Food Tours · Tour

From the Chapel of Souls to a Port and Tonic

Three and a half hours on foot through the old town, twelve people at most, and at least four stops that together come to a full meal rather than a set of samples. You meet at the Capela das Almas on Santa Catarina, whose outside walls are covered in blue and white tiles showing scenes from the lives of Saint Francis and Saint Catherine. The first stop is a pastry shop nearby: a custard tart, the pastry shattering into layers, cinnamon or icing sugar on top, and a coffee to go with it, which is how Porto starts most mornings. Bolhão comes next, the neoclassical market building at the centre of one of the busiest districts, for a board of local cheeses and a glass of local wine. Then the Aliados with its city hall and Art Nouveau fronts on the way to a bifana, pork sliced thin, marinated with garlic and paprika and slow-cooked, in a roll. Rua do Carmo has the Lions' Fountain and the Igreja do Carmo with its tiled side wall, and a tasca near it provides the petiscos: several small plates meant to be shared, olives, cheese, chouriço, whatever the kitchen is doing, with another glass of wine. The last stop is port, near Praça de Lisboa. You can drink it as it comes, or as a port and tonic, which is what people here actually order in summer with the white and increasingly with a young tawny too. Water is included, and the alcohol in fixed amounts for guests over eighteen, with non-alcoholic alternatives. Guided in English; other languages on request before booking. Tastings shift with the season and with what the partner venues have. Porto is built on a hill and the route is not flat, so moderate fitness is needed. Vegetarian and pescatarian versions can be arranged, and some gluten-free options where cross-contamination is not an issue, but guests with severe allergies cannot be hosted.