A Taste of Porto Could Be Coming to Mill Street, Maidstone

A little piece of Porto could be about to land on Mill Street. Companies House records show a new company, Francesinha Club of Porto Ltd, was incorporated on 23 September at 13 Mill Street, Maidstone, listing itself under the licensed restaurants trade classification.

Its name is a giveaway: a francesinha is Porto's beloved sandwich, built from layers of cured meats and sausage between bread, drowned in melted cheese and a rich beer-and-tomato sauce - a dish that's a genuine point of civic pride in northern Portugal but still a rarity on menus in the UK, let alone in Kent. The company's sole director, Ligia Maria Fernandes Baltar, gives her nationality as Portuguese.

That's as far as the paper trail goes for now - there's no listing yet on the Food Standards Agency's hygiene ratings register, which usually means a business hasn't started trading or been inspected, and no social media or website has surfaced either. A company being incorporated is a real signal of intent, not proof a restaurant is about to open its doors, so treat this as one to watch rather than a done deal. Source: Companies House