First thing’s first.

Since we were arriving in Porto just after lunch time, I suggested we make a pilgrimage to a local outlet famous for a sandwich that I’d read was special to the city. Cafe Santiago kept popping up while researching on things to do and being a sucker for marketing, I thought it was worth the stop. As for the Francesinha, it wasn’t so much a sandwich as it was a calorie bomb, Portuguese-style. I’d only seen pictures of it just before we flew out of Lisbon and it didn’t look too appealing, I have to admit (they also specialized in another equally strange concoction called a Cachorro, which looked like an elongated sea creature). Once we got there though, the place was no-nonsense and beautifully empty (sort of), and the service was quick and friendly. Once our food arrived, they looked exactly like in the photos, still challenging to look at but the empty plates afterwards only meant one thing – the Portuenses are definitely onto something.