Lisbon has been on my list of places to visit for many years. It was next on my plan to visit before the pandemic hit, and has been put on hold since then. I’ve noticed recently that after Japan, Portugal is where everyone was going to. I knew I had to prioritize it. When a moment freed up for travel this fall, I decided it was time to book.
My original plan was to just stay in Lisbon for one week. This was the formula I’d done in the past in Paris/Rome/Barcelona etc. On these trips I had a wonderful opportunity to get to know each city with a week in one place. But as I started speaking to people about my Lisbon trip, I was convinced that if I was going that way, I should include Porto as well. Not knowing if this was the right decision, I booked 4 nights in Lisbon + 3 in Porto. Even before I arrived, I knew I didn’t have enough time in Lisbon.
Landing in Lisbon in the evening, I hit the ground running, knowing I had a lot I wanted to do. Thankfully, I booked my accommodations centrally to make the most of my time there.
Not being hugely familiar with Portuguese food, I was excited to immerse myself in its flavours. The main highlights on my list were to get my fill of regional seafood, to try to find my favourite pastel de nata, delight in conservas and taste wines from different regions of the country.
For the 1st night, I booked Tasca Baldracca (easily via Instagram DM) bypassing the large line queued out front. The restaurant bills itself as “traditional tasca with a twist” and proclaims “fine dining is dead”. The menu was a perfect introduction to simply delicious Portuguese cuisine. I loved the loud and fun atmosphere, with incredibly friendly service. It was hard to choose from a menu where everything read delicious.
Ultimately we decided on the Ceasar’s (fried) chicken, a very anchovy’y steak tartare, the most tender octopus and a beets with pistachio & horseradish. The meal was a wonderful welcome to Portugal. I was blown away by their reasonable prices and hospitality which was consistent throughout the trip.
Visiting Lisbon Saturday through Wednesday meant that I needed to push to visit Red Frog Speakeasy on my first night as it was closed the rest. Located under Monkey Mash bar, reservations are a must at Red Frog. This dark and moody, underground bar where there’s only table service. Most to the drinks are pre-mixed at the bar and then served table-side. The cocktails were complex, exciting and the perfect welcome to Lisbon.
The weather for my stay in Lisbon called for a lot of rain, so I modified my plans accordingly. The first morning was spent exploring the city south towards the water.
But first a pastel de nata.
Pasteis de nata is a rich Portugese custard tart. It’s made with a rich flaky pastry filled with an egg yolk custard. It was my goal to find my favourite pastel de nata in Lisbon. I won’t say the best, because I know now that everyone has different tastes and what I like isn’t what everyone else likes.
First up was Manteigaria.
My introduction was a good one. My only experience with these types of tarts was the Portugese egg tarts I had when I was in Macau. This was much more custard-y and less egg-y. The tart was the sweet kick I needed to fuel me for the walk ahead.
One of my goals in Portugal was to eat as much seafood as I could. I put Cervejaria Ramiro when because I saw it on so many lists, (including Anthony Bourdain & Phil). A few days before my visit I wondered if Ramiro was just a tourist gimmick. I hummed and haw’d but decided the menu looked so good that I wanted to keep my reservation.
Cervejario Ramiro was indeed filled with foreigners, but there were some locals out for Sunday lunch mixed in between. There was so much on the menu that I wanted to try. I wished I were there with more people.
In the end my choices were welks, gamba cozida (medium sized prawns), sea urchin and clams in garlic butter. The buttery toasted bread served on the side was the perfect vehicle to sop up all the clam broth. The prego (beef) sandwich that you “must” order at the end of your meal was the perfect kiss of meatiness to compliment the seafood meal.
As a post-lunch, pre-nap treat, I had my 2nd pastel de nata for the day at Castro. I preferred this one to the one which tasted lighter than Manteigaria, perhaps because of their super flaky pastry.
As I researched what to do in Lisbon, it seemed I must check out a Fado show. Fado is Portugal’s melancholic, expressive folk music. It’s most often seen in restaurants where you eat meal while a Fado performance is happening in front of you. But many of these places are very touristy, serving sub-par food, which I didn’t want in my short time in Lisbon. But then I found Real Fado, offering short concerts in unique venues. On Sundays, the concerts are held in the EmbaiXada, a beautiful Portugese concept gallery.
The concert was one of the highlights of my trip. The performance was incredible and the 1 hour show, experienced while sipping a lovely gin tonic (from the Gin Lovers Bar) was the perfect introduction to Fado.
After the concert, we walked by a Ginginha shop that was open, so we stopped for a taste. Ginginha is a cherry liqueur from Lisbon drunk from morning to night.
We opted to try it in the chocolate cup, and were able to get a refill because of this. For less than €2 it was a nice little body warmer on a cold and wet evening.
I wanted to try piri piri chicken in Lisbon. Most people’s reference of piri piri is Nando’s (which I’ve never had), but spit roasted chicken is one of my comfort food favourites. It also seemed the perfect thing to take back to the room to eat.
