Rua Da Picaria: A Gastronomic Destination in Porto, Porto, Portugal

Just about every old city has at least one—a neighborhood or street, previously neglected or fallen on hard times, that is undergoing an urban renewal. Trendy restaurants and bars start popping up, energy is high, and suddenly it’s the coolest part of town. We seek out these kind of places when we travel. We’re always interested to see the up and coming food trends, because food culture is not limited to just traditional food. It is constantly evolving with the times. We found one such area in the historic city center Baixa district of Porto, just a few blocks west of the Aliados Metro station.

It seems that the entire downtown Baixa district is under construction with rehabilitation projects, historic buildings being restored, and new businesses opening. Rua da Picaria, in particular, was once known for its furniture stores and has now become a gastronomic destination. This short street only extends for one block and yet we counted over a dozen bars and restaurants. Together with the surrounding streets, this area proved to be a haven of interesting, creative restaurants serving a diversity of cuisines from around the globe. You’ll find Asian street food, Venezuelan arepas, a Japanese sushi bar, Portuguese tapas, Napoletana pizza, and even a small craft brewery to name just a few. We ran out of time and didn’t make it to all of them, so these were our favorites: ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).