A Guide to Eating and Drinking in Lisbon

  Traditonal Portugese Pastries

Eating and drinking in Lisbon is influenced enormously by its port. Not only does it bring a wealth of seafood into the city but, over the centuries, it also allowed a series of international culinary influences to make eating out in the city the incredibly diverse affair it is today.

With the country’s largest fish market just outside the city pulling in fish from the Atlantic every day, the freshness and quality of seafood is guaranteed. ‘Pratos de caracois’ (snail dishes) and ‘sardinhas assadas’ (charcoal-grilled sardines) are a couple of specialties.

But it’s ‘bacalhau’ (salted cod) that traditionally dominates Lisbon's menus. And the varieties of dishes on offer can vary greatly, too: with a reported 365 different recipes for ‘bacalhau’ – one for every single day of the year – there’s little chance of repetition.

As a general rule, and certainly by European standards, Lisbon is not a particularly expensive place to eat. As long as you avoid the attractive terraces of the restaurants that line the Rua Augusta and other more touristy parts of the Baixa you should be fine.

Having said that, Rua dos Correeiros has a number of good restaurants, which specialize in offering quality food at attractive prices. Another good place to head for cheap food is the Rua dos Bacalheiros (found where the Baixa meets the Alfama).

A little to the north of the city center, Rua das Portas de Sao Antao has a number of fish restaurants, while towards the south of the Baixa, down by the port, there are several cheaper joints on and around Av. 24 de Julho.

One of the best areas in which to eat in, however, is the district of Graca (a little to the east of Alfama). The area is home to a large Brazilian population and there are countless excellent (and pretty reasonable) Brazilian restaurants lining its streets.

Although Portugal differs from neighboring Spain in practically every respect, the ‘Prato do dia’ is, essentially, the same fixed price menu as the ‘Menu del dia’. And it’s an equally good way of getting a cooked meal in without having to worry too much about the price.

Relaxed, informal and (mostly) affordable, eating out in Lisbon is a budget traveler’s dream. But what really makes it exceptional is not the price tag, but the city itself. After dark, few cities can match Lisbon for the picturesque backdrop it provides to an evening.

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