Move away, supermarkets and big food chains!
It is time to visit the Portuguese grocery stores in Porto, where you will immerse yourself in Portuguese food culture.
From Portuguese cheeses & sausages to international products from Portuguese ex-colonies to macrobiotics cosmetics, you can find everything on these Portuguese grocery stores in Porto.
If you want to dig deep into the Portuguese food scene, I suggest you to join a Food tour in Porto. They are super fun, informative and yes, you will be stopping at a grocery store, where you’ll be able to taste some cheeses, smoked meats and drink some wines – something that a regular customer can’t do! 😉
So, these are the best Portuguese grocery stores in Porto:
Comer e Chorar Por Mais
Rua Formosa, 300 | Porto
If I had to pick one of the Portuguese grocery store in Porto that tourists would be amazed at it would be Comer e Chorar Por Mais. This is a store in between a traditional Portuguese grocery store and a gourmet one, with traditional Portuguese food products that please both locals and tourists.
At Comer e Chorar Por Mais you will find a good assortment of sausages from all around Portugal (they even sell entire hams without bones!) and cheeses. They have a wood barrel where you can do some food tastings before deciding what to buy.
On the top of this, they have a vacuum sealing machine, so that you can take some gifts back home without having your entire luggage smelling like cheese and sausages!
Another great thing of Comer e Chorar Por Mais is its bread assortment – it is one of the few grocery stores in Porto where you can taste real broa, a traditional Portuguese cornbread. Usually broa is served at restaurants with caldo verde, the traditional Portuguese green broth, but trust me – after you try the real stuff, you can never go back. One more reason for you to visit this amazing Portuguese grocery store in Porto!
How to get there: the subway station Bolhão is a 2 minutes walking distance.
Pretinho do Japão
Rua do Bonjardim, 496 A | Porto
Pretinho do Japão is an ancient Portuguese grocery store in Porto adapted to the needs of modern customers.
The stronghold of this grocery store is freshly ground coffee (coming from many countries such as Angola, Brazil and Colombia, to name just a few), teas, dried fruits and spices – it’s worth the visit just to smell them!
At Pretinho do Japão you will also find traditional Portuguese food products such as fish cans and a reasonable wine selection from Douro Valley, Alentejo and from the famous Green Wine region.
What is really unique about this grocery store in Porto is its lovely backyard that has a small esplanade and a tea room ideal for Winter days. Everyday they have a soup and some light meals such as salads, quiches and Portuguese “petiscos” (our version of tapas). They make special meals for dinner parties on request.
How to get there: the subway stations Aliados and Trindade are both a 5 minutes walking distance.
Casa Chinesa
Rua de Sá da Bandeira, 343 | Porto
Casa Chinesa is one of the most regarded Portuguese grocery stores in Porto due to the very specific products it sells, which you cannot easily find elsewhere.
This grocery store in Porto, inaugurated in 1938 in front of Mercado do Bolhão, has a very diversified assortment of Portuguese traditional food products such as sausages and cheeses, different types of bread coming from all around Portugal, dried octopus, etc.
Moreover, it has a big section of macrobiotic food products and cosmetics, for people who have specific dietary restrictions or simply want to buy healthier products.
In addition to that, it has a large assortment of Brazilian food products – coconut milk, tapioca, palm oil and palm heart, “polvilho” (fine-grained tapioca starch), juices, etc.
And, of course, I couldn’t finish without telling you about Casa Chinesa’s French products (truffles olive oil, for instance), balsamic vinegars, Syrian’s rosewater,… the list is endless, you definitely need to pay this grocery store a visit whilst staying in Porto!
How to get there: the subway station Aliados is a 5 minutes walking distance.
Casa Ramos
Rua de Sá da Bandeira, 347 | Porto
Casa Ramos, just a few doors down of Casa Chinesa, is also one of the oldest Portuguese grocery stores in Porto. As Mr. Faria, a man who has been working at Casa Ramos for 43 years now, this grocery store opened its doors 86 years ago.
At Casa Ramos you can find the traditional Portuguese food products: cheeses (the insaneously good queijo da serra, a soft and intense sheep cheese), sausages from Trás os Montes and codfish (in Portugal we are crazy about codfish). There is also olive oil from Quinta do Romeu, which has won several international prizes.
Something that I really love about Casa Ramos is its bread, which comes from different regions of Portugal according to the day of the week: Vinhais, Gouveia, Mirandela, Foz Côa and Padronelo. Even if you are staying in Porto for just a couple of days, it is worth paying a visit to Casa Ramos!
How to get there: the subway station Aliados is a 5 minutes walking distance.
Casa Natal
Rua de Fernandes Tomás, 833 | Porto
Casa Natal is one of the most beautiful Portuguese grocery stores in Porto. It has been opened since 1900 (I kid you not!) and when you enter there you’ll immediately feel the Christmas feeling invading your heart. After all, this large grocery store in specialised in codfish.
Moreover, Casa Natal sells a lot of different spices from all around the world, sold on wooden shelves underneath the wine bottles.
At Casa Natal it is possible to do tasting of some of its products before buying them, such as wines and canned fish. I hope you find this grocery store as tempting as I do! 🙂
How to get there: the subway station Trindade is a 5 minutes walking distance.
Pérola do Bolhão
Rua Formosa, 279 | Porto
Pérola do Bolhão was the first Portuguese grocery store in Porto, opening in 1896 (the same year the first train arrived at São Bento train station). It a very cute space, in pale tones, and Portuguese specialities such as cheese and sausages mixed up with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Naturally, codfish, dried fruits and spices couldn’t be missing at Pérola do Bolhão.
And, since you are here, take the opportunity to buy Café Christina, one of the oldest coffee brands of Portugal, which is rarely found elsewhere.
Note: All the photos on this article were taken by Leonid Kholkine with infinite patience and care. Thanks, Leon!
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