As I researched the best piri piri chicken in Lisbon, the one that came up most often was Bonjardim. The fact I was able to order to-go online in advance was a huge plus.
The take-home dinner of chicken, fries and creamed spinach was perfect. The chicken was succulent and a little spicy piri piri sauce went a long way. The leftovers kept me happy for the days to follow.
Luckily the sky had opened the next morning as I had Belem in my sights for some major historical sights. But of course, I was lured by Pasteis de Belem, the birthplace of the pastel de nata.
Since 1837, Pasteis de Belem has been baking tarts from their secret recipe from an attached monastery. It’s the one that’s constantly raved about and I was cautiously optimistic going into the experience. But cautious optimism turned into utter delight with just one bite. The Belem pastel was the egg-ier and less sweet than the ones previous. I determined this, closer in texture to a Chinese egg tart, was what I was looking for.
I had a great walking map of Belem to conquer for the day. I was able to almost accomplish a half of it before the weather started to change. And unfortunately a huge rain storm rolled through which caused the site seeing to be cut short.
Knowing I’d have the day in Belem, I chose a restaurant for lunch in the area. Canalha is casual with a neighbourhood feel. The restaurant uses local ingredients with respect, so you’re able to appreciate the true flavours of what you’re eating.
Bacalao croquettes and grilled sardines were 2 things I was looking forward to trying in Lisbon and Canalha had both on the menu. I felt like I was tasting both at the pinnacle of preparation. The line-caught squid with sheep butter sauce was tender and rich and one of my favourite dishes of the trip.
A lot is made of Lisbon’s hilly streets, but I loved walking through the neighbourhoods and rarely found the inclines to be daunting. I chose places to eat to explore different areas of town and often used the extra walk to justify pulling in for an extra nibble before dinner.
On this particular night, a pre-dinner stop found us at Imprensa, a very cool cocktail & oyster bar. Of course I had to have both.
Dinner was at Café de São Bento, a classic Portuguese steak house located across the street from the Portuguese parliament building. You enter by ringing their doorbell and feel like you’re being transported in time as you walk in. The decor is wood, brass with red banquettes and carpet. The service is old school friendly.
We ordered 2 sirloin steaks. One was Portuguese-style, fried with garlic, smoked ham and laurel. The other was the Traditional, with a cream sauce which was inspired by the Marrare steak of the 18th century. Going out for steak is such a rare occasion for me, especially when I’m travelling, but this dinner was such a wonderfully tasty experience.
The next morning started with a Lisbon-staple. As Bifana do Afonso is tiny with standing-only counter service, and was perfect for a quick bite to start the day. The bifana sandwich is comprised of thinly sliced pork is marinated and then braised in white wine, garlic, bay leaf and lard and loaded into a white chewy roll. I finished mine with a giant squeeze of mustard.
The day was spent exploring the area north-east into Graca neighbourhood and down into Alfama. My main goal was to see some great murals and the castle.
I really wanted to learn more about Portuguese wine on this trip. I didn’t want to do a tour so I thought going to a wine bar would be a good alternative.
Maria Palato wine bar happened to be conveniently located at the end of my walking route for the day. It was a great spot to taste a few glasses and eat some meats and conservas. The staff were excellent at helping to choose wines that suited my mood. They also gave me a good taste through different regions and varietals of Portugal.
Walking back from lunch, I realized it had been a day and I’d not had a pastel de nata yet. Thankfully Fabrica de Nata was conveniently located just below my room which made it easy to stop for a treat. While I’d had sprinklings of powdered sugar at some of the other stops, Fabrica de Nata was the first where I’d generously sprinkled on cinnamon. This was one of the sweeter pastels I’d had and not in my top 2, but I was starting to think that I was loving pasteis in all versions.
Quattro Teste was the cocktail bar I was most excited to visit in Lisbon, and it seemed I saved the best for last. While the menu read very Basque / Italian in flavours, I loved the quaint small neighbourhood feel of the bar.
I started with the vibrant Nuclear Pesto Margarita, which was brightly vegetal with a punch of Midori. My second was the Cinarino, a savory sipper with bourbon, vanilla and mushroom. All of the cocktails I sipped were masterfully balanced and uniquely delicious.
I booked Prado for my last meal in Lisbon because of its delicious looking menu comprised of seasonal local ingredients prepared simply. I was also drawn to it because of their lovely dining room with its high ceilings and abundance of greenery. Unfortunately, I was sat in a back room off the main dining room which dampened my mood a bit. Thankfully the heartwarming food, lifted. me out of my disappointment.
The little bites to start of beef tartare with grilled cabbage and braised beef tartlettes were a nice complement to each other. The cod with cabbage sauce and cockles with fried bread were both simply delicious.
As I knew from the start, 4 days in Lisbon was not going to be enough. But what I sampled, I loved, and makes me excited for the day I get to return.
Places I visited in Lisbon:
Call Me a Food Lover... 