O Buraquinho: the underground traditional restaurant in Porto

Belonging to the small category of Porto’s underground restaurants, this spot has been up and running for a very long time. Since Buraquinho’s early opening in 1927 that it specializes in serving only true and traditional appetizers, or as we call it petiscos, most of them coming right from the pig.
Those that already know the joint by now may already be aware that the ownership has recently changed. We even feared that the Buraquinho as we know it would end up to be turned into some pretentious gourmet version. Fortunately, not everything changed. The kitchen still serves the same the same beloved petiscos, with the addition of some new dishes like the peixinhos da horta (fried green beans in tempura)¸ pataniscas (fried codfish patties), e a salada de feijão frade (black-eyed bean salad). Also, the tasca’s interior was renewed and stripped of the modernist tiles that welcomed everyone right from the entrance, as well as the long mirrored walls and the clumsily painted woodwork.

When we started visiting Buraquinho, not in 1927, but more recently when it was still managed by the son of the founder, we completely surrendered to the astonishing simplicity of each dish. Sliced beef tongue, smoked pig’s ear, gelatinous stomach, superb blood sausage, stuffed tripe, and scorched pig’s feet. From snout to tail, here you will travel across an odyssey of pig, and the “less noble” bits are definitely the main attraction. Most of the dishes include no more than the actual ingredient solely boiled, thereby ignoring exotic sauces or overwhelming seasonings, only for the outcome to fully celebrate the cook’s expertise and the supreme quality of the ingredients.

The dishes are served with a varied mixed of each petisco (called combinado) – or in case that you already have a favorite – a single dish with only one ingredient. We very often choose a medium combinado (5.50€), a plate of blood sausage (1.50€), sided with broa de milho (a very good type of corn bread) which is more than enough for a lunch for two. We already have experienced the takeaway service and took two blood sausages to cook at home. [By the way, there is no takeaway service, we just loved the ingredients so much we wanted to take them home.]

More recently, when we visited the new Buraquinho the renewed looks immediately started bugging us, but as soon as our order was served we encountered the exact same flavors as before. The fearless display of petiscos at the counter also helped, and we also greeted the extended opening hours. All in all, Buraquinho is still a mandatory visit in Porto’s gastronomical scene.