Lisbon is the epicentre of Portuguese cuisine. Lisbon’s taverns, cafes and restaurants will satisfy the tastes of gourmets of all stripes. There are countless restaurants in the capital, or to be more precise, there are more than two thousand of them, of all sorts: tiny ones with a few tables, and elegant elite ones with stylish design.
The choice of cuisine is also huge. Therefore, it is difficult to make any one objective rating of the best restaurants in Lisbon.
Based on reviews from visitors, locals and tourists, the top ten of such ratings can easily be found among sushi restaurants, Italian and other Mediterranean cuisine establishments, and the most romantic restaurants in the city. Fans of Indian and Chinese dishes in the capital of Portugal will not go hungry either.
We will take a short tour of establishments that serve mainly Portuguese and Mediterranean dishes.
Where to eat tasty and inexpensive
Let’s start with the simplest option. When you are very hungry and want to eat here and now, it’s good if at that time you are in the area of the famous Princip Real Park.
Frangasqueira Nacional – order and take away!
- Address: Travessa Monte do Carmo 19, 1200-276.
- Phone +351 936 224 182.
- Opening hours: 12:00–14:30; 18:00–22:00.
- Sunday is a day off here.
In an establishment that can hardly be called a restaurant or even a cafe, simple and quite tasty food is cooked on a huge grill over coals. And most importantly, it is not expensive at all. Hot chicken, ribs, sausages will be taken off the grill for you. As a side dish, you will receive crispy potato chips and crumbly basmati rice. The small menu also includes tomato salad and several types of olives.
The whole action takes place before the eyes of the visitors, your order will be completed in about 20 minutes and beautifully packaged. If you really can’t stand it, you can eat right on the bench next to the establishment.
But many find their benches (or just a cozy spot under a lemon tree) a little further away, in the park, thus arranging an impromptu picnic. Reviews about the quality of food bought in Frangasqueira Nacional are the most positive: “Rice – melts in your mouth; chicken – in a delicious sauce; ribs and chips – just a fairy tale!”
For a hearty meal, the bill will not exceed 12€ per person. And sometimes the amount can be less. This is one of the places in Lisbon where you can eat tasty and inexpensively.
Estamine Art Food Drink – a small family restaurant
- Calçada do Monte 86A, 1170-112 Lisboa, Portugal.
- Opening hours: 14:00 to 20:00.
- Days off: Saturday-Sunday.
- There is a pub, bar and parking.
If you want to feel like you are in the center of Lisbon, as if you were in the kitchen of old friends, and have an inexpensive lunch or dinner with a glass of wine or beer, then this is the place for you, to a small restaurant in Graça and São Vicente, which is run by a nice and still quite young married couple.
Several tables, photographs in various frames on the white walls, bottles of Portuguese wine on the shelves, a built-in kitchen where the head of the family prepares homemade snacks, and the hostess serves guests – this is approximately how briefly you will describe this place to your friends and acquaintances if you ever visit here. And you will definitely tell them, because the restaurant is popular among tourists in Lisbon – here you can eat deliciously and have a good rest.
The products are all fresh – various cuts and sandwiches. Vegetarians and gluten-free dieters won’t go hungry here. The price range for each item on the small menu is from 4 to 15 euros.
If you are not hungry, but just stopped by for a short break from walking around the city, order a banana dessert (6 euros) and any cocktail. The price of various drinks from coffee to good wine here is 1.5–8 euros per serving.
Lucimar – inexpensive restaurant of Portuguese and European cuisine
- Address: Rua Francisco Tomas da Costa 28, 1600-093.
- Phone +351 935 561 140.
- Opening hours: 12:00 – 22:30.
- Closed on Sunday. Parking available.
The famous “Portuguese sandwich” Francesinha rightfully takes center stage here, it is definitely worth trying. The price is 9.95€. It is one of the most expensive items of the almost 40 dishes and drinks on the menu of the restaurant, which has been operating since 1993.
