Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
Beer/Wine
Portuguese
Non-veg
Serves meat, vegan options available. Gourmet restaurant offering some vegan main course options. Open Tue-Sat 12:30-15:00, Tue-Thu 20:00-22:30.
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- Reservations required
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Last update on 07 Mar 2024 by barrykf
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Added by icaldas on 16 Aug 2012
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37 Reviews
First Review by kandimba
vegette
Points +374
delightful evening out with my omni partner - Edit
The restaurant is located in a more residential area of Porto, away from the city center. My partner is Omni, so we usually want to find a place that will make us both happy. I am used to Omni restaurants having a few vegan options. This is a vegetarian restaurant with a few Omni options. Most of the items are vegan or can be made vegan. I had risotto with a port wine sauce, with capers and pomegranate. The flavor combination was so delightful. For dessert we shared an apple tart with black vanilla ice cream. They also had an extensive menu of organic wines. This is a great date night option. All allergens are clearly marked.
Read morePros: lovely atmosphere, delicious flavor combinations, vegan dessert
Guest
saladlover
Points +425
Nice mostly vegetarian rest - Edit
They have different vegan options with seitan or tempeh or risotto if you fancy it. Also a selection of different local wines. The sauce of the tempeh dish is really good.
Read moreGuest
veganchef229
Points +152
Delicious food, something for everyone - Edit
Excellent waitstaff. Many options. Was the most expensive restaurant we ate in during our stay in Portugal and prices were still very reasonable. We were a big party and it’s really nice to go to a restaurant where we have a lot of choices and there are still good options for those who don’t follow our way of eating. All food was beautifully presented too. 4 of the five vegan dishes we ordered were WOW. A little disappointed in the seitan in Madeira sauce. It just didn’t do it for me. The non vegans in our party all thought there food was very good as well
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-05-16
Pros: Excellent waitstaff, Delicious food, Beautiful presentation
Cons: If You serve non vegan food have a good fish, If You serve non vegan food have a chicken dish, Ice cream was marked vegan but wasn’t
Guest
adriolaya
Points +33
Good but not awesome - Edit
We went for dinner and although the food was okish it was not WOW. We were surprised about the food not being great after seeing the reviews. We had the raviolis and the Porto risotto. It’s very pricey for the quality of the food. The service was great tho!
Read morePros: Service , Presentation
Cons: Price vs. quality, No outstanding dishes
Guest
PedroNogueira
Points +492
Good veg options - Edit
Lunch menu has ate least 2veg options, the tikka massala and Tufo yokisoba was good
Read moreGuest
AnnachiaraSaccavino
Points +333
An experience - Edit
Went there having dinner with my gf, following the suggestion of our host. We didn't know anything about the place, except that it was a vegetarian restaurant. The place is so fancy and it seemed expensive (and it was haha). The dishes are really refined: we took the velouté, the carpaccio (amazing!), the tikka Masala tempeh, a dish that had palms (i don't remember the name). We also tried the green vegan wine.
Read moreAt a certain point the owner showed up and took us to the little garden they keep. So beautiful! He was so caring and attentive and made us smell different aromatic leaves. Then we tried also the tofu, which was good but not as good as the other dishes. Finally we had the dessert, the apple and cinnamon with black vanilla ice cream,accompanied with a glass of Porto. The owner also introduced us to the chef, a really young guy!
Everything is local here and there is an attentive research about ingredients.
I totally suggest to eat here if you have the financial possibility.
Pros: Refined dishes, Beautiful environment , Nice owner
Cons: expensive
Guest
VeganLuce
Points +116
Recommend - Edit
Smart upmarket restaurant, delicious vegan options
Read morePros: Delicious vegan options , Excellent service , Smart, calm restaurant.
Guest
CG•
Points +56
Bom local para uma refeição - Edit
Bom serviço e pratos diferenciadores. No entanto tem vindo a perder alguma qualidade pela escolha das matérias primas e porque reduzem a quantidade das matérias primas que dao nome aos pratos (mais caras) e estas quase nao se sentem, sendo o ingrediente principal vegetais (mais baratos do que o que apresentam como principal).
Read morePros: Opções veganas, Espaço agradável , Bom serviço
Cons: Muitas opções de carne mesmo definindo-se como veg, Perdeu qualidade na confeção, Pouca quantidade da mat prima q da nome aos pratos
Guest
alixgia
Points +290
We loved it! - Edit
Ristorante principalmente vegetariano, ma con molte opzioni vegane. I piatti sono ricercati (anche nella presentazione) e molto buoni!
