dish
Francesinha
Porto's legendary sandwich — layers of cured meats and steak covered in melted cheese and a spicy beer-tomato sauce.
The francesinha is Porto's most famous dish, a towering sandwich created in the 1950s by Daniel David Silva, who adapted the French croque-monsieur into something far more extravagant. Layers of bread, wet-cured ham, linguiça, fresh sausage, and a beef steak are covered in melted cheese and then drenched in a thick, spicy sauce made from beer, tomato, and piri-piri.
Every restaurant in Porto guards its sauce recipe jealously — the sauce is what distinguishes a great francesinha from a mediocre one. Served with a mountain of french fries and a cold beer, the francesinha is unapologetically indulgent. It has become a pilgrimage dish for food lovers visiting Porto and a fierce point of local pride.
