The Bifana and the Prego: Portugal's Classic Sandwiches

The bifana and the prego are Portugal’s classic sandwiches: cheap, quick and delicious, and eaten standing at the counter with a cold beer. The bifana is marinated pork and the prego is steak. Here’s what they are and how to order them.

Quick answer: a bifana is thin slices of pork cooked in a garlicky, wine-and-paprika sauce in a soft bread roll, with mustard. A prego is a thin steak with garlic in a roll. You can also have a prego no prato, a steak on a plate with egg and chips. Find them in snack bars and cafés everywhere.

The bifana

• The meat: thin pork slices marinated in garlic, white wine and paprika, then simmered in the sauce.
• The bread: a soft papo-seco roll that soaks up the juices.
• Toppings: yellow mustard and piri-piri, to taste.
• Regional styles: Vendas Novas in the Alentejo is famous for its bifanas. In Porto, they’re often served in a spicier sauce.

The prego

• Prego no pão: a thin beef steak cooked with garlic in a roll, sometimes with ham or cheese.
• Prego no prato: the steak on a plate with a fried egg, chips and rice.
• The end of a meal: in seafood beer halls, locals often order a prego at the end of a shellfish feast.

How to order

• Uma bifana, por favor: one bifana, please.
• Com mostarda: with mustard.
• And a drink: an imperial or fino. See the Portuguese beer guide.

Where to eat them

Look for busy snack bars, tascas and stalls at the Time Out Market or on food tours. See the Time Out Market and food tours in Portugal.

More: the francesinha, Lisbon on a budget and what to eat in Portugal.

Prices and details change, so please double-check before you travel. Spotted something out of date? Tell us in the groups.