THE BEST CAFES IN PORTO FOR WORK

I’ve been wanting to visit Porto for a very long time and, yay,  it finally happened this summer. The city, famous for its colourful-tile facades and fortified wine that we all know and love, doesn’t fall short on the choices of cool cafes for work either.

Our stay in Porto was just a quick stopover before we headed south to Peniche and, although it was short and sweet, we managed to check out a few of these coffee shops while we were in town.

The cafes below were our favourite cafes in Porto for work with a decent wifi connection and good coffee for that much-needed pick-me-up. As usual, we also share a couple of the cafes that we’d love to have gone to but didn’t have the time to visit.

Supernova

This always seems to happen to us but, as we were heading out to another cafe, our plans changed immediately after walking past Supernova. As soon as we peeked through the window, we had to go in because how can you not? Would you rather sit at a cafe staring at boring pasty white walls or having lunch in a corner of a distant galaxy somewhere without leaving Porto? Oh, I thought so too.

Supernova is a hybrid of a cafe, bistro, hostel and art gallery so it’s well equipped for work should you want to get your laptop out.

We ordered a salad and a sandwich without expecting too much of it and, to be honest, it took a little long to be served. Having not had breakfast, I was starting to get to my hangry stage wondering how long it’d take to prepare a simple salad and a sandwich. When our food was served, I had to eat my words (as well as my lunch, of course) because our food looked and tasted divine! 

If you like the look of Supernova as much as we did, you might want to book your stay there. Take a look at Supernova’s Booking.com page for more information (using our affiliate link).

SURF & UNWIND RECOMMENDS: Arco-íris (rainbow) salad

Rua Guedes de Azevedo, 217 | www.supernovaporto.com

Negra Café

If there’s one cafe in Porto guaranteed to wow you, it’s Negra Café.

Set in a 1950’s house, the space is divided between two floors connected by a spiral staircase leading to a charming back garden that lies beyond the glazed windows. Vintage decoration and 50s paraphernalia, including an old mammoth of a jukebox, set the mood to the cafe that feels like a trip back in time. I’m actually quite surprised that they weren’t playing bossa nova on repeat or, maybe, this is just a Brazilian’s perception of what the 50s were like back then.

Not sure if they have kept the original amount of power sockets or if they’re just hidden behind the chunky furnishings but, if you’re low on charge, pick a table on the main floor because power sockets are quite scarce downstairs.

Luckily, their food and drinks menu is contemporary because certain things really belong to the past like canned meat, for example. Instead, lots of healthy options like the popular ‘make your own salad’ and açaí smoothies have a place on their menu.

SURF & UNWIND RECOMMENDS: Açaí smoothie bowl

Rua Guedes de Azevedo, 117

Chá das Cinco

Former ex-graphic designer Sofia and video editor Hugo, now respectively a baker and a barista, opened Chá das Cinco (5 o’clock tea) to share their passion for tasty food and quality coffee with the world. Once you know about their background in the visual arts, you can understand why this space, a minimalist Ikea-esque coffee shop with its name lit on a neon sign at the back, looks this trendy.

Outside, the day was overcast so, at times, it was easy to forget that we were in Porto and not sitting at a cafe somewhere in Shoreditch.

Their menu is what you’d expect from this kind of cafe: avocado, healthy bowls and cold brew galore. All tasting and presented beautifully, of course. I didn’t even need to reach for my headphones because I enjoyed whatever playlist they had on so much that I ended up using Shazam a few times whilst we were there.

SURF & UNWIND RECOMMENDS: Popeye smoothie, weird but good

Praça da Alegria, 63 | www.chadascinco.pt

We can’t wait to return to Porto to check these other cafes out. If you happen to be in Porto and get the chance to visit these cafes, do let us know your thoughts.

Café Majestic

As I’m obsessed with Art Nouveau that I just really, really, really wanted to check Cafe Majestic out but so did everyone one else who was in town. Understanbly, this cafe from the Belle-Epoque era is an obvious must-see attraction on the tourist track and, as with some other popular places in Porto, the queue to get in was obscene.

I’m surprised that Cafe Majestic was recommended on quite a few websites as a place to work from and, perhaps, it was just that day or that time of the year that gets busier with tourists. Though it looked pretty amazing from the outside, we had to skip it this time. Until we meet again, Cafe Majestic!

Rua Santa Catarina, 112 | www.cafemajestic.com

Jeronymo

Jeronymo is Portugal’s response to Costa Coffee and, because it’s a chain, it’s a safer and more convenient choice than going to independent coffee shops. You know what you’re getting in terms of food, drinks and facilities and there are more shops spread around Porto which you can go to. We walked past some of their shops but never got a chance to get in so we have to try it next time. 

Rua dos Heróis e dos Mártires de Angola, 67 | www.jeronymo.pt

We wish we’d spent some more time in Porto but there’s always next time. That’s why our guide is a bit shorter than our other guides usually are but, we hope that the quality of the places we listed here will make it up for that.

We hope that our tips are useful to you and that you get to work from these cafes in Porto anytime soon. If you do, let us know on any of our social media channels.