Vegan
International
Western
Portuguese
Elegant restaurant in a restored old house situated in a romantic garden. Offers a nine-course tasting menu, re-designing traditional Portuguese dishes in vegan varieties. Reported fully vegan December 2021. Open Tue-Sat 19:00-21:30. Closed Sun & Mon. Last order at 9:30pm, but customers can stay until 12am.
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Last update on 15 Oct 2025 by VictorRodrigues
Update business info -
Added by AndyT on 10 Apr 2014
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118 Reviews
First Review by AndyT
Maiskeks
Points +288
Many vegan options - Edit
Kind of upscale cuisine, but affordable. I had some tasty bread with olive tapenade for the starter. Instead of a soup I ordered caldo verde, some kind of Portuguese cabbage stew, which is usually neither vegan nor vegetarian. For the main course I had caramelised seitan in port wine. Everything was delicious, I would almost say perfect even the coffee. At least half of the main dishes are vegan and they also have a very low priced soup of the day.
Read moreApart from the excellent food the restaurant should be recommended because of its pleasant atmosphere and the very friendly staff. Menu is Portuguese and English.
Updated from previous review on Monday October 06, 2014
Pros: food, staff, atmosphere
Cons: Only two vegan desserts (fruit, yoghurt)
Guest
LaurencePerez
Points +13
A Magic moment - Edit
One of the Best places to eat in Porto !
Read moreMaybe the best...
More than a restaurant, it's a all new concept: the food, the place, the garden, the architecture and of course the warm welcome... everything is linked to create a magic place.
Romantic and Zen, a really special atmosphere...
I recommend the place for architects or creative people: a real inspiration.
Une cuisine raffinée dans une architecture remarquable et extrêmement inventive: un concept novateur et intelligent... bravo.
Obrigado for all the team and a special big up for Victor: we will never forget our evening.
Laurence, Elie, Nina and Ruben.
PS: When will you open the same place in Paris???
Much love.
Pros: Gourmet, Architecture, Warm welcome
Guest
Epstein
Points +189
Overated - Edit
This pretentious, expensive restaurant professes high caliber service, which we thought was not up to scratch , and creative cooking which was not altogether so. I had vegetable puree soup which was pleasant at best and stuffed Portobello mushroom which was tasty but not creative. My husband had the tofu dish which he said was devoid of flavor. The restoration of an old building was superb, but you can’t eat it! I wouldn’t go back
Read morePros: Nice building, Pleasant indoor feeling, Comfortable seating
Cons: Amateurish service, Expensive, Uncreative
VictorRodrigues
Dear Epstein, could not resist to take a look at your latest 5/4 caws ratings and in fact, one thing you notice that left us very confused: your sense of creativity. Anyway, our thanks for your visit and for your hardrating post.
Read moreGuest
MMCM
Points +286
Cuisine gourmet - Edit
Great effort, that of preparing traditional specialities in veg version!
Read moreResults are very interesting and the staff, kind and professional, is happy to support with explanations as well as with vegan options.
The design and the artistic decoration, aimed at maximising the re-use of materials, is excellent.
Beautiful garden, wonderful house.
A bit out of the historic centre.
Moderately expensive (expensive for a vegetarian)
Pros: food experience, ambientation, staff
Cons: price, far from historic centre
Guest
henning
Points +67
Exceptional - Edit
When in or close to Porto, don't miss this absolutely fabulous restaurant! A perfect place for an exceptionally good dinner.
Read morePros: Excellent Food, Lovely Place, Super Friendly Staff
Cons: None
Guest
mbbl
Points +1897
Fresh garden but poor vegan options - Edit
Me and my husband had a good afternoon tea in the fresh and quiet garden but the menu is minimalist.
Read moreI asked for vegan options, because the menu didn't have any reference to them, and the person serving us got confused with the tern and went to ask for them to the cook... no vegan options... so I simply drank a great Darjeeling tea with a toasted bread with jam.
