Ah, Portuguese gastronomy. Fresh, generous and gourmet, this comforting cuisine is a favorite with gourmets. Portuguese restaurants are a big hit in the capital. Among the best-known specialties are pasteis de bacalhau , the famous cod croquettes sometimes topped with cheese, grilled sardines and the unmissable pasteis de nata , the famous Portuguese egg cream tarts from Belem. Taberna Londrina is the standard-bearer for the city of Porto, focusing on a very speciality: Francesinha.
Nicknamed the "Portuguese croque-monsieur ", this dish is said to have originated during the French invasions of Portugal under Napoleon 1st.
It is said to have been inspired by the French croque-monsieur principle, consisting of sandwich bread, meat and cheese, with the twist that the sandwich is covered and surrounded by sauce. A comforting specialty that would be well worth a forkful! For some, the name of this restaurant will sound familiar, and with good reason: Taberna Londrina is already present in several Portuguese cities. This is the brand's first French address. The restaurant is already attracting a large Portuguese diaspora.
In fact, the reflex is more to greet you in Portuguese, and less to explain the restaurant's menu and specialties. Nevertheless, when you ask what's the must-try dish on the menu, it's without the slightest hesitation that we recommend the Francesinhas " A Moda do Porto ", consisting of veal steak and fresh sausage, with a fried egg on top and generously covered with a port sauce in which to dip French fries not homemade, contrary to what's on the menu.
Beer lovers beware: it goes perfectly with Taberna Londrina 's own beer. In addition to Francesinha , Taberna Londrina offers other simpler dishes such as grilled salmon with two garnishes, including rice cooked Portuguese-style. Finally, on the dessert side, it's hard to miss the homemade pastel de Nata. However, if you'd like to round off your meal with a more substantial sweet, we suggest you indulge in another specialty, the Baba de Camelo , a creamy, airy caramel custard that almost reminds us of the consistency of whipped egg whites, topped with pieces of cookie.
