In January I flew to Porto, Portugal with my husband and our two year old daughter to visit family. Our daughter has life threatening allergies to egg and peanut and a slightly less severe allergy to dairy. If you have food allergies then I'm sure you know how intimidating it is to try and find food that is safe for you to eat at a restaurant or grocery store in a new location.
Over all I would say Porto is possible but somewhat difficult to navigate if you have serious food allergies to nuts and egg. Many desserts here are made with egg, nuts and peanuts. I have ordered several dishes that peanut was not listed in the ingredients on the menu, but unexpectedly came on top of my meal. Like a salad that came with peanut granola. Several restaurants were not sure about the ingredients or just said that they may contain allergens so I recommend leaving and finding somewhere else to eat if that happens to you. Always carry a snack so your not hangry while searching for a safe restaurant for you and your family. I recommend traveling with an allergy card to give your waiter when you order and use an app like DeepL to translate questions. Keep in mind if you are dairy free, some alternatives are made with soy or nuts like cashews.
Soul Food Porto
One of the first places we landed was Soul Food Porto. I got the daily rotating special which was a simple and delicious potato and veggie dish with kiwi lemonade to drink. My husband got the vegan seitan francesinha with french fries. Our daughter ate veggie soup, fries, vegetables and seitan. Seitan is a vegan protein made with gluten so if you are gluten free, tofu, tempeh or veggies are good alternative. They always pulled the Ikea highchair out of the cabinet and set it up when they saw us coming in which was very appreciated. We ate here the most and they were always great about answering questions about ingredients in the dishes. Super kid friendly as you can tell by the smiley face french fries below.
My Green Pastry
My all time favorite in Porto is My Green Pastry. You will find the most tasty vegan treats! My daughter loved getting her own little soy creme & almond entremet cake and it was nice to find a dessert while out that we could both enjoy! All are vegan with sugar free, gluten free options, most contain almonds. The owner makes her own soy milk soy so you can enjoy a sipping a dairy free cappuccino with a pastry of your choice!
DaTerra
A vegan buffet with many rotating options including gluten free, nut free, soy free. Allergens are highlighted on food tags and you serve yourself. I like to try a little bit of everything when we come here and my daughter loves all the colorful rice, veggies and olive focaccia. There are 9 DaTerra locations in Porto so one is never too far from you!
Apuro Vegan Bar
Apuro is a tasty vegan restaurant with a few different veggie burgers, burritos, soy chicken nuggets and more. Great options for kids, has highchair and outdoor seating! My daughter loved her chicken nuggets and french fries.
NOLA KITCHEN
Nola Kitchen is a great little cafe with the best dairy free cappuccinos made with oat milk, vegan cakes by the slice, and plenty of food options. I personally loved the beet burger with sweet potato fries. They ask you about allergens before ordering and seem to take that seriously. We returned to them a few times during our trip to Porto. They are really family friendly, have highchairs and kept giving my daughter books to play with while we were waiting for our food.
Chocolate cake with date paste from NOLA KITCHEN ( GF, DF, nut free, egg free, vegan)
Over all we really enjoyed our time in Porto and look forward to returning. It's always a challenge to eat out when you or someone in your family has food allergies, but I think we found some great spots! I hope this post helps you eat out more confidently on your trip to Porto!