Reviews O Porto Cafe

Cafe O'Porto draws on the influence of the area, we have a large Portuguese population here! Great sandwiches and coffees and the staff are so sweet! Yum yum yum!

You hear a lot about immigration in London, especially if you travel by black cabs. “They come over here take our jobs, use our hospitals, clog up our roads blah, blah, blah…” The Café O’Porto has been an institution in the Ladbroke Grove area for decades, opened up by an earlier generation of Portuguese immigrants escaping the dictatorship of Salazar and settling around Notting Hill before its gentrification. All those years later they are still serving up fabulous milky coffees, sandwiches and the most fantastic custard tarts (pastéis de nata) on this earth.

We popped in early on a Saturday morning before the hordes arrived for Portobello Market. Originally we were going to go to the equally excellent Café Lisboa across the road but it was already rammed full and the driving autumn rain made an outside table impracticable. Thankfully O’Porto had one table left.

I ordered two large coffees and two cured ham and cheese toasted sandwiches. The fresh and crusty bread was lightly toasted, and over flowing with filling, all coming in for less than a £10 for both of us. A real bargain in this part of London nowadays. Cheese was tangy and slightly melted and the ham with just a touch of saltiness improved only by a few twists of ground black pepper. The café was buzzing with chatter, punctuated with the hissing of the espresso machine and the chinking of spoons on saucers. It was almost like being in Portugal itself; the fact most of the customers were Portuguese being testament to the authenticity and excellence of the food on offer.

The cabinets displayed an array of superb patisseries but, for once, I managed to resist the tempting pastries....this time!

Thankfully we now have several great Portuguese places in our own neighbourhood of NW10, A Pousada, O Bombeiro and Café Tamariz all serving excellent fare. You have to watch these immigrants though….They come over here open cafes, serve great coffee and food…. whatever next…….

Good for coffees and tasty snacks when visiting the markets. Loved by locals, this place is always friendly and busy. Good coffee and a variety of sandwiches and savoury snacks. The Portuguese custard tarts are a favourite and very authentic! A much better choice than the ubiquitous chain coffee shops in London.

We were very impressed with this bustling little cafe. Agreeable prices, a huge range of authentic Portugeuse food on offer, and very friendly staff. Seems to be popular with locals and was super busy but we were able to find a table reasonably quickly. A nice reminder of Portugal.

Nice, cozy place. Pricing in line with city center, so ok. Relaxed ‚best of (hard rock) of the last few decades‘, hence a great place to have an easy pint!

I love the Portuguese spirit and the coffee and pastry is unbeatable. A place worth travelling to.

The service is kind and friendly. Awesome choice of pastry.

A taste of Portugal. It is the place we come every time we are in Portobello. Drinking galao and eating risol de camarao.

Lovely coffee and a great atmosphere. Recommended!

If too busy at Lisboa across the road, this place is another lovely place for Portuguese coffee and sweats, pastéis de nata and like delights. Pleasant to sit al fresco in the morning sunshine. It would be even better if one was served with proper dishes rather than takeaway boxes and cups (one wonders if that is a pandemic requirement).