People from Porto are nicknamed tripeiros (tripe eaters), after the story that in 1415 the city gave all its meat to the fleet sailing for Ceuta and kept only the offal for itself. Six hundred years later you can order vegan tripe in a hotel garden on Rua do Almada, which feels like a fair ending.
The rest of the plant-based scene rebuilds the classics with the same spirit: a vegan francesinha (a stacked sandwich drowned in beer and tomato sauce) at a cat café, an egg-free pastel de nata (custard tart) in Bonfim, and a farm-to-table tasting menu near the Bolhão market. These eight places sit between the Baixa (downtown) and Bonfim, so plan each day by hill. For more cities, browse the destinations page.
Vegan Porto at a Glance
- Best with cats: O Porto dos Gatos
- Best late dinner, any day: Kind Kitchen
- Best home-style set lunch: O Macrobiótico
- Best pastel de nata and breakfast: Odete Vegan Bakery
- Best for a mixed group: Espécie
- Best special-occasion dinner: Venn Canteen
- Best Sunday buffet: Jardineiro
- Best cake to take away: My Green Pastry
Best Vegan Restaurants in Porto
1. O Porto dos Gatos: Vegan Francesinha With Cats in Charge Vegan
Order the francesinha, Porto’s famous sandwich of layered fillings under melted cheese and a beer and tomato sauce, rebuilt here with no meat or dairy at all. Reviewers name it alongside the gnocchi, the vegan burger and the pumpkin soup. Save room for cake, because the carrot, lemon and coffee cakes and the chocolate brownie get almost as much love as the cats.
The lunch dish changes daily, and the cats have their own dedicated room, so you eat in peace and visit them afterwards. Staff happily tell you each cat’s story, and there is a little outdoor seating area for sunny days. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 12:30PM to 7:30PM, and gluten-free options are easy to find on the menu.
💡 Tip: It closes on Sunday and Monday, so plan your cat time for midweek or Saturday afternoon.
📍 Av. de Rodrigues de Freitas 93, 4300-466 Porto | Bonfim | ☎️ +351 22 245 2502 | 📸 @oportodosgatoscatcafe
2. Kind Kitchen: Cashew Burrata and Korean Nuggets Downtown Vegan
Start with the cashew burrata, a soft vegan take on the Italian cheese, then go for the Korean nuggets or the katsu sandwich, the two dishes reviewers say you will not find anywhere else. The vegan shrimp tacos, the yaki udon (Japanese stir-fried noodles) and the francesinha all have fans too, and the portions are big enough to share.
Brunch people come for the French toast, and the mocktails get nearly as many mentions as the food. The menu hops between Mexico, Korea, Italy and Portugal, everything is plant-based, and dogs are welcome. It sits a short walk from Avenida dos Aliados, the grand boulevard below the city hall, on a street named after the same Ceuta from the tripe story.
💡 Tip: It opens every day from 12PM to 11PM, so this is your answer for dinner on a Sunday or Monday when smaller places are shut.
📍 R. de Ceuta 80, 4050-189 Porto | Baixa | 🌐 kindkitchen.pt | 📸 @kindkitchen.porto
3. O Macrobiótico: Organic Set Lunches in Bonfim Vegan
Come hungry for the menu of the day: a soup, a salad and a hearty main built on organic, local vegetables, grains and pulses. Reviewers love that it skips processed meat substitutes and still tastes creative and full of flavour. This is the nourishing, home-cooked plate you want after three days of custard tarts and port.
The kitchen follows macrobiotic principles (a Japanese-influenced way of eating built on whole grains and seasonal vegetables), so the menu changes daily with whatever is good. The dining room mixes vintage pieces with modern touches, and everything can be packed up as takeaway for a picnic. Hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 11:30AM to 5PM.
💡 Tip: There is no dinner service and it closes Monday and Tuesday, so make it your Bonfim lunch on the same day as breakfast at Odete, a few streets away.
📍 Rua do Bonfim 63, 4300-069 Porto | Bonfim | ☎️ +351 964 246 130 | 📸 @omacrobiotico
4. Odete Vegan Bakery: Custard Tarts and Flaky Croissants Vegan
Get the pastel de nata (Portugal’s custard tart), made without eggs or dairy, and decide for yourself how it compares with the original; plenty of reviewers think it holds its own. The croissants are flaky, the cinnamon rolls and chocolate tarts go fast, and the sourdough loaves are the bread people carry home in their bags.