Pros: Fresh garden, Satisfying tea, Friendly staff
Cons: Not many vegan options
VictorRodrigues
Our vegan options "A la Carte" based on traditional homemade Portuguese food and sophisticated modern fusion:
Read moreCouvert
-Crispy “Sea Spaghetti” SeaWeed
-Alheira (Portuguese sausage) puffs
-Black Olive Tapenade and Bread
Starters
-Soup of the Day
-Special Portuguese broth “Caldo Verde”
-Shitake Mushrooms as the traditional Portuguese “Bulhão Pato”
-“Little garden fishes” of Asparagus in Tempura
Main Courses
-Vegetable or Vegan “Francesinha” with Fries*Tradicional Porto sandwich with Cheese or not and Spicy sauce as coverage.
-Grilled Endive in Beetroot and Ginger broth, crispy Onion and Leek with creamy Fava beans.
-“Spineless” of Tofu as the tradicional Portuguese “Lagareiro”, grilled with garlic and olive oil with Sautéed Turnip greens and baked Potatoes.
-Asparagus on champagne Risotto
-Mushrooms Risotto
-Marineted Seitan fillets on Port Wine and Pinion sauce, with Chesnut and Port Wine Puree, tiny Carrots and steamed Asparagus
…and so many others we present as daily courses for lunch with lower prices!!!
Desserts
Sliced piece of Fruit
Creamy Yogurt with Jam and Forest Berries
Guest
prcr
Points +118
Beautiful and quiet gardens - Edit
Me and my wife went to Em Carne Viva to have an afternoon snack and were amazed by the impressively restored old house. Since it was nice outside, we decided to stay in the garden, which was really calm and quiet.
Read moreThe waiter was very friendly and helpful even though she seemed to be caught a bit off-guard when we asked her about possible vegan options.
We ended up ordering toasts with jam, and a nice Darjeeling black tea which actually tasted quite good - in Portugal it is very difficult to find a place where you can have a decent cup of tea!
We especially liked the quietness of the garden, where we had fun observing the cute kittens from the next door neighbor, and recommend this restaurant for those wanting to have a "posh" dinner in one of Oporto's finest avenues, near Casa da Música.
Pros: Quiet gardens, Impressive restored old house, Decent tea
Cons: Not many vegan options
VictorRodrigues
Thank you for visit us and for your friendly post.
Read moreOur vegan options "A la Carte" based on traditional homemade Portuguese food and sophisticated modern fusion:
Couvert
-Crispy “Sea Spaghetti” SeaWeed
- “Alheira”(Portuguese sausage) puffs
-Black Olive Tapenade and Bread
Starters
-Soup of the Day
-Special Portuguese broth “Caldo Verde”
-Shitake Mushrooms as the traditional Portuguese “Bulhão Pato”
-“Little garden fishes” of Asparagus in Tempura
Main Courses
-Vegetable and Vegan “Francesinha” with Fries *Tradicional Porto sandwich with Cheese or not and Spicy sauce as coverage
-Grilled Endive in Beetroot and Ginger broth, crispy Onion and Leek with creamy Fava beans
-“Spineless” of Tofu as the tradicional Portuguese “Lagareiro”, grilled with garlic and olive oil with Sautéed Turnip greens and baked Potatoes
-Asparagus on champagne Risotto
-Mushrooms Risotto
-Marineted Seitan fillets on Port Wine and Pinion sauce, with Chesnut and Port Wine Puree, tiny Carrots and steamed Asparagus
Desserts
-Sliced piece of Fruit
-Creamy Yogurt with Jam and Forest Berries
…and so many others we present as daily courses for lunch with lower prices!!!
Best regards
Victor
Guest
RubyFriel
Points +161
Disappointing experience - Edit
Our experience here was not great.
Read moreEven though there were staff who could speak English, they did not come to help us. Instead, we had to translate the menu on google translate. Our waiter was friendly but did not speak English, and we didn't understand why the English speakers did not try to help.
