Café Piolho, Porto

Café Piolho is a historic meeting place for students of the University of Porto. It opened on 26 June 1909 and remains known for generations of students who have studied, eaten and drunk here. The nickname means “louse”; as local tradition has it, crowded students inspired the comparison, while another account links it to traders from the nearby market, mocked by students as a nest of lice.

The café also has a striking place in Porto’s coffee history: it was the first in the city to have electricity, the only one with television in 1957, and the first to buy a La Cimbali espresso machine. That machine gave Porto its enduring word cimbalino for an espresso. In the evening, the café becomes a starting point for nightlife in the surrounding streets.