Loved absolutely everything about this place!
Food - Generous portions. Came here specifically for the tripe, made Porto style (Tripas a Modo do Porto). The most different, and best tripe I've ever had!! Typically, I have tripe prepared braised Italian and Chinese style, or in menudo, the Mexican way. I love this this way the most! This was made with white beans, smokey chorizo and bits of chicken. Not too salty, and the texture of the tripe was what really made it a perfect dish. All the tripe dishes I've ever had often required a little more chewing, like cows do with cud, or it was boiled so much that there was barely any texture. This was perfection! If I had more time, I would make another trip here for this dish alone!!
Husband got the Francesinha, which is similar to a sandwich consisting of jamon, steak, and melted cheese in a beer sauce. There may have been a couple of other things in there, but I'm not a fan of Francesinha, except for the melted cheese. We've had it in another place, and the jamon makes it a little saltier than I personally prefer.
Atmosphere - Modern, but comfortable and warm. Totally loved the ambiance!! Even the bathroom! Check out my pic. of their communal sink in the restroom area. This is the very first time I've ever taken any photographs in a bathroom, but I couldn't resist this one. As the owner was directing me to the bathroom, he was laughing as he said something about me taking my camera with me, but as it turns out, I'm glad I did. I'm sure he was thinking, something along the lines like, "that nutty American, taking photos of everything here in sight, and now the bathroom too!"
Service - Outstanding! We were about 45 minutes late, as we were totally lost finding the place, but the owner was so nice and accommodating. Note that the streets of Porto is far from the easy grid-like streets of NYC!
We were originally planning on checking out the place Anthony Bourdain went to when he was in Porto, but because it was closed during the times/days we were available, we opted for Tripeiro instead. It came highly recommended by our hotel concierege, who was so good in veering off their standard recommendations, and referred us to her personal favorites. Initially, I was really bummed about this, as Anthony Bourdains' episode on Porto was what inspired us to come to Porto to begin with, but I say it all worked out for the best. Hooray for Tropeiro!!! read more