Toasted bread layered with hot meats such as ham, sausage and steak, topped with melted cheese and covered in a near-boiling spiced tomato-and-beer sauce.

A 20th-century creation attributed to Daniel David da Silva, a barman who had spent time in France and Belgium and who joined the restaurant A Regaleira on Rua do Bonjardim in the 1950s. Inspired by the croque monsieur, he made a small sandwich with roast beef and smoked meat and a secret hot sauce, and it became the francesinha, the little French girl. A Regaleira, open since 1934, still serves it to the original recipe and moved to number 83 of the same street in 2021.

Where to eat Francesinha in Porto

4 editor picks for Francesinha in Porto, ranked by editorial score. All Porto signature dishes · Francesinha across every city.

  • Cafe Santiago

    Order The Francesinha Santiago with its fried egg on top, or the Cachorro Santiago.

    Café Santiago on Rua Passos Manuel in Porto serves the Francesinha Santiago, built on mortadella, fresh sausage and steak under a family-secret sauce.

    DetailsDirections

  • Francesinha Cafe

    Order The francesinha, the dish behind the diner's best francesinha prize two years in a row.

    Francesinha Café is a diner at Rua da Alegria 946 in Porto with Portuguese dishes, tapas and burgers, and a best francesinha prize two years running.

    DetailsDirections

  • Yuko Tavern

    • ★ 4.2
    • €€
    • Areosa

    Order Traditional francesinha, with linguiça, fresh sausage, ham, beef steak and melted cheese.

    Yuko Tavern is a traditional tavern at Rua de Costa Cabral 2331, 4200-232 Porto, serving francesinhas since 1987, plus petiscos like stewed gizzards.

    DetailsDirections

  • Lado B Cafe

    Order The francesinha, vegetarian or not, and the chocolate cake.

    Lado B Café is a modern, music-themed room across from the Coliseu in downtown Porto, run like a brewery with an extensive wine and beer list.

    DetailsDirections

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Make it at home

Serves 21 hr 30 minIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 4 slices of thick white sandwich bread
  • 2 fillets of steak, 150g each
  • 2 fresh chourico sausages
  • 4 slices of cured ham
  • 4 slices of mortadella
  • 300g sliced cheese (Edam or similar)
  • 2 eggs (optional, fried for topping)
  • 300ml tomato passata
  • 200ml beer (lager)
  • 200ml beef stock
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp piri-piri sauce
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp flour

Method

  1. Make the sauce: melt butter in a pan, add flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in tomato passata, beer, beef stock, tomato paste and piri-piri. Simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
  2. Cook the chourico in a dry pan over medium heat, 4 minutes per side. Slice lengthwise.
  3. Pan-fry the steaks, 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Rest 5 minutes.
  4. Build the sandwich: bread, ham, mortadella, steak, chourico, second slice of bread.
  5. Top with sliced cheese covering the entire surface. Bake at 220C for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
  6. Top with a fried egg if desired. Pour over the hot sauce generously, until the sandwich is half-submerged. Serve immediately with fries to dip.

Editor tip. Use a strong lager (not a craft IPA) for the sauce; the bitterness can overpower the tomato. Cheese coverage matters: it seals the sandwich so sauce stays on top.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy.