Best Bars to Watch the Game in Porto

The first and best of its kind in Porto, the Adega is long and deep with comfortable booths and large TVs throughout, so the sight lines hold from almost any seat. It reliably shows the Premier League and Champions League, runs pool, darts and beer pong between games, and may be the only sports bar anywhere that also serves port. The staff make international visitors feel at home, and the room stays open to 2am, 3am at weekends.

Game day tip: Bring cash, since the Adega does not take cards, and arrive early for a marquee European night.

The downtown sister of a Foz institution founded just after the Carnation Revolution, Bonaparte Downtown sits on the tramlines of Praca Guilherme Gomes Fernandes with a smart facade and a British pub feel. The match plays on one of two big screens, the food is upscale pub grub, and a pint of Paulaner makes it a comfortable base for the headline game in the heart of Baixa.

Game day tip: Aim for a table with a clear line to one of the two big screens for the main match.

Tucked behind the riverfront in Ribeira, Ryan's has long flown the Guinness flag in this part of town, a pleasant walk down from the Cathedral and a steep stagger back up. It leans toward live music but still shows the sport whatever shape the ball happens to be, and the pint of Guinness comes with a toucan traced on top. Low ceilings and lived-in charm make it a warm spot for a match.

Game day tip: Check whether a band is booked, since music can share the room with the football on a busy night.

A Belgian brewpub named for the famed Golden Dragon ale, Gulden Draak opened in Baixa in 2018 with 12 taps and fridges full of labels from Benelux and beyond. Football on the TV is a plus rather than the main draw, so it suits a match watched over serious beer rather than a packed sports-bar crowd. It is a relaxed alternative a short walk from the Adega.

Game day tip: Best for a low-key watch over good beer, not a marquee night when you want a big crowd and a big screen.

The bar at this old local football club has run since 1976, and its sun-catching terrace looks straight across the Douro to the ironwork of the Dom Luis I Bridge. Standard beers and bifanas still sell at silly-cheap prices despite the gentrification below, and you can watch the match and talk football with the regulars. The club itself no longer exists, but the trophy cabinet and the view remain.

Game day tip: Grab the terrace for an early-evening kickoff, when the Douro view and the bridge light up behind the screen.

A craft brewbar opposite the Carmelite church, Cervejaria do Carmo keeps a rotating chalkboard of Scottish, Belgian and Portuguese beers and a terrace looking onto the tiled facade. It shows games on terrestrial TV, which means midweek Champions League action rather than that specific Premier League fixture, so it is a watch-while-you-drink room rather than a guaranteed catch-all.

Game day tip: Best for a midweek Champions League night, since the terrestrial feed will not carry every league fixture.

Espaco 77 sells more mini bottles of chilled Super Bock than almost anywhere in Portugal, snapped open and glugged fast by a student crowd battling over table football. The modest, tucked-away room packs to the gills for the major games, with groups ordering the bargain-bucket 11 minis for the price of ten. Portuguese snacks and sandwiches round out a cheap, lively matchday.

Game day tip: Go for a big fixture and order the 11-for-10 bucket of minis to keep a group going through the match.

Officially the Ancora d'Ouro, the cafe everyone calls Piolho is a Porto landmark dating to 1909, smart in a lived-in way with waistcoated waiters and a single rotating fan. It is not a big-screen sports bar, it is a legendary student cafe that happens to show the Primeira Liga game on a modest TV, so come for the local fixture and the atmosphere rather than a Premier League maxiscreen.

Game day tip: Take an outside table for a Primeira Liga match, not for an English fixture you need on a big screen.

So low-key that even the regulars seem unsure of its name, this tiny blue-framed bar up from the Cathedral is a complete pictorial history of FC Porto, proud line-ups and mustachioed legends covering every wall. Squeeze in among generations raised on these teams, order absurdly cheap wine, and watch the match where the club is the whole point of the room.

Game day tip: It is narrow and tiny, so this is a spot for an intimate FC Porto watch, not a big group.

The nearest spot to FC Porto's Dragao stadium, this old-school restaurant is brightened by row after row of football scarves dangling from the ceiling, many left by visiting supporters. It is usually a daytime-only room, so time it around a stadium or museum visit and stay for a traditional, filling and wallet-friendly Portuguese lunch with the football on.

Game day tip: Pair it with a Dragao stadium tour, since the room mostly opens by day rather than for a night kickoff.