In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Take Metro line A from the centre to Mercado station and walk to the fish market: you choose the fish at a stall and a restaurant inside cooks it for €7.00 a person, the sides extra. The grill restaurants stand on Rua Heróis de França and Rua Roberto Ivens. O Gaveto is the place the lists name most, with 14 sources (7 English, 6 Portuguese, 1 Brazilian). Dom Peixe is closed on Mondays. Matosinhos charges a €2 a night tourist tax, less than Porto’s €3. Or book a visit: the Matosinhos: Conservas Pinhais Factory Tourad is from €30 for 1.5 hours.
📊 The evidence behind this guide. This pass counts the seafood lists of the 62 English, 30 Portuguese and 6 Brazilian publishers named in where to eat in Porto. Counts are publishers, not pages, and the three languages are shown apart. The fish houses of Matosinhos are named by far fewer publishers than the Bolhão or the francesinha houses, so the counts are small.
⚠️ Check the day. Dom Peixe is closed on Mondays and O Gaveto on Tuesdays. Os Lusíadas closes at 15:00 on Sundays.
How to get there
Metro line A, the blue line, runs from the centre towards Matosinhos. The restaurant inside the fish market says to get out at Mercado station, a few minutes’ walk from the market along Rua Heróis de França. The other stations in Matosinhos are Matosinhos Sul, Brito Capelo and Senhor de Matosinhos. Metro tickets are Andante tickets: see Porto public transport. Cruise ships dock at the Port of Leixões, which is in Matosinhos: see Porto airport and cruise terminal to the city. Matosinhos hotels charge a tourist tax of €2 a night, for up to 7 nights, and none for stays shorter than 4 hours: the three below are in where to stay in Porto.
The places the lists name most
The count is the number of publishers that name the place on a seafood list. A place named by fewer than 4 is left out of this table. Gruta is in Porto, not Matosinhos.
| Place | Sources | English | Portuguese | Brazilian | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O Gaveto | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | Rua Roberto Ivens 826 |
| Salta o Muro | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Rua Heróis de França 386 |
| Gruta | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Rua de Santa Catarina 447, Porto |
| Meia-Nau | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | Rua Heróis de França 375 |
The fish market
Mercado Municipal de Matosinhos · exit at Mercado Metro station · mercadofooddrinks.com
The customer chooses and buys the fish and shellfish directly at the market stalls. The fishmongers prepare it, and the restaurant inside the market, Mercado Food & Drinks, cooks and serves it. The restaurant adds €7.00 a person for cooking and service, and the sides are charged separately. The restaurant also serves from its own menu.
The fish stalls in the Mercado Municipal de Matosinhos. Photo: jad99, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
The grill restaurants
Two streets hold most of the fish houses, Rua Heróis de França and Rua Roberto Ivens. Meia-Nau grills on charcoal, and Dom Peixe shows its fish in a display case.
Grilled sardines with boiled potatoes and salad. Photo: Duarte Briz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
O Gaveto
Rua Roberto Ivens 826 · Cited by 14 sources (7 English, 6 Portuguese, 1 Brazilian) · Book online
The place the lists name most, and the one Expresso’s Boa Cama Boa Mesa guide gave a Silver Fork in 2026. It serves tripas on Saturdays, according to Flash! magazine, and DECO PROteste’s blind tasting of three tripas houses gave it the prize for its smoked ear.
Salta o Muro
Rua Heróis de França 386 · Cited by 5 sources (4 English, 1 Portuguese) · Book online
Its text names arroz de polvo no forno, octopus rice baked in the oven, on Fridays and caldeirada, a fish stew, on Saturdays.
Meia-Nau
Rua Heróis de França 375 · Cited by 4 sources (3 English, 1 Brazilian) · meianaurestaurante.com
Fish and shellfish grilled on charcoal. The group also has Meia-Nau in Porto and a stall in the Time Out Market.
Dom Peixe
Rua Heróis de França 241 · 12:00 to 23:00, closed Monday · dompeixe.com
A room of 160 seats with a summer terrace, where the fish and shellfish are chosen from a display case.
O Valentim
Rua Heróis de França 263 · ovalentim.com
Opened in 2004, with a hotel and a terrace lounge above the restaurant. Guia Repsol names its fish soup as the house signature.
Fernando
Rua Heróis de França 527
Guia Repsol’s first pick in its piece on Matosinhos fish houses: the fish is laid on ice in front of the customer.
Marisqueira Antiga
Rua Roberto Ivens 628 · esplanadamarisqueira.com
Says it has traded since 1957, by its own account. Its site also uses the name Esplanada Marisqueira.
Os Lusíadas
Rua Tomás Ribeiro 257 · Monday to Saturday 12:00 to 00:00, Sunday 12:00 to 15:00 · Book online
A fish and shellfish restaurant that describes three generations of experience in choosing and preparing its dishes.
Beyond lunch
The Monastery of Leça do Balio, a National Monument since 1910 on the Camino de Santiago, houses the Fundação Livraria Lello. Its visit covers the monastery, the temple, the Garden of Thought and the archives, and the open sculpture by Álvaro Siza. See Livraria Lello tickets for the combined ticket. Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, Siza’s tea house on the rocks at Leça da Palmeira, holds two Michelin stars in the Michelin Guide Portugal 2026 and serves lunch from 12:30 to 15:00 and dinner from 19:30 to 22:30, closed on Sundays and Mondays, according to its own site.
Tours and visits
GetYourGuide lists these Matosinhos products, with its “from” prices:
| Product | From | Length | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matosinhos: Conservas Pinhais Factory Tourad | €30 | 1.5 hours | 272 |
| Matosinhos (Porto): “From the Sea to your Plate” Food Tourad | €67 | 3 hours | 28 |
The factory tour is a visit, not a meal.
Plan the rest
The sandwiches, the tascas and the starred restaurants are in where to eat in Porto, and the sandwich with the sauce is in the francesinha in Porto. Rooftop bars in Porto are across the city. To fit Matosinhos into a day, see Porto in 2 days. The sea end of the city at Foz do Douro is on Porto’s historic trams.
Common questions
Which Matosinhos restaurants do the most food lists name?
O Gaveto, on Rua Roberto Ivens, with 7 English, 6 Portuguese and 1 Brazilian publisher. Salta o Muro follows with 4 English and 1 Portuguese, then Gruta, in Porto, with 5 English, and Meia-Nau and Marisqueira Antiga with 3 English each.
How does the Matosinhos fish market work?
You choose and buy the fish or shellfish at a stall in the market, and a restaurant inside the market cooks and serves it. The restaurant adds €7.00 a person for cooking and service, and the sides are charged separately, according to its own site.
How do I get to Matosinhos from Porto?
Take Metro line A, the blue line, from the centre towards Matosinhos and get out at Mercado station. The restaurant inside the fish market says the market is a few minutes' walk from the station along Rua Heróis de França.
Which Matosinhos restaurants are closed on Mondays?
Dom Peixe is closed on Mondays and open from 12:00 to 23:00, according to its site. O Gaveto, in Time Out's list, is closed on Tuesdays. Os Lusíadas is open every day, until 15:00 on Sundays.
Is there a tourist tax in Matosinhos?
Yes, €2 a night for up to 7 nights, which is lower than Porto's €3. Stays shorter than 4 hours are not charged.
What is there to see in Matosinhos besides fish?
The Leça do Balio monastery, a National Monument since 1910, houses the Fundação Livraria Lello, and Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, Álvaro Siza's tea house on the rocks at Leça da Palmeira, holds two Michelin stars.
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