Vegan Food Guide for Porto

When you think of Portugal, you may think of an abundance of seafood on the menu and lots of meat and cheeses. Well, you're right. But, while I was based out of Porto in northern Portugal for a month I also dug into the burgeoning vegan scene and took it upon myself to try out as many spots as I could during my time there.

Aside from having delicious food. Portugal is also a very affordable country by relative European standards, which meant that popping out to the various vegan spots in town was a welcome and doable way to spend some of my weekends!

Here is my guide to some of the best vegan spots in Porto:

daTerra Baixa

The first place I went to on my first night in Porto was this fabulous all you can eat vegan buffet in the heart of the city - a perfect choice after a long day of traveling! For €10,99 you can fill your plate as many times as you like from a huge spread of delicious and freshly made vegan delights. I particularly liked the butternut squash soup, tomato quiche, grilled tofu, sweet potato meatballs and the seitan wraps...just writing this makes my mouth water!

Location: R. de Mouzinho da Silveira 249

Vegana By Tentúgal

Both a vegan little cafe / pastry shop with mouthwatering freshly made treats and a grocery shop where you can pick up tofu, seitan, vegan sausages, vegan cheese and so much more, this place was a gem to stumble upon. The regular grocery stores in Porto don't stock much in terms of vegan options, so to have a specialty place that also happens to be famous for their vegan pastel de nata, the MUST-try local sweet delicacy in Porto, this one is a winner.

Location: R. de Santo Ildefonso 412

Nola Kitchen

This place offers a huge menu catering to all sorts of dietary palates including tons of vegan options. I found it really hard to choose what to get! There's a big sweet selection, all day breakfast and yummy savoury dishes too, all without refined sugars and flours, as well as processed ingredients or preservatives, which makes this entire menu practically guilt-free. The food is seasonal as well, which is great - I had the summer pancakes and can confirm they went down a treat.

Location: Praça D. Filipa de Lencastre 25

Kind Kitchen

This cosy spot is SO GOOD. Every single thing on the menu is vegan and it all looks mouthwatering; tons of comfort food options like Buddha bowls and burger and a yummy range of sweet treats to finish the meal. I had the Thai Buddha bowl and the flavours hit the spot perfectly.

Location: R. do Bonjardim 302

Árvore do Mundo

There's a changing menu all the time based on what's seasonal here so it's always fresh and yummy. This ranks pretty damn high on my list of vegan food I've tried - everything from presentation to the way the food melted in your mouth was absolutely divine. I had a lentil curry and a chocolate 'salami' biscuit for dessert and my god was it delicious. The vibe is lovely too, a hip little cosy spot tucked away from it all. Highly recommend.

Location: R. do Duque de Loulé 228

Pastelaria Tupi

This little café is full of pastries, yummy treats and all the typical drinks you'd expect. Not all of the pastries are vegan, but delightfully, they have an entire display cabinet dedicated just to vegan goodies including their famous pastel de natas. Be sure to come early - once they run out of stock that's it for the day! I had to visit three times before I could get my hands on some pastels!!

Location: R. de Sá da Bandeira 144

DUH! Vegan

Nestled in the heart of a really cute, hipster neighbourhood full of yummy eats, this place stocks only vegan donuts and damn do they do it well. I picked one up on my last day in the city for a treat for my flight and chose a delicious chocolate filled, icing-topped one that melted in my mouth perfectly. They have limited stock each day and once it's gone it's gone, so be sure to come early for all the choices!

Location: Largo de Alberto Pimentel 38