There is a savoury side too, with sandwiches, pizza and a faux salmon that keeps turning up in reviews. Tea comes in a pretty set, soft jazz plays, and it feels like a neighbourhood bakery that happens to be fully vegan. It opens 9AM to 6PM Monday to Saturday and 9AM to 2PM on Sunday.
💡 Tip: On Sunday it closes at 2PM, so make Odete your breakfast that day and keep the afternoon for the river.
📍 R. de Santo Ildefonso 478, 4000-467 Porto | Bonfim | ☎️ +351 910 866 107 | 📸 @odetebakery
5. Espécie: Korean Fried Cauliflower and World Comfort Food Vegetarian
Order the Korean fried cauliflower first; reviewers call it spicy and well worth it, and it lands on almost every table. After that, the moqueca (a Brazilian coconut and pepper stew) with rice, the chestnut dumplings and the aubergine schnitzel are the plates people rave about. The cooking borrows from everywhere, which makes it an easy pick for a mixed group.
Espécie is vegetarian, so dairy and eggs appear in some dishes, including the shakshuka (eggs baked in spiced tomato sauce) and the cheese pastries, and the vegan dishes are marked on the menu. The restaurant spreads over two floors with a vintage look and a terrace at the back, and it fills up most evenings.
💡 Tip: It opens daily from 12:30PM until 11PM, and until 11:30PM on Friday and Saturday. Book ahead for dinner on those nights, because walk-ins are often turned away.
📍 Rua da Picaria 84, 4050-477 Porto | Baixa | ☎️ +351 967 336 147 | 📸 @especie.restaurante
6. Venn Canteen: A Tasting Menu Straight From the Farm Vegan
Venn serves a seasonal tasting menu of 4 or 6 courses, and the dishes reviewers remember are the portobello mushrooms in garlic cream, which one called a flavour explosion, and the fried rice with charred aubergine and kimchi ice cream. The menu changes several times a year with the harvest, so expect new dishes cooked with the same nerve.
Everything is plant-based and comes from regenerative farms in northern Portugal, and the kitchen uses stems, skins and leaves too. There are only 26 seats, the service gets warm praise, and reviewers describe the feel as upscale and homey at once. It opens every night from 7PM, with wine and alcohol-free pairings on offer.
💡 Tip: Book well ahead and add the pairing if you want the full two-hour evening. I would make this my one big dinner in Porto.
📍 Rua de Fernandes Tomás 345, 4000-216 Porto | Bolhão | ☎️ +351 22 014 0899 | 🌐 venncanteen.com | 📸 @venncanteen
7. Jardineiro: Vegan Tripe and a Sunday Buffet in a Garden Vegan
Reviewers rave about the tofu Wellington and the curry, and one called the risotto among the best they had ever eaten. Jardineiro also takes on the local classics, with tofish (tofu cooked like bacalhau, the salt cod Portugal adores) and a vegan version of tripas, the tripe stew behind the city’s nickname. The plates arrive beautifully presented, desserts included.
The restaurant is part of the Jardins do Porto hotel and has a quiet garden out back. It opens daily for lunch from 12:30PM and dinner from 6:30PM. The weekday set lunch is a bargain for somewhere this central, dinner brings a tasting menu, and Sunday lunch is a buffet of reinvented Portuguese hot dishes, pasta and homemade desserts.
💡 Tip: Reserve the Sunday buffet in advance, because places are limited and it fills up.
📍 Rua do Almada 609, 4050-039 Porto | Baixa | ☎️ +351 22 976 8850 | 🌐 jardinsdoporto.pt | 📸 @jardineiro.vegan.kitchen
8. My Green Pastry: French Patisserie Without Sugar or Gluten Vegan
The chocolate coffee mousse cake is the slice reviewers single out, and it sets the tone for the counter: French-style cakes, tarts and pastries that are all vegan, and largely gluten-free and free of refined sugar too. It is the prettiest box of cake in the city, and nobody eating it will guess what has been left out.
