, Padaria Cristal always played an important role in my daily routine. I remember going to Padaria Cristal with my mum every. single. day to eat a humble toast with butter or an almond pie.
On Sundays we would go there to buy regueifa, a traditional Portuguese bread from the North of Portugal that is only sold on this specific day of the week. It was fabulous!
Padaria Cristal is one of the best bakeries in Porto because it sells different types of bread including corn bread, beetroot bread, pumpkin bread and seeds bread. It also serves a delicious soup and some light sandwiches, making it an ideal spot for a quick lunch.
Don’t forget to order a courgette biscuit to finish the meal, you won’t regret it!
How to get there: Lapa subway station is a 5 minutes walking distant.
Padaria Ribeiro
Praça Guilherme Gomes Fernandes, 21 | Porto
Padaria Ribeiro is the Mecca of the best bakeries in Porto. There you can find a gazillion of different bread varieties (forty, to be precise) as well as a very tempting variety of homemade biscuits that are to die for.
The selection doesn’t end here, though: Padaria Ribeiro is also famous for its miniature sweets and savory pastries.
Being so popular, Padaria Ribeiro quickly opened several stores in Porto and nearby cities. If you want to know where you can find a Padaria Ribeiro, simply visit its website (it is in Portuguese, but at the end of the page there is a section called “Estabelecimentos” with the address of all its stores).
Confeitaria Petúlia
Rua de Júlio Dinis, 775 | Porto
Confeitaria Petúlia opened around forty years ago to quickly win the hearts of the citizens of Porto. No wonder: besides being one of the best bakeries in Porto, it has some of the best savory pies in the city, as well as phenomenal rissóis (aka Portuguese empanadas), pão de Ló (Portuguese sponge cake), húngaros (butter cookies deeped in dark chocolate),… ok, who am I kidding – I love everything in Petúlia!
Moreover, Confeitaria Petúlia is specialized in Bolo rei (it translates to the king’s cake), a traditional Portuguese Christmas cake made with candied fruits and nuts.
So take my suggestion and order an expresso and a slice of bolo rei and enjoy it on the tea room of Confeitaria Petúlia.
How to get there: Casa da Música subway station is a 10 minutes walking distance.
Confeitaria Nandinha
Rua de Serpa Pinto, 74 | Porto
Another classic from my childhood is Confeitaria Nandinha. I remember going there on Christmas’ eve to buy a massive pão de Ló as well as a bolo rei (the king’s cake I already mentioned) and a bolo rainha, which is basically a bolo rei without the candied fruit, since a lot of people do not enjoy it.
Besides that, you can find fabulous húngaros and glorinhas (they look like puffy donuts with glazed sugar on top) at Nandinha.
So maybe Confeitaria Nandinha does not fit the profile of the classical bakeries in Porto, but it is certainly a must go in the city.
How to get there: Carolina Michaelis subway station is a 5 minutes walking distance.
Confeitaria do Bolhão
Rua Formosa, 339 | Porto
Confeitaria do Bolhão is over a century old and one of the best bakeries in Porto where you can find an extraordinarily large assortment of breads as well as savory and sweet Portuguese pastries in different sizes.
You can eat them on the spot (they have a tea room on the back, which I don’t particularly enjoy as it lacks natural light) or simply take them to your hotel or apartment in Porto.
How to get there: Bolhão subway station is a 5 minutes walking distance.
Tavi
Rua da Sra. da Luz, 363 | Porto
I am always quite unsure if I should classify Tavi as a pastry shop or as one of the best bakeries in Porto. Indeed, the original Tavi used to focus more in cakes and pastries but in 2016 it opened a proper bakery conveniently located across the street.
I have already praised the original Tavi (let’s called it like that) as one of the best places for brunch in Porto due to its varied assortment à la carte and its fabulous view of the Douro river. They also serve proper meals there.
However, if you are simply looking to buy some good bread in Porto, then the second Tavi, across the street, is where you should be heading to.
How to get there: Take the tram 1 – and then walk from the final stop to Tavi!
Best bakeries in Porto for sourdough bread
Slow fermentation bread has been growing in Porto due to its health benefits and delicious flavor. Therefore, I decided to include on this list a couple of bakeries in Porto where you can find slow fermentation bread.
Masseira
Rua de Diogo Brandão, 69 | Porto
I first tried Masseira’s bread at Verdinho, an organic market that takes place in Centro Comercial Bombarda on Saturday. I completely fell in love with its flavors and with the ethics behind it, since the founders only use chemical free, local, seasonal ingredients to produce their slow fermentation bread in Porto.
In Masseira you can find different kinds of bread that vary according to the day of the week and the seasonality of the ingredients. Some delicious examples are: cinnamon, fig and walnut, rye with seeds, carob, etc. Masseira also produces gluten free bread in Porto made from rice flour, buckwheat, cassava and corn.
How to get there: Aliados subway station is a 15 minutes walking distant.
Pão da Terra
Rua França Júnior | Mercado Municipal de Matosinhos
Pão da Terra is yet another best bakery in Porto where you can find slow fermentation bread. To be more precise, it is not located in the city of Porto but in Matosinhos, a nearby city (that belongs to the district of Porto) and that is easily accessible by subway.
And trust me, it is totally worth it to visit Matosinhos if only to try one of the best slow fermentation breads in Porto.
At Pão da Terra you can find six different types of bread (mix, seeds, spelt, olives, nuts and raisins, carob and wheat) made with whole and organic flours from Spain. You can also find a really delicious tomato and basil focaccia.
How to get there: Mercado subway station is a 2 minutes walking distant.
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