Read moreLo staff è gentilissimo e cordiale.
Il giardino esterno è un’oasi di pace.
Consigliato!
Guest
ArielaSchnitman
Points +1252
Buenísimo - Edit
Restaurante principalmente vegetariano con muchas opciones veganas exquisitas.
Read moreEl tilkka massala estaba excelente
Guest
KattiV
Points +321
We loved it! - Edit
A true gem! We enjoyed starters, main and dessert. The staff was outstanding and the atmosphere so relaxing! We really loved it!
Read moreGuest
MarleneBoffel
Points +30
Delicious Food - Edit
I went with a vegetarian and an omnivore, we were all happy with our food. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff. For me as a hungry person the portion could have been bigger though 😄
Read moreGuest
Vonwong
Points +125
Great food, friendly staff, good prices! - Edit
The daily specials are great!
Read moreGuest
SusanaDuarte
Points +11322
Many vegan options but not impressed - Edit
I have gone once there with my mother. They have nearly half of the menu vegan of vegetarian. The portions are big and generous. They use good ingredient, but has flavour goes I think could've been better. Non-the-less I do want to give it another try.
Read morePros: Half of not more of options are vegan, Very nice environment , Nice outside seating area
Cons: Serves meat
Guest
MariaJoãoSerra
Points +59
Opções vegan muito boas - Edit
Restaurante inclusivo para vários tipos de padrões alimentares, com algumas opções vegan. Os funcionários são extremamente simpáticos e cuidadosos. Experimentei a torre de cogumelos em duas ocasiões, e esteve sempre uma delícia. O risotto de cogumelos (vegetariano, com laticínios) foi pedido por outra pessoa e infelizmente estava salgado, mas penso que deve ter sido uma situação pontual. A alheira de nabiças (penso que é assim que se chama) com massa filó é uma entrada muito saborosa! O preço é algo excessivo, mas numa ocasião especial é um restaurante onde apetece sempre voltar.😄
Read moreGuest
prestadalila
Points +182
Loved it! - Edit
Very tasty vegan meals there should be more, but overall really good options. Better to go for lunch, the menu a la carte for dinners is too expensive in my opinion.
Read moreGuest
DougK
Points +932
Lovely patio with several vegan options. Excellent service. - Edit
We had the seitan steak (thinly sliced seitan with a nice sauce) and pistachio crusted tofu. Both were really enjoyable. The dessert was an avocado cream pudding which was tasty! Very nice server who was very attentive. Menu also offers a few meat and fish options if you have non-vegans in your party.
Read morePros: Several vegan entrees, Great atmosphere
Guest
krysteleal
Points +705
A comida é ok, mas... - Edit
Como vegana, fui aqui almoçar com uma amiga vegetariana e, apesar da comida ser boa e existirem realmente opções vegan e vegetarianas, o facto de ser um restaurante com tantas opções de carne e peixe chocou-me. Custa muito dizer que são um restaurante normal, com opções veg? Não custa muito e não utilizam, de forma errada, o termo "restaurante vegetariano" que deveria ser apenas utilizado por restaurantes realmente vegetarianos.
Read moreGuest
JoanaAGomes
Points +230
Publicidade enganosa - Edit
Restaurante que se diz vegetariano, mas que afinal é apenas um restaurante comum com opções vegetarianas.
Read moreOportunismo e publicidade enganosa.
Pros: Vegan options
Cons: Publicidade enganosa
Guest
Purple Sara
Points +146
Not worth the hype - Edit
My husband and I went to Essencia for dinner tonight after reading several rave reviews on Trip Advisor about how it was the 'best vegan dinner' they've ever had. I was so excited. Unfortunately, we have different ideas about it.
Read moreThe restaurant wasn't bad, but I was unimpressed by the number of vegan options, service and value.
1. Vegan/vegetarian options.
Despite calling itself a vegetarian restaurant, this restaurant serves meat. I'm OK with that, but's it's very misleading to call itself a veg restaurant when it's only veg-friendly. Some veg-people may be turned off by this.
2. Number of vegan options are limited. This restaurant has the most vegan appetizer options. Limited vegan main options (perhaps 2 or 3?) and includes a whole list of meat options and a tofu dish that wasn't vegan friendly. I didn't look over the dessert list too carefully, but there were some vegan options there as well. No vegan ice cream, just regular ice cream.