What is the secret inside this sandwich? In short: between two slices of toasted bread – steak, sausage or ham, and all this is “packed”, or rather “melted” with a layer of soft cheese and topped with a delicious sauce. And on top is a fried eye of an egg. Francesinha is eaten with olives and French fries or just like that. In Lucimar you can try Portuguese and European cuisine, vegetarian and children’s dishes are also present. As in many restaurants in Lisbon, only cash is accepted.
What else to try in Lisbon
And really, what else can you try in Lisbon, except for the famous and delicious bacalhau? By the way, cod is caught in Norway, and processed there, so most often the food is prepared from dry and salted. Although there is also fresh in the shops.
The food in Lisbon is very diverse and what to try depends only on your preferences. Here is a brief excursion into the menu of Lisbon restaurants, which also have dishes included in the famous rating of “Seven Gastronomic Wonders of Portugal”.
During an active online vote (and almost a million users from all regions took part in it), the best fish, seafood, meat dish, the best soup and the best appetizer, as well as the best hunting dish and the best dessert were determined. These are the dishes that are most popular in the country and are known far beyond the borders of Portugal.
Here are the great gastronomic seven that you will definitely come across in different Lisbon restaurants:
1. Alheira de Mirandela – fried sausages “alheira” from Miranda
The original composition of the mince of these sausages in lamb intestines: beef and poultry, with a large amount of garlic seasoning and paprika. The name comes from the word “alyu” (garlic).
2. Queijo Serra da Estrela – soft sheep cheese “queijo serra de estrela”
This cheese is one of the best examples of European cheeses, and it is produced from the milk of only two specific breeds of sheep. If you cut off the lid of the cheese wheel, you can immediately spread it on bread or make toast.
3. Caldo Verde – green soup “caldo verde”
It is prepared everywhere in Portugal, and the ingredients are very simple and common for every soup, but the main thing in this is the leaves of green cabbage of the “couve-galega” variety. A little olive oil is poured on top of a portioned plate and “chorizo” sausage is cut into circles.
The soup is eaten with corn and rye bread called “broa”.
4. Sardinha Assada – fried sardines “sardinhas asadas”
The birthplace of the most common Portuguese dish is Lisbon, but it is popular throughout the country.
Pre-salted (2 hours before frying) fish are baked between grates, and readiness is determined when the color has changed from silver to beige. Sardines are good with potatoes, and with any salad, and just with bell peppers.
5. Arroz de Marisco – rice cooked with seafood
The main ingredients of the original recipe are rice, crab, shrimp and mussels. It is prepared with onions, garlic, cilantro, olive oil, tomato paste and white wine. Salt and pepper are the default. Depending on the type of rice and the amount of water, the dish can be liquid (like a thick soup) or viscous.
6. Leitão de Bairrada – “leitão”, suckling pig
This dish is often present on the menu of various celebrations, but it is also prepared and served in portions in many restaurants in Lisbon without a reason. With sparkling wine, vegetable salad and chips – the crispy crust and melt-in-your-mouth flesh of the suckling pig leaves the most positive taste sensations in those who taste it.
7. Pastel de Belém – Belém pastries with custard.
And finally, dessert. The recipe for the filling in this puff pastry basket has been a big secret for many years. Similar pastel de natas can be found everywhere in Portugal, but the Belém ones can only be found in one place – the pastry shop at the restaurant of the same name in the Belém quarter of Lisbon (no. 84-92). There, on each table, there is powdered sugar and cinnamon, which you sprinkle on top of the pastry cream before eating.
For more information about the national cuisine of Portugal, read this article .
Restaurants in Lisbon
When wondering where to eat in Lisbon, of course, you should first start with Portuguese cuisine and pay attention to the traditional Fado houses (Casa de Fado).
Fado restaurants
It may be a small tavern or a restaurant, but what sets them apart is that here you can listen to traditional Portuguese music while enjoying dinner and a glass of wine.