We were given 2 menus, an afternoon tea (in Portuguese) and a dinner menu (in English). The dinner menu looked very nice, with veggie interpretations of Classic Portuguese dishes. However, when I tried to inquire about which options were vegan the waiter told us the dinner menu wasn't actually on and it was only the snack menu. Eventually we both had a small sandwich and a coffee, it was nice ish but nothing amazing and we were still hungry so went to another restaurant afterwards.
It turned out they were actually closing early as it was a Sunday, but we were confused as to why nobody had communicated this with us. The whole experience was a little odd which was a shame as I think it had potential to be a good spot.
Pros: Very nice decor, Posh/chic, Good menu
Cons: Unhelpful staff, No soya milk, Not many vegan options on lunch menu
VictorRodrigues
Thank you for visit us and for your friendly post.
Read moreOur vegan options "A la Carte" based on traditional homemade Portuguese food and sophisticated modern fusion:
Couvert
-Crispy “Sea Spaghetti” SeaWeed
- “Alheira”(Portuguese sausage) puffs
-Black Olive Tapenade and Bread
Starters
-Soup of the Day
-Special Portuguese broth “Caldo Verde”
-Shitake Mushrooms as the traditional Portuguese “Bulhão Pato”
-“Little garden fishes” of Asparagus in Tempura
Main Courses
-Vegetable and Vegan “Francesinha” with Fries *Tradicional Porto sandwich with Cheese or not and Spicy sauce as coverage
-Grilled Endive in Beetroot and Ginger broth, crispy Onion and Leek with creamy Fava beans
-“Spineless” of Tofu as the tradicional Portuguese “Lagareiro”, grilled with garlic and olive oil with Sautéed Turnip greens and baked Potatoes
-Asparagus on champagne Risotto
-Mushrooms Risotto
-Marineted Seitan fillets on Port Wine and Pinion sauce, with Chesnut and Port Wine Puree, tiny Carrots and steamed Asparagus
Desserts
-Sliced piece of Fruit
-Creamy Yogurt with Jam and Forest Berries
…and so many others we present as daily courses for lunch with lower prices!!!
Best regards
Victor
Guest
SuzySig
Points +55
A sophisticated meal - Edit
This 100% vegetarian restaurant is situated in a very chic old house which include also a vey cute garden. It was still a bit chilly so we decided to eat inside and it was quite an experience.
Read moreFirst of al the staff is very nice, polite and obliging. The menu was written in portugese but one of the lady translated everything for us, in a very good english.
The food was elaborate and absolutely delicious, probably one of the best vegan meal I've ever eaten (the menu provided several vegan options).
I have a big appetite so maybe portions weren't big enough for me, but till I'd definitely recommend this place to whomever likes high class food.
Pros: Really awesome food, Very nice staff and atmosphere, Beautiful restaurant and garden
Cons: Quite pricey, Serving could have been a bit bigger
Guest
AndyT
Points +2408
Elegant vegetarian dining with many vegan options - Edit
Em Carne Viva (portuguese for "Living in the flesh") is a relatively new restaurant (open for about 6 months), and - different to other high-class restaurants in Porto like "Essencia", they do not offer non-vegetarian options. I can not commend them highly enough for that, also for offering a number of delicious vegan dishes, both in their daily menu and on their (small) a-la-carte dining menu.
Read moreI had the daily menu with a very nice vegan broccoli cream soup and something that can best be described as "pancake" with bean rice. Both the menu and the special starter, a warm mushroom salad with coriander, tasted very nice and was presented elegantly. The menu costs Eur 7,50, which can only be described as a great price for the food offered. It is most likely not exactly cheap when you go there in the evening, but the ambiance makes up for that. Credit cards are accepted.
The restaurant is situated in a beautifully renovated old house, and it has beautiful outside seating where you can enjoy the Portuguese sun. The staff are very polite and friendly, and there are enough people who speak English well and can explain the Portuguese menu and options to you.
Considering all this, it can only be said that the restaurant is a great addition to the vegan/vegetarian scene of Porto and you should not miss it.
Pros: Tasty food, many vegan options, Beautiful and festive setting, Moderate prices, at least for lunch menu
Guest
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