Francesinha was born in the city of Porto, invented in 1953, by an emigrant, returned from France, who decided to give a special touch to a typical French recipe, called “croque-monsieur”. This man, named Daniel, improvised and adapted this dish to Portuguese ingredients and culture, adding a sauce, which is the soul of the recipe.
The first house to launch Francesinha was Regaleira, in Porto, where this man worked and passed the sauce recipe to some "helpers", one of whom was José Silva, who now had the original recipe for this delicious specialty.
José Silva, born in Castelo de Paiva, left Regaleira in 1962 and opened (as an employee) the Mucaba coffee, in Vila Nova de Gaia, taking with him a recipe for true sauce, transforming this coffee into an icon of Porto's hospitality and more, through of the famous Francesinhas.
In 1970, José Silva created and opened his own business: Majára, in Matosinhos, making him famous also for this specialty.

Our Francesinhas remain the only truly original ones, with cheese, ham, bologna, roasted meat, sausage and fresh sausage, in loaf or biju bread.

If you are close to Matosinhos and want to taste this irresistible delicacy, be sure to visit us. We also remember that on Thursdays we have a special menu that includes the original Francesinha. Find out more here.

Thank you, Master Zé!