Shredded salt cod sautéed with onion, matchstick fried potato and beaten egg, finished with olives and parsley. The most-ordered cod dish in Porto trattorias.
Bacalhau à Brás was invented in Lisbon's Bairro Alto in the 19th century by a tavern-keeper named Brás, but the dish travelled to Porto early and is now equally canonical to the northern cod tradition; the Portuguese say there are over 365 ways to cook salt cod, one for every day of the year, and à Brás is the everyday weeknight standard. Adega Sao Nicolau and Cafe Santiago serve the trattoria version; the city's modern restaurants reinterpret it but rarely improve.
3 editor picks for Bacalhau à Brás in Porto, ranked by editorial score. All Porto signature dishes · Bacalhau à Brás across every city.
Tapabento ★ 4.5
baixa · Rua da Madeira 221, 4000-330 Porto
Tapabento behind Sao Bento station in Porto plates octopus salad, duck rice and grilled tiger prawns in a small, loud, family-run dining room.
Cafe Santiago ★ 4.4
baixa · Rua Passos Manuel 226, 4000-382 Porto
Cafe Santiago on Rua de Passos Manuel in Porto is the most-cited francesinha counter, layered with mortadella, sausage and steak under tomato-beer sauce.
Adega Sao Nicolau ★ 4.3
ribeira · Rua de Sao Nicolau 1, 4050-561 Porto
Adega Sao Nicolau in Porto's Ribeira has been pouring red since the 1940s, serving polvo a lagareiro on a small Douro-facing terrace below the quay.