We ordered the vegetable curry and the beetroot spaghetti for mains and the vegan phyllo sausage for our starter. Neither of us were in the mood for dessert.
3. Value. Overall, I have gotten better value for a dinner at another restaurant in town (Black Mamba, O Burrito, I Love Bio) as our 1 app and 2 mains cost 30 Euro. We got complimentary water because I asked for tap water. They don't serve tap water (due to bad filtering?), so I was told I was given free water after I asked for a refill on my water. I appreciated the gesture, but it's weird they don't give customers anything to drink with a meal that isn't paid for.
The food was good, but not the best food I've ever had. I have had better food at Elizabeth's Gone Raw and Equinox, both in DC.
Pros: Tasty food, Vegan options clearly labeled
Cons: Expensive compared to other places in Porto, Smallish portions, No free water
Guest
NatachaDeSousa
Points +400
Great daily menus ! - Edit
So this restaurant is really half vegetarian/vegan so there are a lot of options! Daily menus are really good and affordable! Not a lot of vegan offers for desert though. At night time you can only pick from the menu, which is a little more expensive. For us as vegans, we dodn´t theink there are a lot of fab options and wasn´t worth the visit, but we definatly enjoy it during lunch time and it´s completely recommendable!
Read moreTheres also a patio outside so when it´s nice weather you can enjoy your lunch outside!
Pros: Lots of vegetrain/vegan options., Outside patio., Affordable.
Cons: Basic vegan dishes in the night menu., Only one or non vegan deserts sometimes.
Guest
AnnaSantos12345
Points +32
Amazing - Edit
One of the best restaurants with vegan options I've been to. I just keep coming back! Amazing 😊
Read morePros: 4 or 5 different dishes :) some of them has Chee's
Cons: A little, but the vegan dishes areore cheaper that
Guest
obn
Points +42
Excellent dinner venue - Edit
Our host in Porto suggested Essencia as a vegan-friendly restaurant for a nice dinner. We reserved via the website and were welcomed and seated directly despite we were a bit early.
Read moreWe checked the menu and found the kind of entries upside down - many vegetarian and vegan dishes and at the end a page of four meat/fish options for the carnivorous company if needed.
As starter I got a spicy soup. The main dish was a delicious saitan steak with almond topping and a baked potato piece and spinach. The dessert was a coconut cake. The dishes were presented nicely and I was quite stuffed at the end.
The restaurant lighting looked a bit 80s style but fresh and fine. Staff was very attentive and nice - excellent! I suggest this place for a romantic dinner.
Pros: attentive staff, not too expensive
Cons: some few non-veg options at the end of menu
Guest
Cecilie2018
Points +254
Fantastisk sted - et must - Edit
Helt fantastisk sted som jeg ville give fem stjerner hvis det var muligt. Maden smager skønt - desserten var den bedste jeg nogensinde har smagt. Tre veganske retter koster 9 euro !! Sød sød betjening.
Read moreJeg vil spise der igen i morgen!!
Guest
Bolt
Points +14
First time impression - Edit
Very good overall. You can eat indoors or outdoors and has dishes for every taste: spanning from fully vegan, to meat/fish dishes. Vegetarian dishes can easily be turned into vegan ones.
Read moreVery pricey for the amount of food you eat, but the quality is excellent (it is gourmet after all).
Be prepared to take a strangely long time to pick your main dish/dessert as everything seems soooooooo delicious.
Pros: options for every diet, delicious food, outdoor and indoor space + comfortable
Cons: expensive, small amount of food
Guest
Marta_CG
Points +59
My favourite restaurant - Edit
It’s not fully vegetaria because there’s one meat one fish dish but the gourmet vegetarian cuisine is amazing. Good variety of starters and main dishes. Amazing desserts.
Read moreThe service is excellent and the restaurant is a really nice place to be. It has a very nice terrace.
Always my first choice of restaurant and my favourite vegetarian food in Portugal.
Guest
giancarlo12
Points +25
good but... - Edit
Read moreI liked the menu but this is not a vegetarian resturant, vegetarian comes from the vegetable palavre and meat or milk is not vegetable, this is something used to manipulate and profit from animal suffering.
Pros: good meal
Cons: animal suffering, animal exploration
Guest
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