It is soulful and is performed live in blocks several times a night. The soloists (fadiste) can be either a woman or a man, but in Lisbon it is more often a woman.
The singing is accompanied by several guitars, one of which is always a Portuguese 12-string guitar, similar to a large mandolin, with a sound reminiscent of a Hawaiian one.
As before, the songs of fado performers contain melancholy, anguish, motives of unrequited love, loneliness and separation, melancholy and… hope for a better life! In 2011, fado took its place of honor on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. There is even a Fado Museum in the city.
But, as they say, you can’t live on songs, no matter how wonderful they are. What to eat in fado restaurants, and what are the prices for food in Lisbon? Some of them, small taverns, can be considered inexpensive: here the bill for two will be no more than 20-25 euros. However, most of these restaurants belong to the middle price category, and spending a romantic evening for two in a fado house will cost 40-90 euros.
Now let’s continue our gastronomic tour and take a look at the popular fado restaurants in Lisbon from the TOP-10 of this category.
Sr.Fado de Alfama – a small family restaurant
- Address: Rua dos Remédios 176, Alfama, 1100-452.
- Opening hours: 19:30 – 23:00.
- High season: 19:30 – 02:00.
- Phone +351 914 431 971.
You need to book in advance to eat at this family restaurant, whose owners are also fado chefs — there are only 25 seats in the hall. The cuisine, like everywhere in fado restaurants, is Portuguese, but as home-style as possible, with the owners themselves preparing the food.
You can also listen to music on the street, or rather, in the restaurant courtyard. If you happen to be nearby, but are already full and have dined elsewhere, feel free to come in! They will let you in, and over a glass of wine and a small snack, sitting on soft poufs under the trees, enjoy the sounds of fado.
The price of dinner for two in the hall is about 45-75 euros, just in the courtyard with wine and snacks the pleasure will cost less. It is convenient to get here both on foot and by metro of the Portuguese capital , and the route of the famous 28 tram passes very close.
Adega Machado is one of the oldest fado establishments in Lisbon
- Address: Rua do Norte 89-91 / Bairro Alto, 1200-284.
- The restaurant is open every day from 19:30 to 02:00.
- There are also daytime performances.
- Phone (+351) 213 422 282.
The three-story restaurant with a wine cellar and a terrace, with a capacity of 95 guests, is located near the Santa Justa lift on a high hill. This establishment, famous since 1937, has an interesting website of its own with comprehensive information about the history of the restaurant, descriptions of the interior, a detailed menu, fado programs and daily news.
You can book a table on the website or by phone.
A serving of meat dishes here costs 30€, there are 2 tasting sets of 5 dishes (each) for 47€.
Regulars recommend trying the signature dessert Orange Roll Cake, Caramel and Citrus for 15 euros.
Average bill for two is 90-100€.
The restaurant’s wine cellar sells wines from different regions. You can also buy a branded CD with a recording of the concerts of the Fadishts that perform here.
Having got an idea of the fado houses, let’s visit another popular place. Our tour of gastronomic Lisbon would not be complete without visiting at least one of the fish restaurants or those that cook from seafood.
Frade dos Mares – restaurant of Portuguese and Mediterranean cuisine
- Address: Av. Dom Carlos i 55A, 1200-647.
- Opening hours: Monday-Friday from 12:30 to 22:30.
- Website: www.fradedosmares.com.
Here you can eat meat and vegetarian dishes, desserts and soups. But in terms of the quality of seafood dishes, this restaurant in the price category of 50 euros per person for dinner is one of the best in Lisbon. This can be concluded from numerous reviews from visitors.
Let’s take a look at the menu of the Frade dos Mares restaurant.
The main courses are distinguished by their signature presentation. The most popular “sea” dishes are: Polvo a Lagareiro (octopus), Cataplana de Polvo e Mexilhão (mix of octopus and mussels) and Lombinhos de Dourada com Arroz do Mar – golden bream fillet with bivalve rice.