Ingredients are organic and seasonal, so the range shifts through the year, and there are brunch plates if you want to sit down. It is a small shop with a few seats on Praça da República, the leafy square above Trindade, and opens Wednesday to Friday from 10AM to 5PM and Saturday from 10AM to 6PM.
💡 Tip: Ring ahead if you want a celebration cake, and remember it closes Sunday to Tuesday.
📍 Praça da República 195, 4050-498 Porto | Trindade | ☎️ +351 22 115 5976 | 📸 @mygreenpastry
Porto in Blue and White: The Azulejos
Porto’s walls are a free gallery of azulejos, the painted tin-glazed tiles Portugal turned into a national art form. The famous ones line the entrance hall of São Bento station, where around 20,000 tiles by Jorge Colaço show battles, royal processions and farm life, and you can walk in for free on your way between meals.
Then look up at the Capela das Almas on Rua de Santa Catarina, covered in blue and white from pavement to roof, and at the tiled side wall of the Igreja do Carmo, a short walk from Jardineiro. Both are close enough to the Baixa entries above that you can tile-spot between lunch and dinner.
Vegan Porto: What to Know Before You Go
- The francesinha (a meat-stacked sandwich in beer and tomato sauce) and tripas à moda do Porto (tripe and bean stew) are the city’s signature dishes, both built on meat. Eat the vegan versions at O Porto dos Gatos, Kind Kitchen and Jardineiro.
- Caldo verde, the kale and potato soup on almost every menu, usually comes with a slice of chouriço (smoked sausage) on top, so ask for it sem chouriço (without sausage) and ask how the broth is made.
- “Sou vegano” (men) or “sou vegana” (women) means “I am vegan”, and “sem carne, peixe, ovos nem leite” means “no meat, fish, eggs or milk”.
- Porto is steep. The Funicular dos Guindais links Ribeira (the riverfront) with Batalha at the top of the hill and saves your legs after lunch.
- Metro line E (the violet line) runs from the airport to Trindade in the centre. Buy a rechargeable Andante card at the station machines.
- Several entries close on Monday or Tuesday or serve lunch only, so check the hours in each entry before you plan a day.
When to Visit Porto
Spring and early autumn are the sweet spot, with mild days for climbing the hills and shorter queues at São Bento. Summer is warm, though the Atlantic keeps the heat in check, and winter brings plenty of rain, so pack a proper jacket from November to March.
If you can, come for São João on the night of 23 June, when the whole city fills the streets with fireworks over the Douro and people happily bop strangers on the head with plastic hammers. The grills that night are mostly sardines, so have dinner at Kind Kitchen first and join the party after.
Vegan Porto FAQ
Is Porto good for vegans?
Yes. The city is compact and has fully vegan places for every meal, from breakfast at Odete Vegan Bakery to a tasting menu at Venn Canteen, plus a vegetarian favourite in Espécie.
Where can I eat a vegan francesinha in Porto?
Order it at O Porto dos Gatos, the cat café in Bonfim, or at Kind Kitchen downtown, which is open every day until late.
Where can I find a vegan pastel de nata in Porto?
Odete Vegan Bakery on Rua de Santo Ildefonso makes an egg-free, dairy-free custard tart, alongside croissants, cinnamon rolls and sourdough.
What is the best vegan fine dining in Porto?
Venn Canteen serves a fully plant-based tasting menu of 4 or 6 courses every night from 7PM. Jardineiro also offers a tasting menu at dinner.
Which vegan restaurants in Porto are open on Mondays?
Kind Kitchen, Venn Canteen and Jardineiro open every day, and Odete Vegan Bakery opens daily too. O Porto dos Gatos, O Macrobiótico and My Green Pastry are closed on Mondays.
Is there a vegan buffet in Porto?
Yes. Jardineiro on Rua do Almada runs a fully vegan buffet every Sunday lunchtime from 12:30PM. Book ahead, because places are limited.
Is caldo verde vegan?
Usually not as served, because it comes with a slice of chouriço (smoked sausage) and the broth can be made with meat. Ask for it without sausage and check the broth, or eat at one of the fully vegan places in this guide.