A Certain Café sits in Bonfim, just east of Porto's historic centre, behind a full-height glass frontage on Rua do Morgado de Mateus. White walls, high ceilings, lace curtains, loose tables, art, books, and a sunlit pavement terrace make the room feel closer to a working studio than a standard brunch cafe. There is no espresso machine.
Argentine artists Matias Romano and Agustina Fortunato built the cafe around filter coffee, food, wine, and a slower visit than a quick Portuguese espresso. Come for breakfast or lunch with batch brew, manual filter, or AeroPress; know before ordering that an espresso, cappuccino, or conventional flat white is not the point here.
Coffee
The coffee programme is multi-roaster and deliberately espresso-free. Beans move through the bar from specialist European roasters, with familiar, balanced profiles beside more expressive lots. Coffee comes from a filter machine or by hand, with cold brew and AeroPress extending the menu without adding a conventional espresso lane.
Start with the batch brew if you want the room's simplest proposition: a larger cup, enough time to notice the coffee as it cools, and no queue of milk drinks dictating the pace. There can still be milk, including a foamy iced filter drink, but the structure remains brewed coffee first. Espresso drinkers should treat that limit as the reason to visit rather than a missing amenity.
Filter
Choose manual filter when the guest coffee looks interesting. V60, Kalita, and AeroPress have all appeared in the cafe's orbit, while batch brew handles the everyday cup. Ask what is tasting best, then choose manual for a cleaner read or batch for the easier breakfast rhythm; the method serves the coffee without turning the table into a demonstration.
The cup can arrive beside eggs, toast, a book, or a glass of water and remain part of the wider visit. If you want a tiny, fast, dark-roasted bica, choose another stop. If you want to see how a filter-only room changes the pace of a Portuguese cafe, A Certain makes the detour worthwhile.
Food
Food is a second reason to cross town, not a token pastry case. Breakfast runs into the afternoon, while the lunch menu changes with the season. Granola, eggs, bread and butter, mushroom toast, börek, French toast, croissants, sandwiches, soup, and vegetable-led plates show the range: familiar cafe formats, handled with enough imagination to keep the menu from becoming another avocado-toast checklist.
The best order is one savoury plate, something sweet if the pastry counter is strong, and a second coffee only if you are staying. Natural wine and cider widen the room beyond breakfast, and occasional guest dinners or evening events reveal the studio-bar side of the business. Availability can shift and dishes may arrive at an unhurried pace, so this works better as a deliberate meal than a tightly timed refuel.
Service & Room
A broad window floods the front room with daylight. Art, retro glassware, ceramics, music, and well-spaced tables give the white room its shape without turning it into a showroom. The terrace catches the Bonfim sun, dogs are welcome, and exhibitions and screenings connect the address to the neighbourhood rather than only to visitors.
A communal table and a few seats toward the back can handle weekday laptop work; the front tables and weekends are more restricted. Service is usually warm and informal, though the kitchen and counter can slow when the room fills. Come early for the widest food choice; come later only if you are comfortable with a shorter menu.
Why Filter Notes shortlisted A Certain Café
Few Porto cafes build such a complete visit around filter coffee. Cross town for coffee without espresso-bar habits, breakfast with real range, the art-and-music atmosphere, and a Bonfim address that rewards leaving the busiest central streets; know before going that Tuesday is closed, the regular schedule is daytime-led, and espresso is intentionally absent.