The first two are slowly stewed in a cataplana – a special copper pressure cooker on a “lining” of onions, garlic, tomatoes with bell peppers and a sauce of wine and olive oil, and seasoned with salt and black pepper. The average bill for dinner for two with wine and coffee is 70-100€.
And although the restaurant is located a little off the beaten track, a table, like in many popular places, must be booked in advance. The restaurant does not have a website now, but you can order by phone or online on Tripadvisor.
Fine Dining. Michelin Restaurants in Lisbon
And now it’s time for haute cuisine. When choosing the best place to eat in Lisbon, it’s hard to go wrong by choosing the city’s most expensive restaurants.
They not only offer delicious food, but also necessarily have a full range of amenities that are not always available in most establishments of other price categories.
The Michelin Red Guide is the most influential restaurant rating in the world. It is updated annually, and even a simple mention of a restaurant in it already speaks of the class of the establishment.
At the beginning of 2017, not a single Lisbon restaurant had the maximum rating of three stars. Belcanto earned two stars, six restaurants had one star, three were in the inexpensive and quality category (Bib Gourmand) and another 17 were mentioned in the guide in the category The Michelin Plate.
Belcanto is the first restaurant in Lisbon to receive 2** Michelin stars
- Address: Largo de São Carlos 10, 1200-410.
- Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 12:30–15:00 and 19:00–22:30. Days off: Sunday and Monday.
- Website: www.belcanto.pt.
The most expensive restaurant in the Portuguese capital is located in a beautiful restored building in the historic Chiado district. Its chef and owner, Jose Avillez, is a creative and famous restaurateur, a master of great imagination and fantasy.
The names of the dishes alone are worth something! They contain history and emotions, and the dishes themselves are unusual, as is their presentation. Only organic products are used in the preparation of food. And only here, for example, can you find such original, but paradoxical products as solid olive oil and liquid olives.
If you dream of a romantic dinner at Belcanto, make sure to book a table almost a month in advance. There are not many of them here. But if you want, you can have lunch at the restaurant almost every day. The restaurant is small, looks like a club, and the chef himself often comes out into the hall to ask visitors about their impressions of the food and the atmosphere.
The Belcanto wine list includes three and a half hundred different wines from the most famous and expensive brands. The bill for dinner for two starts at 200 euros.
If you want to know which area of Lisbon is best to stay in , pay attention to Chiado, it is often chosen by tourists. In addition, the area has many shops and boutiques , where avid shopaholics like to leave their money.
Sommelier – a restaurant for true connoisseurs in the center of Lisbon
- Address: Rua do Telhal 59, Lisbon 1150-345.
- Website: www.sommelier.pt.
- Opening hours: Monday-Friday 12:00-15:00, 19:00-23:00, Saturday 19:00-00:00, Sunday – closed.
Beautiful and elegant hall, comfortable chairs, polite staff, music – light and unobtrusive. Excellent and huge wine list with a wide choice of various wines. It is possible to order a tasting menu, including wine – a good option if you want to try a lot. The Sommelier restaurant in Lisbon is suitable for a romantic and family dinner, and for a business lunch.
Cuisine: steakhouse, Mediterranean, Portuguese and international.
What to try? According to visitors, the following are delicious:
- Beef tartare (Bife tártaro) – beef tartare, brandy, soy, mango, capers, dried yolk, wasabi mayonnaise, pepper puree, brioche toast;
- beef ribs (Shortrib);
- ribeye steak (Bife Ribeye);
- Loin of Venison (Lombo de veado) – venison fillet with a Parmesan crust, beetroot variations, mashed potatoes, pumpkin fondant, chestnuts, black garlic and currants.
Also worth trying is the foie gras fresco in caramelized onion jelly with fruit mousse. The signature desserts, such as carrot, are also good.
Depending on the choice of dishes, the average bill is 30-50 euros per person. It is better to book a table in advance online.
Our tour of Lisbon restaurants ends. We hope it gave you a basic idea, helped you make a choice and suggested the right direction in your search.
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