Porto Seasonal Food: Sardines, Lampreia, Chestnuts

What is in season in Porto, and what to order when the market changes.

Next up in Porto

11 NovRoasted chestnuts, água-pé, jeropiga

Spring

Lampreia (lamprey): The Minho lamprey season runs from about January to April, and arroz de lampreia is one of the most important dishes in Portuguese cuisine, with some of the reserved blood added near the end to thicken the sauce.
Sável (shad): Shad and lamprey leave the sea to spawn in the Douro between January and March, and Gondomar, upriver from Porto, calls itself the land of shad and lamprey. Fried shad comes with an açorda enriched with the roe.
Folar de Páscoa: Folar is the bread of Easter, sometimes served with a boiled egg for rebirth, and the folar of Chaves and Valpaços is stuffed with pork, ham, salpicão and linguiça. Padaria Ribeiro lists a Trás-os-Montes folar with meat and olive oil among its breads.

Sardinhas assadas: Barbecued sardines are the tradition of São João on the night of 23 to 24 June, eaten anywhere in the city with caldo verde and roasted pepper salad. The Afurada festival from 23 June also sells grilled sardines, fogaças and broa de Avintes.
Broa de Avintes: The Festa da Broa de Avintes, in a Vila Nova de Gaia parish, runs for six days in early August around the traditional loaf, 4 to 9 August in 2026.

Castanhas (roasted chestnuts): On 11 November, St Martin's Day, Portuguese communities hold a magusto, an outdoor feast of roasted chestnuts and bonfires, with the first wines of the year, água-pé and jeropiga.
Harvest wines: Vinhos a Descobrir Harvest Edition brings small producers to the Forte de Gaia over an October weekend, and the Enóphilo Wine Fest fills the Alfândega do Porto on a Saturday in November.

Going to Enophilo Wine Fest Porto?

Hotels in Porto, 21 Nov

Holidufrom USD 45 a night

Bacalhau (salt cod) at Christmas: Bacalhau is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in some parts of Portugal, usually served with potatoes and fresh bread.
Bolo rei: Bolo rei, a crown-shaped cake of soft dough with raisins, nuts and crystallised fruit, is eaten from the beginning of December until Epiphany, and Confeitaria do Bolhão lists a Bolo Rei among its highlights.
Mercado de Natal do Porto: The Christmas market at the Jardim de João Chagas ran from 29 November to 30 December in 2025, with stalls of sweets, charcuterie, wine and dried fruit, and vendors cooking street food, hot chocolate and crepes.
Shellfish Thursdays in Matosinhos: Degustar Matosinhos, held on the Thursdays of February, has about 35 restaurants serve a shellfish platter for two at a fixed price, 70 euros in 2026.