I confess that the title of the article is a bit misleading. We don’t go hunting for great places to eat in Lisbon, especially these days (with two little members of the family) and also because we are quite dedicated to cooking at home. However, we do keep an eye on what’s in trend and what like minded bloggers recommend and update our list of favorite places to eat in Lisbon.
Food tour in Lisbon
Recently, we’ve been invited by Eating Europe to be part of their freshly launched Lisbon food toor. To tell the truth, it was the first food tour we’ve ever experienced and we were quite curious to see how’d it go. To say we didn’t have any expectations would be a lie. As food and Lisbon lovers, we do recommend it for several reasons:
- you get to explore Lisbon off its beaten path
- the food you’ll taste is not something you would order if you’re for the first time in Portugal
- the dishes are diverse, local and also inspired from the international cuisine
- the restaurants you’ll eat at can’t be found while googling; you’ve got to be a local to get to know these secret gems
Coming back to the places we discovered on our own, please keep in mind that these are merely some of the places that we consider worthy.
We wrote this article because we often receive messages from friends or readers asking what eateries we recommend in Lisbon. Instead of repeating the story every time, we thought of making it easier for everyone and write this story on our blog. We cannot promise it will be an evergreen post though.
Note! These are restaurants in central Lisbon and not the ones we sometimes pilgrim for outside the city (to be elaborated in another post).
Tip! At the beginning of a meal in Portugal, the staff will “offer” you entries like bread, olives and cheese. Unless you want to pay for it, don’t eat. It’s not complimentary, it’s just the custom around here.
Traditional Portuguese
Ze dos Cornos – it’s tiny and it gained a lot of reputation among foreigners too, but hasn’t lost its authenticity
Ze da Mouraria – grilled fresh fish, steaks, everything in huge portions
O Eurico – also tiny, also touristic, still very local
5 oceanos – fresh and diverse seafood with a great view, by the docks below the 25th April bridge
Laurentina – for a diverse taste of the famous Codfish – Bacalhau
Forninho Saloio – the tuna beef is a must here
Casa da India – close to Bairro Alto, this tasca is a gem hidden between tourists and souvenirs shops
A Gina – central yet hidden traditional restaurant right next to Avenida da Liberdade
Carvoaria Jacto – for some amazing espetadas (grilled skewered meat) like we haven’t had before
International
Moçambican – Cantinho do Aziz – be sure to make a reservation, order the chamuças and the prawn & coconut curry if you like seafood
Syrian – Mezze – what makes this place special: 1. the people behind it are Syirian refugees sharing their culinary heritage; 2. the location – hosted in Lisbon’s Mercado de Arroios, so you can be sure the ingredients are fresh; 3. it works without reservations, which according to some psychological law, makes it even more attractive.
Italian – Forno d’Ouro (for Neapolitan pizza) – we like our pizza simple and the pasta al dente – who doesn’t? this place happens to meet this criteria, I’m sure there are more we haven’t explored yet
Indian – Sabores de Goa – there is Indian food, and then there is Indian food with Portuguese influences – connaisseurs and Google searchers know why
Japanese – Go Juu – we don’t make a case of sushi like the sushilovers do, but we do crave for that unami taste every now and then and this place has raised the bars
Thai, Vietnamese – Boa Bao – it gets overcrowded and over touristic, but our love for those kimchi and curry soup is higher
Chinese – Dinastia Tang – located in a remote and hip area of Lisbon, this restaurant is quite famous for its decor and Chinese food
Peruvian – A Cevicheira – the big octopus hanging from the ceiling must have called your attention while walking in Principe Real neighbourdhood; you shouldn’t go here unless you know about the concept of ceviche and you are comfortable with the idea of eating raw fish
For the sweet tooth
L’Eclair – a refined taste of the French eclairs
Bio Vegetariano – for its amazing apple cake that you can only have on Fridays; this Ucranian family owned restaurant also serves unpretentious and tasty vegetarian meals
Landeau Chocolate – best chocolate cake in town , we also wrote about it here
Pasteis de Belem – cliché, but it’s real: here you’ll have the best famous custart tart (curios fact: Edgar can eat 6 of them at once, can you?)
Manteigaria – for what we consider the second best place in Lisbon to have the custard tart
Italy Caffe Ristorante – for a mille-feuille with white chocolate and wild fruits to die for
Gelato Davvero – it’s not that Santini or Nannarella don’t have amazing ice creams too, but I guess we’ve been frequenting more Gelato Davvero lately
Breakfast
With one baby and one toddler, the best time of the day to enjoy a meal outside is breakfast. The artisanal sourdough bread and the filter specialty coffee are the main reason these places below are our favorites. To put it in simpler words, the bare necessities.
Isco, Terra Pão, Milkees , Selva, Buna
There are other reasons of course:
Isco – the most amazing pain au chocolat
Terra Pão – the brioche bread and other savory dishes you can find at lunch time
Milkees – the cookies
Selva – the coffee… still
Buna – that toast!!
Others
Prado – we wrote about the exquisite experience in this post
Atalho Real – beef beef beef
By The Wine – you really can’t go wrong if you pick this place because you’ve got wine, cheese and Iberian ham; the offer goes beyond, but it may as well be enough
Final tip before we keep updating this post at another time. If you’re for the first time in Portugal, you find yourself in a restaurant with Portuguese dishes (and if you’re not too conventional in taste) go for “Polvo a Lagareiro” (octopus) or “Bacalhau a lagareiro” (dried, salted codfish).
