I had passed by Guarany Café, on the ground floor of Hotel Aliados, on my way to and from my own hotel, Infante Sagres, every day and night for several days during the week I was in Porto. By about the fourth day, I decided it was time to take a seat at the outdoor tables and sample what one of the city’s historic cafés had to offer.

Situated along Freedom Square, where the grand old bank buildings, hotels, and City Hall receive romantic nighttime illumination, Guarany Café was established in 1933 and quickly became known as a musicians coffee shop. The café décor included a marble high relief of a Guarani Indian in full headdress, a nod to the native peoples of a large swath of South America, including Brazil, which, after Portugal colonized it, became its massive source of coffee. That connection remains today, with two large paintings hanging on the café’s walls inside, The Lords of Amazonia.

With the appropriate mood set, you’ll be tickled by the particularly particular waiters who provide polished service while making sure every utensil and dish and glass before you is perfectly aligned throughout your wonderful dinner. And if you time it well, you’ll be treated to a concert or a fado night.

Try This: Portuguese cheese is terrific, so start with the Portuguese tapas—two generous wedges of different cheeses, accompanied by red grapes, crackers, and a sweet jam. For your main course, order up the rump steak slices cooked to your preference, served with garlic sauce, sautéed spinach, and jacket potatoes. For dessert, I selected a Guarany specialty that sounded more like breakfast but was a deliciously sweet way to end my meal: french toast fried in a mixture of eggs, cinnamon, nuts, and butter. It’s accompanied by a glass of Graham’s Tawny port wine.

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